Can you read my mind? Age as a moderator in the relationship between theory of mind and relational aggression

The present study examined whether age moderates the relationship between cognitive factors (theory of mind and attribution of intentions) and relational aggression. Participants (N = 426; 216 boys) between 6 and 9 years of age were asked to complete theory of mind tasks and answer an attribution of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of behavioral development 2015-11, Vol.39 (6), p.552-559
Main Authors: Gomez-Garibello, Carlos, Talwar, Victoria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Age Differences
Aggression
Aggressiveness
Attribution
Child Development
Children
Cognitive Development
Cognitive Processes
Cognitive skills
Correlation
Foreign Countries
Measures (Individuals)
Multiple Regression Analysis
Older children
Questionnaires
Social behavior
South America
Student teacher relationship
Teachers
Theory of Mind
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Summary:The present study examined whether age moderates the relationship between cognitive factors (theory of mind and attribution of intentions) and relational aggression. Participants (N = 426; 216 boys) between 6 and 9 years of age were asked to complete theory of mind tasks and answer an attribution of intentions questionnaire. Teachers evaluated their students’ social behaviors including relational aggressive acts. Results suggest that theory of mind did affect relational aggression, when this association was moderated by chronological age. Specifically, it was found that the association between theory of mind and relational aggression was only significant and positive for younger participants; for older children the direction of this association was inverse. Taken together, findings from this study partially support the assertion that sophisticated cognitive skills are a prerequisite for indirect ways of aggression.
ISSN:0165-0254
1464-0651
DOI:10.1177/0165025415580805