Adolescents' Predictions of Aggressive Behavioral Patterns in Different Settings

Few studies have examined adolescents' predictions of aggression involving other adolescents; previous research has focused mainly on studying the " perceptions " of physical aggression. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore adolescents' predictions of physical, verbal, and indirect aggression in hypothetical scenarios of aggression and to establish any sex differences in these predictions. A total of 653 adolescents aged 14 to 18 participated in the study. The sex of the aggressor and the sex of the target were manipulated, and participants' predictions of the likelihood of aggressive behavioral patterns were measured through the use of a questionnaire. Results showed a significant interaction between the two independent variables. More specifically, results showed that (i) when the aggressor and the target were both males, the subjects more often predicted that the aggressor would use physical and verbal aggression; (ii) when the aggressor and the target were both females, subjects predicted that the aggressor would use more indirect aggression; (iii) males predicted the use of physical aggression more readily when the target was a male; (iv) females predicted the use of verbal and indirect aggression more readily than males when the target was a female; and (v) the situations in which subjects predicted that the aggressor would use more physical, verbal and indirect aggression were when the aggression took place between peers, followed by situations in which aggression took place in a domestic context.