The relation between maternal child-rearing styles and the development of aggression in children

The purpose of this investigation was to enhance the theoretical understanding of the social development of popular and aggressive first grade boys. Recent models of social development have recognized the embeddedness of children within a variety of social contexts (e.g., Dodge, 1985; Hartup, 1979), and have emphasized the importance of discovering how the different social contexts of children are related to one another and how each may influence children's development. This study examined the relation between maternal empathy and child-rearing styles, and the relation of these family factors to first grade boys' empathy and social status in the classroom. Twenty popular and 17 aggressive first grade boys and their mothers served as subjects