Boys were assessed during the year before they began kindergarten on measures such as temperament, self-confidence, and responses to provocations. For boys who were attending daycare, their daycare teachers also rated them on aggressive and prosocial behaviors, and the daycare setting was evaluated. The following year, kindergarten teachers of the boys rated the boys on aggressive and prosocial behaviors. However, this effect does not appear to persist through kindergarten. Furthermore, family conflict may be related to reactive but not proactive aggression.
More detailed analyses are on-going.
Mother and twin behaviors are coded to assess the degree to which mothers respond to their children versus children respond to their mothers. Because twins are used, mothers' responses to identical versus fraternal twins can provide information about how much the children's own temperaments and behaviors influence the mothers' behaviors.