| This study examined the relations between emotionality, emotion-focused coping and problem-focused coping and aggression in fourth and fifth grade boys. Parent, teacher, and child reports were used to assess the independent variables, while parent and peer reports of aggression were used. Questionnaire and global rating scale measures of these concepts were more useful in predicting aggression than coded narratives about upsetting situations or responses to vignettes about upsetting experiences. In addition, it was learned that children's reports of their coping strategies are at times not consistent with adult reports, and that, of the two, adult reports are more useful in predicting aggression.;While various measures of emotionality, emotion-focused coping, and problem-focused coping predicted aggression individually, the emotion variables (emotionality and emotion-focused coping) accounted for more of the variance in aggressive behavior, with problem solving measures losing their predictive power when entered into the same models. Results also indicated that emotionality and emotion-coping together provide the best combination of variables for predicting aggression, rather than either alone.;Children's perceived control moderated the relationship between emotionality/emotion-focused coping and aggression in one analysis, such that, in children with low perceived control, characteristics of emotion regulation (lower lability, more use of coping strategies) were associated with lower levels of aggression. For children with high perceived control, the relationship between these variables was not significant. However, this relationship was found in only one analysis out of several which tested this hypothesis, and should therefore be viewed with caution. Child lability/negative emotionality was predicted to moderate the relationship between emotion-focused coping and aggression; however, this hypothesis was not supported. Results point to the importance of attending to emotional processes, as well as cognitive processing, when dealing with aggression in children. |
