Aggressive Girls

Résumé du livre

This literature review examines the lifespan social contexts of aggressive girls, highlighting the prevalence, similarities, uniqueness, and importance of aggressive behaviour problems for girls' development. The report highlights three areas : how the behaviours of highly aggressive girls and boys differ, whether developmental processes are similar for girls' and boys' aggression and the difference in outcomes for girls and boys. The report concludes that developmentally, many individual characteristics, such as temperament, hyperactivity, pubertal timing, and social-cognitions may operate similarly for girls and boys. With age, however, the forms of aggression exhibited by boys and girls tend to diverge. Boys continue to be physically aggressive, whereas girls' aggression tends to be expressed in verbal and indirect ways. Due to socialization and sex-role expectations, girls' aggression is more likely to be unleashed in close relationships rather than as violent acts.