Associations Between Self-Esteem and the Forms and Functions of Aggression in a Community Sample of Youth

The purpose of the current study is to examine the association between self-esteem and the forms and functions of aggression. Research supports the existence of four aggressive subtypes (i.e., reactive overt, reactive relational, proactive overt, and proactive relational), and past research has found associations between aggression and self-esteem. However, past studies have not examined the relationships between all four subtypes of aggression and self-esteem together. 141 adolescents were recruited from the community with a mean age of 13.55. The sampled group was composed of 51% females and 52% Caucasians. Participants completed self-report questionnaires on self-esteem and aggression. The results provide support for an association between proactive aggression and self-esteem. Additionally, overt aggression was more associated with self-esteem than relational aggression. These findings will help fill the gap in literature on the forms and functions of aggression and will further define the relationship between aggression and self-esteem