Rodne razlike u percepciji odnosa sa sestrom i manifestaciji proaktivne i reaktivne agresivnosti kod mlađih adolescenata

Abstract

The main goal of this research was to examine the role that the quality of relationships among siblings has in explaining aggressive behaviour during adolescence. In other words, the research studied the contribution of specific quality dimensions (warmth, conflicts and mother’s favouritism) of relationships with sisters in explaining proactive and reactive aggression in young adolescents. Boys (N=160) and girls (N=192) aged 13 to 15 who have an up to 5 years younger or older sister participated in the research. The results of the analyses of gender differences show that boys have a greater tendency to exhibit proactive and reactive aggression, and that in comparison with boys, girls perceive significantly more warmth in their relationships with their sisters. The correlation and regression analyses confirm the assumptions that there is a strong connection between positive and negative aspects of relationships with sisters on the one hand and some aspects of psychosocial functioning in mixed (brother-sister) and same-gender dyads (sister-sister) on the other. More specifically, the conflict dimension in relationships with sisters is a significant independent predictor of reactive and proactive aggression in both boys and girls. Namely, the results of regression analyses show a higher level of proactive and reactive aggression in girls and boys who have stronger feelings of antagonism, competitiveness, arguing and domination in relationships with their sisters. In the girls subsample, another significant predictor of reactive aggression was the dimension of warmth in the relationships with their sisters.