2-151 - New evidence for the distinction between reactive and proactive aggression

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Aggressive behavior can take different functions. It may be impulsive and defensive in response to provocation, i.e. reactive aggression, or it be more planful and goal-oriented to obtain material gain or social dominance, i.e. proactive aggression (Dodge, 1991). Although reactive and proactive aggression are statistically related and tend to co-occur, there appear to be unique correlates for the two functions of aggression (Card & Little, 2006). In the current symposium three studies will provide new evidence for the distinction between reactive and proactive aggression. The first study focuses on the prognostic and clinical value of the distinction between reactive and proactive aggression in a clinical sample of boys with severe disruptive behavior problems. In the second paper unique associations between social status among peers, more specifically peer popularity, and the two functions of aggression in a normative sample of adolescents were tested. The third study, including data of 13 cultural groups in nine countries, tested cross-cultural differences between (perceptions of) functions of aggression and its associations with different types of aggression. Together, the three presentations provide new insight in the validity and utility of the distinction between reactive and proactive aggression in normative and clinical samples across countries. Findings of different cognitive and behavioral antecedents and consequences for the two constructs have implications for diagnosis, prevention, and intervention. This will be further discussed in light of the ongoing debate on the distinction between reactive and proactive aggression (Miller & Lynam, 2006).

Sub Unit

• Developmental Psychopathology

Chair

• Sabine Stoltz, Radboud University Nijmegen

Discussant

• Marion K. Underwood, University of Texas at Dallas

Individual Presentations

• The diagnostic value of proactive aggression for boys with severe disruptive behavior problems - Presenting Author: Bram Orobio de Castro, Utrecht University; Welmoet Merk, Utrecht University

• Popularity Differentially Predicts Reactive and Proactive Aggression in Early Adolescence - Presenting Author: Sabine Stoltz, Radboud University Nijmegen; Antonius H. N. Cillessen, Radboud University Nijmegen; Yvonne H. M. van den Berg, Radboud University Nijmegen; Rob Gommans, Utrecht University

• Physical Aggression, Relational Aggression, and Endorsement of Reactive Aggression in Nine Countries - Presenting Author: Jennifer E Lansford, Duke University; Emma Sorbring, University West; Sevtap Gurdal, University West; Nina Tryggvason, University West; Jennifer Godwin, Duke University; Arnaldo Zelli, University of Rome; Liane Peña Alampay, Ateneo de Manila University; Suha Al-Hassan, Emirates College for Advanced Education; Dario Bacchini, Second University of Naples; Anna Silvia Bombi, Sviluppo e Socializzazione; Marc H Bornstein, National Institutes of Health; Lei Chang, Chinese Univ of Hong Kong; Kirby Deater-Deckard, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Laura Di Giunta, Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza"; Kenneth A Dodge, Duke University; Patrick S Malone, Duke University; Paul Oburu, University Maseno; Concetta Pastorelli, Universita di Roma; Ann T. Skinner, Duke University; Sombat Tapanya, Chiang Mai University; Liliana Maria Uribe Tirado, Universidad San Buenaventura