Age differences in the prevalence of physical aggression among 5-11-year-old Canadian boys and girls
Authors: K.-H. Lee, Raymond H. Baillargeon, J. K. Vermunt, Hong Xing Wu, and Richard E. Tremblay
Overview
Abstract (English)
It has been proven extremely difficult in the past to estimate the prevalence of physical aggression in children for two main reasons: (a) a heterogeneous sampling of behaviors (i.e., mix between physically aggressive and non-physically aggressive antisocial behaviors), and (b) a lack of a gold standard to identify children who exhibit physically aggressive behaviors on a frequent basis. The goal of this study was to test for age differences in the prevalence of physical aggression in the Canadian population of school-aged boys and girls, using cross-sectional data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY). The first wave of the NLSCY included a representative sample of 12,292 Canadian children aged 5-11 years. We used latent class analysis to identify children whose propensity to exhibit physically aggressive behaviors was much higher than that of other children of the same age and sex in the population. The prevalence of physical aggression was estimated at 3.7% in 5-11-year-old boys and ranged from .5% to 2.3% in 11 and 5-year-old girls, respectively. Hence, the results show a decreasing trend in the prevalence of physical aggression with age for girls, but not for boys. These findings suggest the importance of considering the developmental pathways of physical aggression for boys and girls separately.
Abstract (French)
Please note that abstracts only appear in the language of the publication and might not have a translation.
Details
Type | Journal article |
---|---|
Author | K.-H. Lee, Raymond H. Baillargeon, J. K. Vermunt, Hong Xing Wu, and Richard E. Tremblay |
Publication Year | 2007 |
Title | Age differences in the prevalence of physical aggression among 5-11-year-old Canadian boys and girls |
Volume | 33 |
Journal Name | Aggressive Behavior |
Number | 1 |
Pages | 26-37 |
Publication Language | English |
- K.-H. Lee
- K.-H. Lee, Raymond H. Baillargeon, J. K. Vermunt, Hong Xing Wu, and Richard E. Tremblay
- Age differences in the prevalence of physical aggression among 5-11-year-old Canadian boys and girls
- Aggressive Behavior
- 33
- 2007
- 1
- 26-37