Gender and age-related peculiarities in manifestation of different aggression types in older adolescents

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the study of gender and age-related peculiarities in manifesting different aggression types in older adolescents. A theoretical literature review on the problem is presented with a particular emphasis on the dynamics in various aggressive manifestations in adolescents, age and gender related peculiarities in these manifestations, and the analysis of factors that may determine the differences in manifestation of aggression in boys and girls of different age groups. The results of an empirical study conducted on a large-scale sample of adolescents (N = 10 980) aged 15 to 18 years are presented. The data analysis shows that physical aggression is more pronounced in male respondents, while hostility and displays of anger are more pronounced among the female respondents. One-factor analysis of variance demonstrates a statistically significant influence of gender on the expression of all the aggression types. The largest effect size is observed in relation to anger, and the smallest — in expressions of hostility. We have also established the age-related differences in aggressive manifestations within the different aggression types in older adolescents. It was shown that physical aggression decreases significantly between the ages of 15 and 18, while anger and hostility manifestations remain stable after the age of 15. The effect of age on the expression of aggression was also statistically significant within all the aggression types. The largest effect size was observed for physical aggression, the smallest — for anger. The obtained results confirm the need to consider the age and gender characteristics when creating anger management and aggression prevention programs and to expand the research base of gender and age characteristics in adolescent aggression. Also, these results can be used for developing educational and preventive technologies for working with adolescent aggression.