Differential associations between relational and physical aggression: why do teachers and parents perceive these behaviors differently?

Abstract

ABSTRACT The goal of the study was to examine preschool teachers’ (N = 96) and parents’ (N = 82) perceptions of seriousness, empathy, likelihood to intervene, and intervention responses for perpetrators and victims of hypothetical scenarios depicting relational and physical aggression. After establishing differential associations between relational and physical aggression, a subsample of preschool teachers (n = 34) and parents (n = 20) participated in semi-structured interviews to determine why they perceived these two forms of aggression differently. Results indicated that preschool teachers and parents expressed more negative views towards scenarios depicting physical aggression compared to relational aggression. They were influenced by the potential risk of harm and safety, context factors surrounding the aggression, the response of the victim, and perceptions of normative behavior to assess whether the aggressive incident was more or less serious. From a theoretical perspective, support for the GAM will be proposed as a framework to understand the underlying processes of those responding to aggression.