Gender Differences in Aggressive Behaviour

INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SARAJEVO

PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Gender Differences in Aggressive Behavior in

Adolescence

Researched by Merve TUNALI

Thursday, 13th

December, 2012

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ABSTRACT

The primary goal of the research paper is to provide a reader better understanding in the

cause-effect relationship of aggression among adolescents. There are also mentioned several facts

for teens. The reasons why are adolescents are more aggressive than others will also be explained

throughout the study. There are different factors that increase likelihood of aggressive behavior.

Some things are possible to be done on the individual level.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................... 2

1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 4

1.2 "Risk Factors" associated with Aggressive Behavior ................................................. 6

1.3 What to Do as an Individual? ...................................................................................... 8

2.1 Methodology ............................................................................................................... 9

2.1.1 Purpose of Research ...................................................................................... 9

2.1.2 Hypothesis ..................................................................................................... 9

2.1.3 Sample ........................................................................................................... 10

2.1.4 Procedure ....................................................................................................... 10

2.1.5 Model of Data Analysis ................................................................................. 10

2.1.6 Discussion ..................................................................................................... 10

3.1 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 12

APPENDIX A - Sample of Questionary ................................................................................. 13

APPENDIX B - Results of Questionary ................................................................................. 14

Reference ................................................................................................................................ 15

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1.1 Introduction

“Aggression is inherently destructive of relationships. People and ideologies are pitted

against each other, believing that in order to survive, they must destroy the opposition.”~

Margaret J. WHEATLEY

“Aggression unopposed becomes a contagious disease.”~ Jimmy CARTER

“The most important distinction between aggression and assertion is it intent. During assertion,

we move ourselves toward another; during aggression, we move ourselves against another.”~

Georgia LANOIL

“Aggression is the first step on the slippery slope to selfishness and chaos.”~ Anne CAMPBELL

“Aggression is a constructive energy at the service of development, differentiation, mastery,

object relations, and the maintenance of a satisfactory balance between the self and the

environment.”~ Ana-maria RIZZUTO

Human beings experience the aggressive behavior during their life cycle. Aggressive behavior

can be very devastating. It is done in the following situations: when an individual is viciously

teased by other adolescent. There are various types of aggressive behavior among adolescents.

First form is physical aggression. It is associated with biting, hair-pulling, hitting, kicking,

pushing, slapping, shooting, and rape. Second form is related with verbal aggression in terms of

threatening other individual or group of people. Name-calling and teasing also belong to the same

type of aggressive behavior. Finally, there is indirect aggression in the form of gossiping and

spreading rumors. There is also the situation in which an individual encourage other human

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beings to reject the third party. In a situation when an individual tries to harm another one, he

performs an act of aggression.

Adolescents have a serious problem with aggressive behavior. Teens in the grades six to ten bully

their classmates and other students. More than one student in high schools has a physical fight.

Approximately 40 percent of male adolescents have committed a serious violent offense by the

age of 17. For instance, the offense is robbery, gang fights, and rape. Around 30 percent of female

adolescents have committed the same. There are many youths under the age of 18 arrested for

homicide. Aggressive behavior is the common case in the toddler years. The most dangerous

stage of aggression occurs at the transition period from the late teen years to the early adulthood.

Also, small children behave aggressively. Frustrated toddlers push other children. They also bit or

hit others. As they get older they start with verbal aggression. It means that they start yelling on

others. They experience temper tantrums.

From the early beginning, males are more involved in physical and verbal aggression than girls.

On the other hand, females use more indirect means of aggression. For instance, they do the

withdrawal of friendships among each other. They also spread rumors. It is commonly known that

females gossip much more than males. Females are ready to encourage others to reject the third

person from their group.

The level of aggression decreases as children mature. It is the case due to more effective

self-control skills. They also develop language and interpersonal skills. There is small number of

normal adolescents as they move to higher grades of school. They start fighting and bullying with

others. Those children have big predispositions to do serious violence as they become older. The

concerning level of violence may continue also in adulthood. Very aggressive teens and adults

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engage in serious violence. Teens become aggressive when they spend time with their friends

who are involved in antisocial activities. The percentage of involvement in serious violence

before the age of 12 increases a lot. This amount it larger than during the teenage years. The peak

stage of serious violence and aggression appears to be during the late teen ages for males. It may

also continue in early adulthood, but the number will become smaller with age. On the other side,

females experience the peak stage of serious violence and aggression in the early teenage years.

Aggressive adolescents are risk seeking individuals. There is a high risk of delinquency, early and

very risky sexual activities substance abuse.

1.2 "Risk Factors" associated with aggressive behavior

There are several reasons why some children are more aggressive than others. The answer on

particular issues is quite complicated. Some human beings blame the parents of aggressive

children, while other put emphasis on the television and video games violence. There are various

"risk factors" that increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior. The more detailed explanation

follows:

a) Individual Characteristics. The amount of individual characteristics increase the risk of

aggressive behavior in adolescence. They are attention problems, a difficult temperament,

hyperactivity, impulsivity, and low level of intelligence. Aggressive individuals face poor

social problem-solving skills. They interpret wrongly the behavior of others. As a result,

they cannot respond non-aggressively to the particular content.

b) Home Environment. This environment has significant impact on the amount of risk of

aggressive behavior. The home atmosphere such as parents' manipulation with their

children, little emotional support, non-monitoring activities, and low involvement in the

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life of child raise the risk of aggressive behavior of adolescent. There is a direct relation

between aggressive behavior and inconsistent discipline. The same case is with harsh

punishments.

c) Relationship with Peers. In general, peers reject children who behave aggressively. The

same case is with children who have lack of social skills. The early rejection from peers

results in the later aggressive and violent behavior. The most aggressive adolescents have

well developed relationship with others. This relationship is based on antisocial attitudes.

These types of friendships predict aggressive behavior of a child with age.

d) Failure at School. Individuals face with behavior problems at the early stage of life.

Those problems lead to poor school achievements of students. There is a risk of school

failure. The problems are very significant factors for delinquency in adolescents. There is

also great impact on the involvement with antisocial peers groups in the period of

adolescence.

e) Media Violence Exposure. There are many evidences associated with a relationship

between aggressive behavior in adolescence and exposure to violence television programs.

Individuals become more aggressive in physical and verbal terms immediately after

watching some programs with violence scenes. Aggressive children are willing to watch

more violent programs on television then less aggressive ones. Exposure to television

violence at the early life stage results in higher level of aggression later. The impact of

violent music videos increase the aggressive way of thinking. Video games with violent

activities have fairly small impact on level of physical aggression.

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f) Social Factors and Community. The risk of aggressive behavior is become larger in the

life situations such as discrimination, joblessness, and poverty. Neighborhood has also

great impact on the aggression of adolescents. It is in terms of availability of alcohol,

drugs, and firearms. Also, there is the case of extreme poverty and disintegration by other

neighbors.

The child with more risk factors have higher tendency to act aggressively. Significant role in the

development of aggression plays family factor. The role of friends is more crucial during the

adolescence. Very small number of children become highly aggressive. There are some protective

factors, such as a commitment to school, as well as a good and positive relationship with a

supportive adult. They may save child from developing aggressive behavior, despite many risk

factors. Interventions related with protective factors decrease aggressive behavior in period of

adolescence.

1.3 What to Do as an Individual?

There are some things that can be done on an individual level in order to decrease aggression in

adolescence. First of all, an individual should make a commitment not to behave aggressively and

violently. He should not bully others. Negative gossiping should be avoided. Every human being

must show the respect to others. A person has to value the difference with others. Second, the

involvement in a community group may help. Individuals should play a musical instruments and

sports. They may also write a play or poem. Additional solution is join a club of interest as well

as after-school program. Third, adolescent should have open conversation with trustable adult

who may be a parent, counselor or other person of trust. Adolescent needs help in situation when

he feels angry, depressed, fearful, and sad. The help is needed in terms of handling with troubles

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of paying attention at school. Fourth, the consumption of alcohol and drugs should be avoided

due to the strong link with aggressive behavior. Fifth, it is necessary to learn the ways of

resolving arguments and conflicts without an act of aggression. An individual should encourage

his friends to do the same. There are trainings related with conflict resolution skills, offered by

after-school programs, and churches. Sixth, an individual should avoid carrying any weapons

without a valid certificate. It is illegal act. Carrying a weapon will not make adolescent safer. In

many cases, weapons escalate conflicts. There is a greater chance of being seriously injured.

Adolescent in serious danger should talk to a person of trust, school administrators, and the police.

For safety reasons, adolescent should avoid situations of being alone, but to stay with friends

when possible. Last but not least significant is the initiative action of reducing aggression in

community. The promotion of non-violence programs should be done. There are some useful

documents for the beginning. For instance, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

Prevention's National Youth Network may provide necessary information and resources to take

action in community. There is a way to get better insight into effective programs. It is also

possible to find out what other adolescents do around the nation.

2.1 METHODOLOGY

2.1.1 Purpose of research

The purpose of performing this research is to examine the gender differences in aggressive

behavior is adolescence by using the experimental method as one of the research methodologies.

2.1.2 Hypothesis

Males adolescents have higher likelihood of being more aggressive in any terms than females.

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2.1.3 Sample

The sample population contains 50 adolescents in the Mall. There were 25 girls and 25 boys.

2.1.4 Procedure

The data for the methodological part of the paper are the taken from the textbooks, available

literature, articles, and the real observation of adolescents. Experimental method is used for

determining the cause-effect relationships of aggression among adolescents in psychological

terms. The adolescents were under observation at the Mall.

2.1.5 Model of Data Analysis

I have used Kingsoft Office Tools 2012 for completing the research study. The part related with

the Methodology is completed by using the same tools. The print screens are uploaded in the

Appendix A at the end of paper.

2.1.6 Discussion

There are 40 participants who fully agree that aggressive behavior can be very devastating. 27

human beings partially agree that adolescents have a serious problem with aggressive behavior.

35 people fully agree that males are more involved in physical and verbal aggression than girls

from the early beginning. There are 32 participants who partially agree that females use more

indirect means of aggression. 42 individuals fully agree that females do the withdrawal of

friendships among each other. 29 examined individuals partially agree that the peak stage of

serious violence and aggression appears to be during the late teen ages for males. There are 35

individuals who partially agree that females experience the peak stage of serious violence and

aggression in the early teenage years. 30 out of 50 participants fully agree that males start

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fighting and bullying with others at higher grades of school. There are 43 people who fully agree

that females often encourage other to reject the third person from their group. Last but not least,

there are 26 participants who fully agree about the statement that male and female teens become

aggressive when they spend time with their friends who are involved in antisocial activities.

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3.1 Conclusion

The primary aim of the research study was to explain the causes and effects of aggressive

behavior among teens more briefly. Facts about adolescents are covered. There are several risk

factors that are directly associated with aggression. They are: individual characteristics, home

environment, relationship with peers, failure at school, media violence exposure, and social

factors and community. What to do as an individual?

“Aggression only moves in one direction - it creates more aggression.”~ Margaret J.

WHEATLEY

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Appendix A

QUESTIONARY ABOUT GENDER DIFFERENCES IN

AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IN ADOLESCENCE

The survey is prepared for the requirements of project. The project is assigned by a lecturer of the

course PSY 202 - Research Methods in Psychology. The experimental method is used for

determining the cause-effect relationship among adolescents in psychological terms. Please select

the most appropriate answer. The possible answers are given below:

(1) totally disagree; (2) partially agree; (3) neutral; (4) partially agree; (5) totally agree.

Gender:__________

1. Aggressive behavior can be very devastating.

(1) totally disagree __ (2) partially agree__ (3) neutral__ (4) partially agree__(5) totally agree__

2. Adolescents have a serious problem with aggressive behavior.


3. From the early beginning, males are more involved in physical and verbal aggression

than girls.


4. Females use more indirect means of aggression.


5. Females do the withdrawal of friendships among each other.


6. The peak stage of serious violence and aggression appears to be during the late teen

ages for males.


7. Females experience the peak stage of serious violence and aggression in the early

teenage years.


8. At higher grades of school males start fighting and bullying with others.


9. Females often encourage other to reject the third person from their group.


10. Male and female teens become aggressive when they spend time with their friends who

are involved in antisocial activities.


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Appendix B

Questionary about Gender Differences in Aggressive Behavior in Adolescence

Gender

Female 25

Male 25

Question A 1 A 2 A 3 A 4 A 5 TOTAL

Q1 5 5 40 50

Q2 2 7 9 27 5 50

Q3 5 10 35 50

Q4 5 13 32 50

Q5 8 42 50

Q6 10 6 29 5 50

Q7 2 13 35 50

Q8 12 6 2 30 50

Q9 7 43 50

Q10 4 20 26 50

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REFERENCE

1. National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center ( 2002 ). Facts for Teens:

Aggression.Rockville. Retrived from

http://www.herkimercounty.org/content/Departments/View/11:field=services;/content/Depart

mentServices/View/68:field=documents;/content/Documents/File/123.PDF

2. Barry, Tammy D., Lochman, John E. (2004 ). Aggression In Adolescents: Strategies For

Parents And Educators. Bethesda, MD : National Association of School Psychologists.

3. Rappaport, Nancy., Thomas, Christopher. ( 2004 ). Recent Research Findings on Aggressive

and Violent Behavior in Youth: Implications for Clinical Assessment and Intervention.

Journal Of Adolescent Health.New York : Elsevier.

4. Quin, Caitriona., Tawse, Scott. ( 2009 ). Handbook of Aggressive Behavior Research.

Adolescent Aggression Towards Parents:Factors Associated And Intervention Proposals.

Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

5. Jelle J. Sijtsema, Tiina Ojanen, René Veenstra et al.( 2009 ). Social Development. Forms and

Functions of Aggression in Adolescent Friendship Selection and Influence: A Longitudinal

Social Network Analysis. Blackwell Publishing.

6. Reference for citations (data unavailable):

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/aggression.html

7. Reference for citations (data unavailable):

http://www.notable-quotes.com/a/aggression_quotes.html

http://www.herkimercounty.org/content/Departments/View/11:field=services;/content/DepartmentServices/View/68:field=documents;/content/Documents/File/123.PDF

http://www.herkimercounty.org/content/Departments/View/11:field=services;/content/DepartmentServices/View/68:field=documents;/content/Documents/File/123.PDF

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/aggression.html

http://www.notable-quotes.com/a/aggression_quotes.html

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