TY - JOUR A1 - Holl, Anna Katharina A1 - Kirsch, Fabian A1 - Rohlf, Helena L. A1 - Krahe, Barbara A1 - Elsner, Birgit T1 - Longitudinal reciprocity between theory of mind and aggression in middle childhood JF - International Journal of Behavioral Development N2 - Theory of mind is one of the most important cognitive factors in social information-processing, and deficits in theory of mind have been linked to aggressive behavior in childhood. The present longitudinal study investigated reciprocal links between theory of mind and two forms of aggression – physical and relational – in middle childhood with three data waves over 3 years. Theory of mind was assessed by participants’ responses to cartoons, and physical and relational aggression were assessed through teacher reports in a community sample of 1657 children (mean age at Time 1: 8 years). Structural equation modeling analyses showed that theory of mind was a negative predictor of subsequent physical and relational aggression, both from Time 1 to Time 2 as well as from Time 2 to Time 3. Moreover, relational aggression was a negative predictor of theory of mind from Time 1 to Time 2. There were no significant gender or age differences in the tested pathways. The results suggest that reciprocal and negative longitudinal relations exist between children’s theory of mind and aggressive behavior. Our study extends current knowledge about the development of such relations across middle childhood. KW - Aggressive behavior KW - theory of mind KW - middle childhood KW - longitudinal study KW - relational aggression KW - physical aggression Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025417727875 SN - 0165-0254 SN - 1464-0651 VL - 42 IS - 2 SP - 257 EP - 266 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kirsch, Fabian A1 - Busching, Robert A1 - Rohlf, Helena L. A1 - Krahé, Barbara T1 - Using behavioral observation for the longitudinal study of anger regulation in middle childhood T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Assessing anger regulation via self-reports is fraught with problems, especially among children. Behavioral observation provides an ecologically valid alternative for measuring anger regulation. The present study uses data from two waves of a longitudinal study to present a behavioral observation approach for measuring anger regulation in middle childhood. At T1, 599 children from Germany (6–10 years old) were observed during an anger eliciting task, and the use of anger regulation strategies was coded. At T2, 3 years later, the observation was repeated with an age-appropriate version of the same task. Partial metric measurement invariance over time demonstrated the structural equivalence of the two versions. Maladaptive anger regulation between the two time points showed moderate stability. Validity was established by showing correlations with aggressive behavior, peer problems, and conduct problems (concurrent and predictive criterion validity). The study presents an ecologically valid and economic approach to assessing anger regulation strategies in situations. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 461 Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-412557 IS - 461 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Rohlf, Helena L. A1 - Krahé, Barbara T1 - Assessing anger regulation in middle childhood BT - development and validation of a behavioral observation measure T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - An observational measure of anger regulation in middle childhood was developed that facilitated the in situ assessment of five maladaptive regulation strategies in response to an anger-eliciting task. 599 children aged 6-10 years (M = 8.12, SD = 0.92) participated in the study. Construct validity of the measure was examined through correlations with parent- and self-reports of anger regulation and anger reactivity. Criterion validity was established through links with teacher-rated aggression and social rejection measured by parent-, teacher-, and self-reports. The observational measure correlated significantly with parent- and self-reports of anger reactivity, whereas it was unrelated to parent- and self-reports of anger regulation. It also made a unique contribution to predicting aggression and social rejection. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 407 KW - anger regulation KW - middle childhood KW - behavioral observation KW - aggression KW - social rejection Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-406241 IS - 407 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Rohlf, Helena L. A1 - Holl, Anna K. A1 - Kirsch, Fabian A1 - Krahé, Barbara A1 - Elsner, Birgit T1 - Longitudinal Links between Executive Function, Anger, and Aggression in Middle Childhood T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Previous research has indicated that executive function (EF) is negatively associated with aggressive behavior in childhood. However, there is a lack of longitudinal studies that have examined the effect of deficits in EF on aggression over time and taken into account different forms and functions of aggression at the same time. Furthermore, only few studies have analyzed the role of underlying variables that may explain the association between EF and aggression. The present study examined the prospective paths between EF and different forms (physical and relational) and functions (reactive and proactive) of aggression. The habitual experience of anger was examined as a potential underlying mechanism of the link between EF and aggression, because the tendency to get angry easily has been found to be both a consequence of deficits in EF and a predictor of aggression. The study included 1,652 children (between 6 and 11 years old at the first time point), who were followed over three time points (T1, T2, and T3) covering 3 years. At T1, a latent factor of EF comprised measures of planning, rated via teacher reports, as well as inhibition, set shifting, and working-memory updating, assessed experimentally. Habitual anger experience was assessed via parent reports at T1 and T2. The forms and functions of aggression were measured via teacher reports at all three time points. Structural equation modeling revealed that EF at T1 predicted physical, relational, and reactive aggression at T3, but was unrelated to proactive aggression at T3. Furthermore, EF at T1 was indirectly linked to physical aggression at T3, mediated through habitual anger experience at T2. The results indicate that deficits in EF influence the later occurrence of aggression in middle childhood, and the tendency to get angry easily mediates this relation. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 382 KW - executive function KW - anger KW - relational aggression KW - reactive aggression KW - proactive aggression KW - childhood KW - longitudinal study Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-409471 IS - 382 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rohlf, Helena L. A1 - Holl, Anna K. A1 - Kirsch, Fabian A1 - Krahé, Barbara A1 - Elsner, Birgit T1 - Longitudinal Links between Executive Function, Anger, and Aggression in Middle Childhood JF - Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience N2 - Previous research has indicated that executive function (EF) is negatively associated with aggressive behavior in childhood. However, there is a lack of longitudinal studies that have examined the effect of deficits in EF on aggression over time and taken into account different forms and functions of aggression at the same time. Furthermore, only few studies have analyzed the role of underlying variables that may explain the association between EF and aggression. The present study examined the prospective paths between EF and different forms (physical and relational) and functions (reactive and proactive) of aggression. The habitual experience of anger was examined as a potential underlying mechanism of the link between EF and aggression, because the tendency to get angry easily has been found to be both a consequence of deficits in EF and a predictor of aggression. The study included 1,652 children (between 6 and 11 years old at the first time point), who were followed over three time points (T1, T2, and T3) covering 3 years. At T1, a latent factor of EF comprised measures of planning, rated via teacher reports, as well as inhibition, set shifting, and working-memory updating, assessed experimentally. Habitual anger experience was assessed via parent reports at T1 and T2. The forms and functions of aggression were measured via teacher reports at all three time points. Structural equation modeling revealed that EF at T1 predicted physical, relational, and reactive aggression at T3, but was unrelated to proactive aggression at T3. Furthermore, EF at T1 was indirectly linked to physical aggression at T3, mediated through habitual anger experience at T2. The results indicate that deficits in EF influence the later occurrence of aggression in middle childhood, and the tendency to get angry easily mediates this relation. KW - executive function KW - anger KW - relational aggression KW - reactive aggression KW - proactive aggression KW - childhood KW - longitudinal study Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00027 SN - 1662-5153 VL - 12 IS - 27 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rohlf, Helena L. A1 - Krahé, Barbara T1 - Assessing anger regulation in middle childhood: development and validation of a behavioral observation measure JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - An observational measure of anger regulation in middle childhood was developed that facilitated the in situ assessment of five maladaptive regulation strategies in response to an anger-eliciting task. 599 children aged 6-10 years (M = 8.12, SD = 0.92) participated in the study. Construct validity of the measure was examined through correlations with parent- and self-reports of anger regulation and anger reactivity. Criterion validity was established through links with teacher-rated aggression and social rejection measured by parent-, teacher-, and self-reports. The observational measure correlated significantly with parent- and self-reports of anger reactivity, whereas it was unrelated to parent- and self-reports of anger regulation. It also made a unique contribution to predicting aggression and social rejection. KW - anger regulation KW - middle childhood KW - behavioral observation KW - aggression KW - social rejection Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00453 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 6 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kirsch, Fabian A1 - Rohlf, Helena L. A1 - Krahé, Barbara T1 - Measuring anger regulation in middle childhood through behavioural observation: a longitudinal validation JF - European journal of developmental psychology N2 - Learning to regulate anger is an important task in childhood development, as maladaptive anger regulation has been linked to a variety of problems, including aggression and social rejection. To assess anger regulation in situ, in a previous study we developed a behavioural observation measure and demonstrated its cross-sectional construct and criterion validity in a sample of 599 children with a mean age of 8.1years. The present study further validated the measure by demonstrating its predictive validity. About 10months after the behavioural observation, participants were asked to imagine two anger-eliciting situations and report what they would do to get rid of their anger. Observed anger regulation strategies at T1 correlated significantly with self-reported regulatory behaviour at T2, suggesting that the behavioural observation measure is an ecologically valid approach for assessing anger regulation in middle childhood. KW - Anger regulation KW - observation KW - childhood KW - validation KW - longitudinal study Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2015.1101375 SN - 1740-5629 SN - 1740-5610 VL - 12 IS - 6 SP - 718 EP - 727 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - THES A1 - Rohlf, Helena L. T1 - The development of aggression in middle childhood T1 - Die Entwicklung aggressiven Verhaltens in der mittleren Kindheit BT - longitudinal analyses of the role of anger regulation, social rejection, and peer socialization BT - längsschnittliche Analysen des Einflusses von Ärgerregulation, sozialer Zurückweisung und Peer-Sozialisation N2 - Background: The engagement in aggressive behavior in middle childhood is linked to the development of severe problems in later life. Thus, identifying factors and processes that con-tribute to the continuity and increase of aggression in middle childhood is essential in order to facilitate the development of intervention programs. The present PhD thesis aimed at expand-ing the understanding of the development of aggression in middle childhood by examining risk factors in the intrapersonal and interpersonal domains as well as the interplay between these factors: Maladaptive anger regulation was examined as an intrapersonal risk factor; processes that occur in the peer context (social rejection and peer socialization) were included as interpersonal risk factors. In addition, in order to facilitate the in situ assessment of anger regulation strategies, an observational measure of anger regulation was developed and validated. Method: The research aims were addressed within the scope of four articles. Data from two measurement time points about ten months apart were available for the analyses. Participants were elementary school children aged from 6 to 10 years at T1 and 7 to 11 years at T2. The first article was based on cross-sectional analyses including only the first time point; in the remaining three articles longitudinal associations across the two time points were analyzed. The first two articles were concerned with the development and cross-sectional as well as longitudinal validation of observational measure of anger regulation in middle childhood in a sample of 599 children. Using the same sample, the third article investigated the longitudinal link between maladaptive anger regulation and aggression considering social rejection as a mediating variable. The frequency as well as different functions of aggression (reactive and proactive) were included as outcomes measures. The fourth article examined the influence of class-level aggression on the development of different forms of aggression (relational and physical) over time under consideration of differences in initial individual aggression in a sample of 1,284 children. In addition, it was analyzed if the path from aggression to social rejection varies as a function of class-level aggression. Results: The first two articles revealed that the observational measure of anger regulation developed for the purpose of this research was cross-sectionally related to anger reactivity, aggression and social rejection as well as longitudinally related to self-reported anger regula-tion. In the third article it was found that T1 maladaptive anger regulation showed no direct link to T2 aggression, but an indirect link through T1 social rejection. This indirect link was found for the frequency of aggression as well as for reactive and proactive aggression. The fourth article revealed that with regard to relational aggression, a high level of classroom ag-gression predicted an increase of individual aggression only among children with initially low levels of aggression. For physical aggression, it was found that the overall level of aggression in the class affected all children equally. In addition, physical aggression increased the likelihood of social rejection irrespective of the class-level of aggression whereas relational aggression caused social rejection only in classes with a generally low level of relational aggression. The analyses of gender-specific effects showed that children were mainly influenced by their same-gender peers and that the effect on the opposite gender was higher if children engaged in gender-atypical forms of aggressive behavior. Conclusion: The results provided evidence for the construct and criterion validity of the observational measure of maladaptive anger regulation that was developed within the scope of this research. Furthermore, the findings indicated that maladaptive anger regulation constitutes an important risk factor of aggression through the influence of social rejection. Finally, the results demonstrated that the level of aggression among classmates is relevant for the development of individual aggression over time and that the children´s evaluation of relationally aggressive behavior varies as a function of the normativity of relational aggression in the class. The study findings have implications for the measurement of anger regulation in middle childhood as well as for the prevention of aggression and social rejection. N2 - Hintergrund: Das Auftreten aggressiven Verhaltens in der mittleren Kindheit ist mit einer Reihe von problematischen Folgen verbunden. Das Identifizieren von Prozessen und Faktoren, die zur Kontinuität und zu einem Anstieg aggressiven Verhaltens in der mittleren Kindheit beitragen, ist essentiell; nicht zuletzt, um die Entwicklung von Interventionsprogrammen zu ermöglichen. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Dissertation war es, das Wissen über die Entwicklung von Aggression in der mittleren Kindheit auszuweiten, indem Risikofaktoren aus dem intrapersonalen und dem interpersonalen Bereich sowie das Zusammenspiel dieser Faktoren untersucht wurden: Maladaptive Ärgerregulation wurde als ein intrapersonaler Risikofaktor untersucht; Prozesse, die sich im Peerkontext abspielen (soziale Zurückweisung und Peersozialisation), wurden als interpersonale Risikofaktoren analysiert. Zudem wurde eine Beobachtungsmethode für Ärgerregulation entwickelt und validiert, um die Erfassung von Ärgerregulationsstrategien in situ zu ermöglichen. Methode: Die Forschungsfragen wurden im Rahmen von vier Artikeln addressiert. Daten aus zwei Messzeitpunkten, die etwa zehn Monate auseinander lagen, wurden für die Analysen verwendet. Die Teilnehmer waren Grundschulkinder, die zu T1 zwischen 6 bis 10 Jahre und zu T2 zwischen 7 und 11 Jahre alt waren. Der erste Artikel basierte auf querschnittlichen Analysen, die nur den ersten Messzeitpunkt einschlossen; in den weiteren drei Artikeln wurden längsschnittliche Effekte über die zwei Messzeitpunkte analysiert. Die ersten beiden Artikel beschäftigten sich mit der Entwicklung und der quer- und längsschnittlichen Validierung der Beobachtungsmethode für Ärgerregulation, wobei eine Stichprobe aus 599 Kindern verwendet wurde. Mittels der gleichen Stichprobe wurde im dritten Artikel der längsschnittliche Zusammenhang zwischen maladaptiver Ärgerregulation und Aggression unter Berücksichtigung des vermittelnden Einflusses sozialer Zurückweisung untersucht. Die Häufigkeit und die verschiedenen Funktionen von Aggression (reaktiv und proaktiv) wurden als abhängige Variablen einbezogen. Der vierte Artikel untersuchte in einer Stichprobe aus 1.284 Kindern den Einfluss der mittleren Aggression in einer Klasse auf die Entwicklung verschiedener Formen von Aggression (physisch und relational) unter Berücksichtigung der ursprünglichen individuellen Aggression. Zudem wurde analysiert, ob der Effekt von Aggression auf soziale Zurückweisung in Abhängigkeit der Aggression in der Klasse variiert. Ergebnisse: Die ersten beiden Artikel zeigten, dass die Beobachtungsmethode für Ärgerregulation im Querschnitt mit Ärgerreaktivität, Aggression und sozialer Zurückweisung und im Längsschnitt mit selbstberichteter Ärgerregulation zusammenhängt. Im dritten Artikel wurde gefunden, dass Ärgerregulation zu T1 nicht direkt mit T2 Aggression assoziiert ist, aber es zeigte sich ein indirekter Effekt über den Einfluss von T1 sozialer Zurückweisung. Dieser indirekte Effekt fand sich sowohl für die Häufigkeit von Aggression als auch für reaktive und proaktive Aggression. Der vierte Artikel zeigte, dass in Hinblick auf relationale Aggression ein hohes Maß an Aggression in der Klasse nur bei Kindern, die ein niedriges Ausgangsniveau an Aggression hatten, einen Anstieg an individueller Aggression vorhersagt. Für physische Aggression zeigte sich, dass die Aggression in der Klasse alle Kinder gleichermaßen beeinflusst. Zudem erhöhte physische Aggression die Wahrscheinlichkeit für soziale Zurückweisung, unabhängig von der mittleren Aggression in der Klasse, während sich für relationale Aggression gezeigt hat, dass aggressives Verhalten nur in Klassen mit einem niedrigen Level an Aggression mit sozialer Zurückweisung assoziiert ist. Diskussion: Die Ergebnisse liefern Evidenz für die Kontrukt- und Kriteriumsvalidität der Beobachtungsmethode für Ärgerregulation, die im Rahmen dieser Dissertation entwickelt wurde. Außerdem deuten die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass maladaptive Ärgerregulation über den Einfluss von sozialer Zurückweisung einen wichtigen Risikofaktor für Aggression darstellt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen zudem, dass das Maß an Aggression in einer Klasse relevant ist für die Entwicklung individueller Aggression über die Zeit und dass die Bewertung von relationaler Aggression abhängig ist von der Normativität von relationaler Aggression in der Klasse. Die Ergebnisse dieser Dissertation haben Implikationen, die zum einen die Erfassung von Ärgerregulation in der mittleren Kindheit und zum anderen die Prävention von Aggression und sozialer Zurückweisung betreffen. KW - aggression KW - middle childhood KW - anger regulation KW - social rejection KW - peer influences KW - Aggression KW - mittlere Kindheit KW - Ärgerregulation KW - soziale Zurückweisung KW - Peer-Einflüsse Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-95457 ER -