Proactive and Reactive Aggression and Cognitive and Affective Empathy among Students in Middle Childhood

Abstract

Youth who engage in proactive and reactive aggression are more likely to be rejected by peers than those not involved in bully-victim conflicts. With poor social information processing skills, children engaging in bullying behaviors do not possess the appropriate levels of affective and cognitive empathy to defuse aggressive situations. Youth with low levels of cognitive empathy may understand the emotions of others but choose not to react to these feelings. This research study examines the relationship between proactive and reactive aggression and cognitive and affective empathy in typically-developing children, age nine to eleven. The research findings show that cognitive and affective empathy are not significant predictors of proactive aggression; however, they are significant predictors of reactive aggression.