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Longitudinal Relations Between Aggression, Emotion Dysregulation, and Social Skills Across Middle Childhood: A Study of Within-Person Effects

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This study examines whether increased emotion dysregulation and decreased social skills predict increased aggression. A sample from two birth cohorts of children ( n = 840; 49.8% boys; 92.1% of mothers were Western) in Trondheim, Norway was assessed biennially from age 6 to 12 based on teacher reports. Random intercept cross-lagged panel models showed that increased emotion dysregulation—but not decreased social skills—predicted increased aggression from age 6 to 8 and 8 to 10 but not from age 10 to 12, whereas from age 10 to 12, increased aggression predicted increased emotion dysregulation and impaired social skills. No significant differences in these relations regarding proactive versus reactive aggression or boys versus girls were found. Reducing emotion dysregulation might enhance the effectiveness of efforts to reduce aggression.

Source: Journal of Interpersonal Violence

DOI: 10.1177/08862605251393737

Authors: Habib Niyaraq Nobakht, Silje Steinsbekk, Lars Wichstrøm

Institution: Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Language: English

Topic: Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,900