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Does Theory of Mind Mediate Aggression and Bullying in Middle School Males and Females?

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Does Theory of Mind Mediate Aggression and Bullying in Middle School Males and Females? University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Public Access Theses and Dissertations from Education and Human Sciences, College of the College of Education and Human Sciences (CEHS) 11-2009 Does Theory of Mind Mediate Aggression and Bullying in Middle School Males and Females? Jami E. Givens University of Nebraska - Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss Part of the Education Commons Givens, Jami E., "Does Theory of Mind Mediate Aggression and Bullying in Middle School Males and Females?" (2009). Public Access Theses and Dissertations from the College of Education and Human Sciences. 54. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/54 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Education and Human Sciences, College of (CEHS) at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Public Access Theses and Dissertations from the College of Education and Human Sciences by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. DOES THEORY OF MIND MEDIATE AGGRESSION AND BULLYING IN MIDDLE SCHOOL MALES AND FEMALES? by Jami E. Givens A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major: Psychological Studies in Education Under the Supervision of Professor Susan M. Swearer Lincoln, Nebraska November, 2009 DOES THEORY OF MIND MEDIATE AGGRESSION AND BULLYING IN MIDDLE SCHOOL MALES AND FEMALES? Jami E. Givens, Ph.D. University of Nebraska, 2009 Advisor: Susan M. Swearer The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between theory of mind, gender, physical aggression, relational aggression, and bullying. Specifically, this research study was guided by the question: Does theory of mind mediate the relations between gender and physical aggression, gender and relational aggression, and gender and bullying? Three main hypotheses were made following Baron and Kenny’s (1986) mediation model steps. The first hypothesis sought to identify whether gender differences existed in aggressive and bullying behaviors. Specifically, it was hypothesized that (a) adolescent females will endorse higher levels of relational aggression compared to adolescent males, (b) adolescent males will endorse higher levels of physical aggression compared to adolescent females, and (c) adolescent males and adolescent females will report similar engagement in bullying behaviors. The second hypothesis was that adolescent females will have higher theory of mind scores than adolescent males. Finally, it was hypothesized that theory of mind will mediate the relationship between gender and relational aggression, gender and physical aggression, and gender and bullying. Participants for the study included 810 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students from three Midwestern middle schools who participated in a larger longitudinal investigation examining school experiences in the United States, Japan, Korea, Australia, and Canada. Analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM) with latent variables. Results revealed a significant direct effect between gender and physical aggression. As hypothesized, males were more physically aggressive than females. There was also a significant direct effect between gender and theory of mind. Also as hypothesized, females had higher theory of mind scores than males. No indirect effects were identified. Additionally, theory of mind did not emerge as a mediator in the model. Implications of the results are discussed as well as the applicability of the study findings to aggression and bullying prevention and intervention efforts. Study limitations and future research are identified. i Acknowledgements I would first like to express my gratitude to Dr. Susan Swearer for her guidance, support, and encouragement through this project and throughout my graduate career. Her mentorship was paramount in achieving a tremendous graduate education. I would also like to thank the members of my dissertation committee; Dr. Eric Buhs, Dr. Jim Bovaird, and Dr. John Maag, for their thoughtful reviews, time, and attention to my dissertation. I would like to thank my friends and colleagues in Dr. Swearer’s research group; Dr. Amanda Siebecker, Dr. Lynae Frerichs, and Dr. Rhonda Turner, who made this international project and “massive data collection” a success. Sincere thanks to Cixin Wang, Chaorong Wu, and Brett Foley for their valuable statistical expertise. I would also like to thank my fellow graduate students, who have been enormous assets throughout my graduate training, and examples of grace and good humor through both trying and rewarding times. I also want to thank my family and friends who have continually encouraged me to achieve my goals, and showed patience when my work took precedence on more than one occasion. Thank you to my parents; for their love, patience, and support of all my ambitions. Finally, thank you to my husband Ben, for his steadfast support throughout my years of graduate school. He offered motivation when mine was dwindling, a voice of reason when mine was lost, and immeasurable sacrifices to help me reach my goals. ii Table of Contents I. Chapter One: Introduction 1 A. Consequences of Aggressive and Bullying Behavior 3 B. Subtypes of Aggression and Bullying 7 C. Gender Differences in Aggression and Bullying 8 D. Theories of Aggression and Bullying 9 1. Social Information Processing 9 2. Resource Control Theory 10 3. Theory of Mind 10 E. Purpose of the Study 11 II. Chapter Two: Overview of Previous Research 13 A. Definition of Aggression 13 B. Subtypes of Aggressive and Bullying Behavior 14 C. Prevalence of Aggression and Bullying 19 D. Development of Aggression and Bullying 22 E. Gender, Aggression, and Bullying 24 F. Maladaptive and Adaptive Consequences of Aggression and Bullying 28 Behavior III. Theoretical Explanations for Aggression and Bullying 35 A. Social Information Processing 35 1. Social Information Processing, Aggression, and Bullying 36 2. Social Understanding, Aggression, and Bullying 41 B. Resource Control Theory 44 iii 1. Resource Control Theory, Aggression, and Bullying 45 C. Theory of Mind 47 1. Definition of Theory of Mind 47 2. Measures of Theory of Mind 50 3. Theory of Mind, Gender, and Development 54 4. Theory of Mind, Aggression, and Bullying 59 D. Purpose of the Study 62 1. Overall Research Question and Hypotheses 63 IV. Chapter Three: Methods 64 A. Participants 64 B. Instrumentation 64 1. Demographic Variables 65 2. Children’s Social Behavior Scale (CSBS; Crick & Grotpeter, 1995) 65 3. The Pacific-Rim Bullying Measure (Konishi et al., 2009) 66 4. Reading of the Mind in the Eyes (Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Hill et 69 al., 2001) C. Procedures 70 V. Chapter Four: Results 73 A. Overview of Analysis 73 1. Missing Data 73 2. Descriptive Statistics 73 B. Analytic Strategy 75 1. Bootstrapping 75 iv 2. Structural Equation Modeling 76 C. Model Fit 77 1. Measurement Model 77 D. Test of the Structural Model 78 1. Direct effects 78 2. Indirect effects 79 E. Test of the Mediation Model 79 F. Mediation Results According to Research Hypotheses 81 1. Step One 81 a. Hypothesis 1a 81 b. Hypothesis 1b 81 c. Hypothesis 1c 81 2. Step Two 82 a. Hypothesis 2 82 3. Step Three 82 a. Hypothesis 3 82 4. Step Four 83 VI. Chapter Five: Discussion 84 A. Overview 84 B. Study Findings 85 1. Direct Effect of Gender on Aggression and Bullying: Hypothesis 1a, 85 1b, and 1c 2. Direct Effect of Gender on Theory of Mind: Hypothesis 2 89 3. Direct and Indirect Effect of Theory of Mind: Hypothesis 3 90 v C. Possible Explanations for Unexpected Findings 92 D. Limitations of the Present Study 94 1. Cross-sectional design 94 2. Self-report 94 3. Reliability flaws 95 4. Non-normality 96 E. Future Research 97 F. Implications of the Current Study 100 VII. References 105 vi List of Tables Table 1 Demographic Characteristics of Participants across Schools 145 Table 2 Demographic Characteristics of Total Participants 147 Table 3 Means, Standard Deviations, Factor Loadings, Skew, and Kurtosis 148 for Latent Indicators Table 4 Estimated Latent Variable Correlations 150 Table 5 Bootstrapped Direct and Indirect Effects 151 vii List of Figures Figure 1 Structural Equation Model 152 Figure 2 Full Model of the Direct and Indirect Effects 153 Figure 3 Model of the Direct Effects of Gender on the Outcome Variables 154 in the Mediation Model Figure 4 Model of the Direct Effects of Gender on Theory of Mind in the 155 Mediation Model viii List of Appendices Appendix A Institutional Review Board Approval 156 Appendix B Individual School Letters of Support 161 Appendix C Parental/Guardian Consent Form 163 Appendix D Youth Assent Form 166 Appendix E Children’s Social Behavior Scale 169 Appendix F The Pacific-Rim Bullying Measure 171 Appendix G Reading of the Mind in the Eyes 173 1 Chapter One: Introduction Not many topics have spurred as much intellectual interest as childhood and adolescent aggression. Aggression represents a significant societal problem. It creates problems for the victim and the perpetrator; it disrupts learning, and drains a significant proportion of mental health and family resources (Hawley, 2007). Aggression and bullying are a ubiquitous problem in schools across the country, but it is difficult to detect the frequency of these behaviors. Prevalence rates appear to vary depending on the definition of bullying and methodology
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