Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
open access
2018-08-01T00:00:00Z
Externalizing behavior problems in children are of substantial cost and highly prevalent in elementary school-aged children. Specific subtypes of externalizing behavior problems, reactive and...Show moreExternalizing behavior problems in children are of substantial cost and highly prevalent in elementary school-aged children. Specific subtypes of externalizing behavior problems, reactive and proactive aggression, have been uniquely related to specific risk factors, correlates, and consequences. The purpose of this study was to examine the relations between social cognitive skills, intelligence, and reactive and proactive aggression in elementary school-aged children. These children were at risk for developing serious externalizing behavior problems and recruited within a program focused on reduction and prevention of delinquency, led by the municipality of Amsterdam in The Netherlands. Intelligence and social cognitive skills tasks were administered in fifteen boys in the ages of 7-12 years (M = 10.38, SD = 1.95). The results from the present study indicate that the relation between intelligence and reactive aggression is mediated by social cognitive skills, and more precisely the ability to identify emotions. No such relations were found for proactive aggression or other social cognitive skills. It is concluded that the relation between social cognitive skills and aggressive behavior depends at least partly on intelligence and that interventions for reactive-aggressive children should focus on training of emotion recognition without losing sight of the important role of intelligence.Show less
