Student-Reported Overt and Relational Aggression and Victimization in Grades 3-8. Summary. Issues &amp; Answers. REL 2011-No. 114
Author: Nishioka, Vicki
Date: 2011-03-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Aggression,Bullying,Victims of Crime,Elementary School Students,Middle School Students,Incidence,Gender Differences,Student Characteristics,Student Attitudes,Institutional Characteristics,Age Differences,Student Surveys

This secondary analysis of survey data from a voluntary sample of 11,561 grade 3-8 students examines the prevalence and distribution of aggression, victimization, and approval of aggression, both overt (verbally and physically aggressive behavior intended to threaten or harm) and relational (behavior intended to harm someone's relationships with others). The report presents both descriptive statistics and the results of hierarchical linear modeling (all results are reported at the 0.05 level of statistical significance). The following are key findings: (1) On the Normative Beliefs about Aggression Survey, 1-12 percent of girls and 4-20 percent of boys in grades 3-5 reported that retaliation was &quot;sort of OK&quot; to &quot;perfectly OK;&quot; (2) For the study sample, school factors were associated with 1-7 percent of the variation in student survey scores, and student characteristics, such as gender and grade level, were associated with 93-99 percent of the variation; (3) On the Normative Beliefs about Aggression Survey, boys approved of aggression more than girls did both in general social situations and in situations involving retaliation; (4) On the Peer Experiences Questionnaire, students in grades 7 and 8 reported higher agreement with beliefs that endorsed aggression than did students in grade 3 when asked whether bullying &quot;pays of,&quot; whether a student who gets bullied &quot;deserves it,&quot; and whether a student should intervene if others are fighting; (5) For overt victimization, 12-61 percent of girls and 17-60 percent of boys reported being victimized at least once during the last 30 days, and 2-10 percent of girls and 3-14 percent of boys reported being victimized once or more a week, with the percentage varying by the behavior; (6) For relational victimization, 41-48 percent of girls and 31-42 percent of boys reported exposure during the last 30 days, and 4-6 percent of girls and boys reported exposure once or more a week, depending on the behavior; (7) For overt aggression, 3-37 percent of girls and 7-44 percent of boys reported perpetrating such acts during the last 30 days, and 0.4-2 percent of girls and 1-5 percent of boys reported perpetrating such acts once or more a week, depending on the behavior; (8) For relational aggression, 21-28 percent of girls and 20-24 percent of boys reported perpetrating such acts during the last 30 days, and 0.8-1 percent of girls and 1-2 percent of boys reported perpetrating such acts once or more a week, depending on the behavior; (9) Boys reported more overt victimization, overt aggression, and relational aggression toward other students than did girls; (10) No significant differences between girls and boys were found in the frequency of relational victimization; and (11) Differences between overt and relational aggression were also associated with grade level. [For &quot;Student-Reported Overt and Relational Aggression and Victimization in Grades 3-8. Issues &amp; Answers. REL 2011-No. 114&quot;, see ED518227.]