Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine whether gender differences in aggression exist among kindergarten children. Two hypotheses guided this study: (a) There is no significant relationship between males and females on aggression (b) There is no significant relationship between children’s physical aggression and relational aggression. The observational research design was used to address these hypotheses. A purposive sample of 50 children (30 boys and 20 girls) were recruited for the study and data gathered by observation. From the analysis of data, statistically significant relationship between physical aggression and relational aggression in children was found. Moreover, results from independent t-test analysis did not yield statistically significant differences between male and female children in aggression.
Introduction
Gender differences in aggression have been documented in many studies. Generally, boys have been found to display physically aggressive behaviour more than girls (Eagly & Steffen, 1986; French, Jansen & Pidada, 2002). The differences in aggression exhibited by females and males have been explained using biological theories and gender-based socialisation theories (Eagly & Steffen, 1986). Aggression during childhood is of great importance to parents and educational stakeholders because of the detrimental effects it can have on children and also because it has been found to have lifetime negative developmental outcomes linked to a perpetrator of such acts during childhood (Broidy et al., 2003). Despite its importance, no evidence of empirical study has been carried out to examine the gender differences in aggression in the school district under study. Because of this, there is a need for research in this area.
Many studies have also reported no statistically significant gender differences in relational aggression. For instance, a study conducted by Österman et al. (1994) using samples of 8-year old children found out that the male children were more physically aggressive than their female counterparts, but no significant differences in relational aggression were found. Similar findings in relational aggression have been reported by Hart, Nelson, Robinson, Olsen, and McNeilly-Choque (1998) using Russian sample and Sakai and Yamasaki (2004) using Japanese sample. On the contrary, some studies have reported gender differences in relational aggression, with some reporting that girls are more relationally aggressive than boys (French, Jansen & Pidada, 2002; Österman et al., 1998).
Studies have also been carried out to examine the relationship between physical and relational aggression. The studies have revealed a positive and statistically significant relationship between the two variables. For instance, a study conducted by Kawabata, Crick, and Hamaguchi (2010) revealed that physical aggression and relational aggression were positively correlated in a sample of Japanese and American four-grade children. This means that children who displayed physical aggression are more likely to show or use relational aggression.
Aggression in children can be explained using Bandura’s social learning theory (SLT). The theory posits that an individual’s behaviour is shaped by observing the behaviours of other people (which he called models). According to SLT, an individual can learn aggressive behaviours by observing and imitating the same behaviours from other individuals. According to Bandura, the process of acquiring new sets of behaviours by observing and imitating others is referred to as modelling (or vicarious learning). In vicarious learning, an individual can learn aggressive behaviours without necessarily being directly reinforced for the aggressive behaviour. For this to be achieved, an individual must observe an aggressive behaviour being in another person being rewarded in some way e.g. by not being punished.
The purpose of the present study was to find out gender differences in aggression among kindergarten children. The study was guided by two hypotheses: (a) There is no significant relationship between males and females on aggression (b) There is no significant relationship between children’s physical aggression and relational aggression.
Methodology
The sample for this study was derived from kindergarten children. The participants were recruited by purposive sampling. The total number of participants recruited were 50 (30 boys and 20 girls) children. The age of the students ranged from 4 to 6 years. For this study, the researcher employed observational research design. The independent variable was gender (male or female) while the dependent variable was aggression. Two types of aggression were of interest in the study: physical aggression and relational aggression.
In the present observational study, the frequency of occurrence of aggression (both physical aggression and relational aggression) was observed for fifteen minutes and recorded. Timing was done by the use of a stopwatch. Physical aggression refers to behaviours that result in physical harm to other people while relational aggression is the act of harming others by intentionally manipulating and damaging their peer relationship.
The study was purely observational. Each child was observed for 15 minutes and the behaviours he or she demonstrated to their peers when playing recorded. The researcher observed and recorded physical aggression as shown by the children through kicking, hitting, and threats to other children. Another form of aggression observed and recorded was relational aggression e.g. gossiping, exclusion, and spreading false rumours. For each of these types of aggression, the observer recorded in detail what he observed as well as the gender of the student showing the behaviour. The number of times the child displayed these set of behaviours was recorded. The higher the number, the higher the form of aggression.
Results
The relationship between children’s physical aggression and relational aggression.
Pearson’s product-moment correlation analysis was conducted in SPSS version 20 to find out if physical and relational aggression are correlated. The results of the Pearson correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant correlation coefficient between children’s physical aggression and relational aggression, r (20) = 0.80, p< .05 (see Table 1). The relationship between the two variables is positive since the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, r, is .80.
Gender differences in aggression.
Independent-samples t-test analysis was conducted to examine if gender differences in aggression exist. The t-test procedure (see Table 4.3) established no statistically significant difference between male and female students in terms aggression (t (20) = -.70, p = .66). On examining group means, female students (M = 10, SD = 9.25), were found to have a slightly higher aggression mean scores than their male counterparts (M = 8.7, SD =10.89) though the difference was not significant (p = .494). These results are shown in Table 2 below.
Discussion
The study design used in the study was observational research. The advantages of the design are: it allows access to individuals in real life situations, allows access to situations where questionnaires or interview methods are inappropriate to use, and gives a good explanation of meaning and context. The study was guided by two hypotheses. The first hypothesis was: There is no significant relationship between males and females on aggression. The second hypothesis was: There is no significant relationship between children’s physical aggression and relational aggression.
The present study focussed on finding out if gender differences in aggression exist among kindergarten children. Efforts should be made to find out if race is a factor in aggression. Moreover, future studies should investigate the sources of aggression observed in children.
References
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Hart, C. H., Nelson, D. A., Robinson, C. C., Olsen, S. F., & McNeilly-Choque, M. K. (1998). Overt and relational aggression in Russian nursery-school-age children: parenting style and marital linkages. Developmental psychology, 34(4), 687.
Kawabata, Y., Crick, N. R., & Hamaguchi, Y. (2010). The role of culture in relational aggression: Associations with social-psychological adjustment problems in Japanese and US school-aged children. International Journal of Behavioral Development.
Österman, K., Björkqvist, K., Lagerspetz, K. M., Kaukiainen, A., Huesmann, L. R., & Fraczek, A. (1994). Peer and self‐estimated aggression and victimization in 8‐year‐old children from five ethnic groups. Aggressive Behavior, 20(6), 411-428.
Sakai, A., & Yamasaki, K. (2004). [Development of a proactive and reactive aggression questionnaire for elementary school children]. Shinrigaku kenkyu: The Japanese journal of psychology, 75(3), 254-261.
