Citation

Renouf A, Brendgen MR, Seguin JR, Vitaro F, Boivin M, Dionne G, Tremblay RE, Perusse D. J. Abnorm. Child Psychol. 2010; 38(8): 1109-1123.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Quebec at Montreal, CP 8888, succ. centre-ville, Montréal, QC, Canada, H3C 3P8.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10802-010-9432-z

PMID

20544385

PMCID

PMC3283569

Abstract

This study investigated the relation between theory of mind and reactive and proactive aggression, respectively, as well as the moderating role of peer victimization in this context. The 574 participants were drawn from a longitudinal study of twins. Theory of mind was assessed before school entry, when participants were 5 years old. Reactive and proactive aggression as well as peer victimization were assessed a year later in kindergarten. Results from multilevel regression analyses revealed that low theory of mind was related to a high level of reactive aggression, but only in children who experienced average to high levels of peer victimization. In contrast, a high theory of mind was related to a high level of proactive aggression. Again, this relation was especially pronounced in children who experienced high levels of peer victimization. These findings challenge the social skills deficit view of aggression and provide support for a multidimensional perspective of aggressive behavior.

Language: en