Abstract
The maladaptive personality and neuropsychological features of highly relationally aggressive females were examined in a group of 30 grade 6, 7, and 8 girls and group-matched controls. Employing a multistage cluster sampling procedure a group of highly, yet almost exclusively, relationally aggressive females were identified and matched on a number of variables to a group of nonaggressive females. Parents of the students in both groups completed the Coolidge Personality and Neuropsychological Inventory, a 200-item DSM-IV-TR aligned, parent-as-respondent, standardized measure of children’s psychological functioning. It was found that high levels of relational aggression, in the absence of physical and verbal aggression, were associated with symptoms of DSM-IV-TR Axis I oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder. The highly relationally aggressive group also exhibited a wide variety of personality traits associated with DSM-IV-TR Axis II paranoid, borderline, narcissistic, histrionic, schizotypal, and passive aggressive personality disorders that were not exhibited by the matched controls. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Highlights
The maladaptive personality and neuropsychological features of highly relationally aggressive females were examined in a group of 30 grade 6, 7, and 8 girls and group-matched controls
Several studies conducted on children and adolescents have found that high levels of relational aggression are positively correlated with maladaptive personality features and externalizing behaviors (Crick, 1996; Crick & Grotpeter, 1995; Prinstein, Boergers, & Vernberg, 2001)
The first research question was concerned with associations between high levels of relational aggression and DSM-IV-TR (APA, 2000) Axis I clinical syndromes
Summary
The maladaptive personality and neuropsychological features of highly relationally aggressive females were examined in a group of 30 grade 6, 7, and 8 girls and group-matched controls. The highly relationally aggressive group exhibited a wide variety of personality traits associated with DSM-IV-TR Axis II paranoid, borderline, narcissistic, histrionic, schizotypal, and passive aggressive personality disorders that were not exhibited by the matched controls Salmivalli and Kaukiainen found a group of highly aggressive females who used relational aggression almost exclusively This was in direct contrast to highly aggressive males who were found to favor physical and verbal aggression or to employ high levels of all forms of aggression. Several studies conducted on children and adolescents have found that high levels of relational aggression are positively correlated with maladaptive personality features and externalizing behaviors (Crick, 1996; Crick & Grotpeter, 1995; Prinstein, Boergers, & Vernberg, 2001). The participants in these studies regularly engaged in other forms of aggression (e.g., physical) as well as being relationally aggressive
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