R. Mara Brendgen, Ph.D.
Aggressive behavior among children is a major risk factor for subsequent developmental maladjustment, both for the perpetrators and the victims. Children's aggressive behavior, however, incorporates more than inflicting physical harm. Children can also hurt their peers through more subtle forms of aggression, for example, through social exclusion or rumor spreading. This type of behavior is often referred to as social aggression. Studies have shown that social aggression can have devastating effects on the victims, including anxiety, depression, and even suicide ideation. Social aggression is especially frequent in girls, but it can also be observed among boys.
Research shows that already preschoolers use social aggression, but relatively little is known about how social aggression develops. In particular, it is not clear whether - similar to physical aggression - social aggression has a strong genetic basis or whether it is mainly a result of environmental influences. We investigated this question using a sample of 234 six year-old twin pairs whose physical and social aggression was evaluated by teachers and by peers. Specifically, teachers and peers indicated to what extent a participating child exhibited socially aggressive behavior such as "trying to make others dislike another child," "becoming friends with another child for reveng,", or "saying bad things or spreads nasty rumors about another child." In regard to physically aggressive behavior, the teachers and peers indicated to what extent the child "gets into fights," "physically attacks others," and "hits, bites, or kicks others."
Our results showed that genes account for up to 60% of interindividual differences in physical aggression whereas environmental factors explain around 40% of physical aggression. In contrast, social aggression is explained only to a small extent (approximately 20%) by genetic factors. In other words, social aggression is mostly (i.e., to 80%) a result of environmental influences. We also found, however, that the small amount of genetic influences that can be observed for social aggression are the same genes that also influence physical aggression. In contrast, the environmental influences that determine social aggression are completely different from the environmental influences that determine physical aggression. Finally, our results showed that high levels of physical aggression in a child lead to high levels of social aggression, but not the other way around.
Together, our findings suggest that some children exhibit strong aggressive tendencies already at an early age, which to a significant extent seem to be a result of genetic influences. Initially, these aggressive tendencies will be expressed through physical means such as hitting, biting, or kicking. Physical aggression is generally not socially accepted, however, and often leads to punishment. As such, many children who initially display physically aggressive behavior may soon learn to use more subtle strategies, such as rumor spreading or social exclusion. Children may quickly discover that these socially aggressive strategies are as effective in harming the victim as physical aggression, but are much harder to detect and therefore carry less risk of punishment. Whether a child shifts from physical to social aggression, however, seems to depend on whether he or she is exposed to environmental influences that specifically promote the use of social aggression.
What are the environmental influences that promote social aggression? Although we did not measure environmental influences directly in our study, other research has shown that parental behaviors are among the main environmental contributors to child aggression. A parental behavior that could be particularly relevant for the development of social - as opposed to physical - aggression in the child is psychological control. Psychological control includes relationally manipulative behaviors such as love withdrawal or induction of shame and guilt, which are highly similar to the manipulative tactics that define social aggression (e.g., social exclusion, threat of friendship withdrawal). Experiencing parental psychological control may foster specifically the development of social aggression in the child.
Empirical evidence for an effect of parental psychological control on child social aggression is still lacking, but studies show that other negative parenting behaviors such a lack of responsiveness and coercion are linked to social aggression in children. Of course, parents are not the only source of environmental influence on child behavior. Thus, research shows that children who have socially aggressive friends are likely to become more socially aggressive themselves. In contrast, interaction with physically aggressive friends is related to an increase in children's physical aggression.
Our findings suggest that reducing physically aggressive behavior at an early age might also help prevent the development of social aggression in young children. In this context, it is especially important to teach children that social aggression is as unacceptable as physical aggression, in order to prevent them from simply replacing one type of aggression by the other.
What can parents do to prevent or reduce social aggression? A first step in this context, of course, is for parents to refrain from setting bad examples themselves. Parents therefore may have to take an honest look not only at their own behavior toward their child or toward others but also at their acceptance of social aggression in general (e.g., Do I ever tell my child that I don't like her unless she does what I want or do I think that talking badly behind someone's back or publicly teasing someone about their flaws is unacceptable or do I think that this is not really serious and does not really hurt anyone?).
A second step is to actively monitor children's peer contacts by being aware of - and if necessary modify - whom their children socialize with and invite to birthday parties or other events. While this is probably easier with young children, parents' continued monitoring of their children's peer activities is also, perhaps especially, important in adolescence. To this end, parents should be open to and seek discussions with their older children about negative as well as positive peer experiences. Parents can also take an even more active role to curb social aggression in their children's peer interactions. In young children, parents may do so by supervising their children's interactions with play mates and by actively helping them resolve conflicts. For example, parents can point out hurtful comments and redirect conversations when their children engage in socially aggressive behaviors (e.g., 'It's not nice if you tell Jimmy not to play with Nick - we do not say bad things about someone else'). In older children, parents may take advantage of opportunities to overhear children's conversations (e.g., during carpooling) to intervene by interrupting or challenging malicious gossip.
Finally, parents should not hesitate to communicate with each other if they observe serious social aggression in their own children or in their children's friends.
Dr. Brendgen is an Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Quebec at Montreal and a Research Scientist at the Ste. Justine Childrenās Hospital in Montreal. She has published numerous articles and several book chapters on childrenās aggressive behavior and their relationships with peers. The research described in this article was published in Child Development, 2005, Vol. 76, pp. 930-946.
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