The present study examines the sex differences in 5-year-old preschoolers` aggression according to the type of aggression (overt, relational) and the effect of components of social information processing (SIP: interpretation, goal clarification, respo...
The present study examines the sex differences in 5-year-old preschoolers` aggression according to the type of aggression (overt, relational) and the effect of components of social information processing (SIP: interpretation, goal clarification, response generation, response evaluation) and emotional factors (emotionality, emotional knowledge, emotion regulation) on their aggression. The subjects were 112 5-year-olds (56 boys, 56 girls) and their 11 teachers recruited from 9 day-care centers in Seoul and Kyung-Ki province. Each child`s SIP and emotional knowledge were individually assessed with pictorial tasks and teachers reported on children`s aggression, emotionality, and emotion regulation by questionnaires. Results indicated that there was a significant sex difference only in the preschoolers` overt aggression. Overtly aggressive response generation in SIP was the strongest predictor of preschoolers` overt aggression while anger of negative emotionality in emotional factors was the strongest predictor of preschoolers` relational aggression.