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THE ROLE OF PARENTS AND PEERS IN CHILDREN'S RESPONSES TO AGGRESSION AT HOME AND AT SCHOOL

Hauser, Jessica C

Abstract Details

2006, Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, Psychology/Clinical.
Social Information Processing theory (Crick & Dodge, 1994) proposes that children use information from their environment to develop scripts for social interactions, from which they draw when making decisions. The current study focuses on the response decision step of the SIP model, particularly script evaluation—the process by which individuals determine whether or not their previously established scripts are appropriate for a given situation. One aspect of this step that has not been considered by previous research is children’s perception of whether particular scripts would be approved of by significant others in their lives, such as parents and friends. Perceptions of what others think have been shown to be more predictive of children’s own beliefs and behaviors than the parents’ actual beliefs (Acock & Bengtson, 1980; Cashmore & Goodnow, 1985). The current study examines the types of responses (e.g., aggressive, pro-social, avoidant, etc.) children report that their friends or parents would endorse for them and whether those predicted responses were related to the children’s own decision making process in aggressive situations. The participants for this study were 80 fifth grade students, ranging in age from 10 to 12. Children were reported that their friends would support the most aggressive responses, followed by the children's own responses, and that parents would support the fewest aggressive responses. Results indicated that children’s perceptions of endorsed responses to aggression varies by target and setting, in that parents were seen as more likely to endorse aggression at home than at school and peers were more likely to endorse aggression at school than at home. Gender differences in responding were also found. The findings of this study have implications for future aggression prevention and reduction programs directed at children.
Dara Musher-Eizenman (Advisor)

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hauser, J. C. (2006). THE ROLE OF PARENTS AND PEERS IN CHILDREN'S RESPONSES TO AGGRESSION AT HOME AND AT SCHOOL [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1162574446

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hauser, Jessica. THE ROLE OF PARENTS AND PEERS IN CHILDREN'S RESPONSES TO AGGRESSION AT HOME AND AT SCHOOL. 2006. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1162574446.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hauser, Jessica. "THE ROLE OF PARENTS AND PEERS IN CHILDREN'S RESPONSES TO AGGRESSION AT HOME AND AT SCHOOL." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1162574446

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)