Aggressive problem-solving strategies, aggressive behavior, and social acceptance in early and late adolescence

Abstract

This study examined the relations between aggressive problem-solving strategies and aggressive behavior, and the intervening role of social acceptance in that relation in early and late adolescence. The subjects were 1655 11- and 17-year-old adolescents (863 girls and 792 boys). They completed a questionnaire measuring aggressive problem-solving strategies, while assessments of aggressive behavior and social acceptance were obtained by peer nominations. The results showed that aggressive problem-solving strategies were significantly but not very highly associated with aggressive behavior among both age groups. The role of social acceptance was of high importance, this being the major finding of this study. The aggressive-accepted adolescents underestimated their aggressiveness, i.e., had as low a level of self-rated aggressive strategies as the nonaggressive adolescents. This was particularly true of the late adolescents. The self-rated strategies of the nonaggressive adolescents were not dependent on their level of social acceptance. Finally, some gender differences were found. The findings are discussed in terms of the development of sociability and social knowledge about the self.