Poster #222 - Relations Between Trait Reactive and Proactive Aggression and Daily Emotions in Adolescents

• In Event: 1-005 - Poster Session 01
  In Poster Session: PS 01 Section - Social Relationships

Integrative Statement

Introduction: This study expands the literature on emotions and functions of aggressive behavior by taking a comprehensive daily diary approach. Specifically, we examined whether individual differences in trait reactive and proactive aggression: 1) relate to level of daily emotion (anger, fear, sadness, and happiness), 2) predict day-to-day change in these emotions (i.e., variability), and 3) moderate reactivity of these emotions to positive and negative events.

Method: Participants were 150 ethnically diverse adolescents (84 girls, M age = 13.53 years; SD = 1.32). During a home visit, adolescents completed questionnaires of trait reactive and proactive aggression using the Reactive and Proactive Aggression subscales of the Forms and Functions of Aggression Questionnaire (Little, Henrich, Jones, & Hawley, 2003). On the following Monday, participants began completing 12 consecutive electronic daily diaries including measures of daily emotion and daily events. Daily emotions were assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect Scale for Children (PANAS-C; Huebner & Dew, 1995) and positive and negative events were assessed by having adolescents indicate the presence of an event in relevant domains (e.g., peers, family, school).

Results: See Table 1 for descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations. HLM was used to account for the nested structure of the data (days within adolescents). For each question (emotion level, variability, reactivity), four analyses were run with each emotion (anger, fear, sadness, and happiness) serving as the dependent variable in a separate analysis. A random intercept and slope were included in each model, where appropriate. Within-person predictors were time and level of the three non-focal emotions on that day. Between-person predictors were gender (0=girls), reactive and proactive aggression, and the between-person version of each of the three non-focal emotions.

Results indicated that reactive but not proactive aggression was associated with more daily anger (B = .17, z = 2.43, p < .05), more change in anger day-to-day (B =.28, z = 3.29, p < .01), and greater angry reactivity to negative events (B = .22, z = 2.23, p <.05; Figure 1). Additionally, reactive aggression predicted less daily happiness (B = -.51 , z = -2.64, p <.01) but heightened reactivity to positive events (B = .09, z = 1.95, p < .05) . In contrast, proactive aggression was associated with reduced day-to-day change in happiness (B = -.53, z = -2.22, p < .03). No significant associations emerged for sadness or fear.

Discussion: The inclusion of three separate assessments of each emotion at the daily level (level, variability, reactivity) enabled an in-depth analysis of relations between trait reactive and proactive aggression and youths’ daily emotional lives. Findings support theory describing reactive aggression as emotional, with reactive aggression being linked to greater daily anger and less daily happiness. Results provide similar support for characterizations of proactive aggression as unemotional, with this subtype being related to less day-to-day change in happiness.

Authors

• Christina Moore, University of Delaware
  Presenting Author

• Julie A. Hubbard, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author

• Megan K Bookhout, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author

• Fanny Mlawer, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author