They tend to be rejected by peers but are unaware of this. Not knowing that they are rejected makes it difficult for them to improve their peer relations. Over time, they become more aggressive and less effective in conventional realms, such as school. It seems likely that the origins of these boys' aggression is harsh, punitive parenting, the most researched avenue to aggressiveness. Its results include poor social skills, deficiency in academic work and poor performance in school.
Aggressive boys see other people as hostile, especially to themselves.
They respond to hostility they perceive or imagine by aggressive actions, which creates hostility to them. It is possible that some aggressive boys do have low self-esteem. Other aggressive boys are defensive and fulfill the need for seeing themselves in a good light by having a 'compensatory' self-esteem. Aggressive boys blaming others for negative outcomes, which is consistent with the Freudian view of projection of one's own problemamatic characteristics into others, supports the notion of some kind of defensive process. Children and youth will strive to gain a positive image of themselves.