Anger, Sympathy, and Children’s Reactive and Proactive Aggression: Testing a Differential Correlate Hypothesis

• In Event: 3-082 - Sympathy, Moral Reasoning, and Aggression: new Developmental Perspectives

Integrative Statement

INTRODUCTION: Theorists have postulated that emotion processes involving anger and sympathy may uniquely contribute to distinct types of aggressive behavior (Arsenio & Lemerise, 2004; Hubbard et al., 2010). Dysregulated anger is hypothesized to be more strongly linked to the development of reactive/“hot-blooded” aggression (RA) in response to threat/provocation, whereas a dearth of other-oriented concern may be more indicative of proactive/“cold-blooded” aggression (PA) in the pursuit of goals. However, research concerning the affective correlates of RA and PA has predominantly focused on anger-related processes in middle childhood and adolescence, and has produced mixed results (cf. Hubbard et al., 2002; Ostrov et al., 2013). No studies have examined the differential effects of anger and sympathy on RA and PA in early childhood. Doing so is essential to inform interventions targeting the mechanisms underlying distinct forms of aggression before stable conduct problems emerge (Vitaro et al., 2006).
This multi-method, multi-informant study tested whether children’s self-reported anger reactivity, anger regulation ability, and sympathy were differentially associated with caregiver ratings RA and PA in early and middle childhood. We expected that children reporting more intense anger reactivity and less effective anger regulation strategies would evidence higher levels of RA. In contrast, we hypothesized that children who expressed less sympathy would evidence higher levels of PA. It was unclear whether anger reactivity/regulation would be associated with PA given the mixed findings from past research.

METHODS: The sample consisted of 4- and 8-year-olds and their caregivers (n = 150 in each age group; 50% female) from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Data were collected during visits to a university laboratory. Caregivers completed a 12-item measure assessing children’s RA and PA using a 7-point rating scale (Little et al., 2003; αs =.85-.89). Trained research assistants conducted structured interviews to elicit children’s self-reported emotions. Anger reactivity was assessed by presenting children with hypothetical vignettes depicting different types of social conflicts (see Malti, et al., 2009) and asking them to rate on a 3-point scale how angry they would feel as victims of the acts (αs = .80-.90). Anger regulation was assessed using the four-item regulation coping subscale of the Children’s Anger Management Scale (Zeman et al., 2002; αs =.76-.78). Sympathy was assessed using a four-item scale from Eisenberg et al. (1996; αs =.77). Items from the anger regulation and sympathy scales were read aloud and children rated how well the statements described them on a 3-point scale. Children’s verbal ability (a control) was measured with the verbal subtest of the K-Bit-2 (Kauffman & Kauffman, 2004).

RESULTS: Path modeling was used to test hypotheses (see Table/Figure 1). Across ages and gender, dysregulated anger was more strongly associated with RA, whereas lower sympathy was more strongly linked to PA. Unexpectedly, anger reactivity did not predict children’s aggressive behavior, with one exception: lower anger reactivity was associated with higher PA in 8-year-old males.

CONCLUSION: These findings support the hypothesis that anger and sympathy are differentially involved in RA and PA, and suggest that these distinct affective correlates are evident by the preschool years.

Authors

• Marc Jambon, University of Toronto
  Presenting Author

• Tyler Colasante, University of Toronto at Mississauga
  Non-Presenting Author

• Joanna Peplak, University of Toronto
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tina Malti, University of Toronto
  Non-Presenting Author