Variables Associated with Violence-related Attitudes AGVQ scores were related to several demographic factors. Unsurprisingly, boys obtained higher scores than girls. An intriguing developmental pattern was found. AGVQ scores showed no change between the 3rd and 5th grades, increased dramatically between the 5th and 6th grades, and then showed no further change through high school. This pattern was obtained for boys and girls, African Americans and Whites, and students in all four school systems, regardless of whether a transition from elementary to middle school occurred between 5th and 6th grades.
Puberty seems to be part of the answer.
However, by itself, puberty can not explain our findings because sexual development begins at different ages for different children, and it occurs gradually over a much longer age-span than the interval between 5th and 6th grades. One possible explanation of our results would emphasize the interaction of physiological and social learning processes. The increased aggression levels of early maturing children may cause increased aggression in their pre-pubescent peers as a result of both modeling and increased levels of threat. There were some differences between Whites and African Americans, but these were weak and inconsistent. Our studies inquired about students' past exposure to guns and violence.