Examining Sex Differences in the Use of Direct and Indirect Aggression

Direct and indirect aggressive behaviors were studied using surveys and interviews of students in two public schools. The variables of “sex-of-aggressor” and “sex-of-target” were included. Claims in previous research that girls engage in far more indirect aggression than boys are not supported. Further, it was found that girls are more likely to target the opposite sex with direct aggression than boys. This suggests more gender fluidity in the use of aggression by girls and adds to a growing body of research that dispels the notion that direct and indirect aggression can be neatly sorted into male and female categories of behavior.

Sibylle ArtzEmail:

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Sibylle Artz   Ph.D., is a Full Professor in the School Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria. Her research focuses on aggression and violence and girls’ use of violence. She has written two books, Feeling as a Way of Knowing (1994) and Sex, Power and the Violent School Girl, (1997) and co-edited, a third book Working Relationally with Girls, (2004), with Dr. Marie Hoskins. Diana Nicholson   is a Ph.D., Candidate in the Centre for Cross-Faculty Inquiry in Education at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Her research in the past decade has focused largely on supporting at-risk youth. She has a general interest in effective practice with children and youth, and a special interest in qualitative inquiry and relationally-based educational initiatives. Dr. Douglas Magnuson   is Associate Professor in the School of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria. He is working on a study in child protection, including (a) the use of influence methods and mandated authority, (b) professional judgment and decision-making, and (c) the use of solution-focused methods in domestic violence cases. In recent years he has published articles on the pedagogy of spirituality in child and youth care. He is the editor of Working with Youth in Divided and Contested Societies and has a forthcoming article in Youth and Policy.