Date of Award

1999

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Education

First Advisor

Pamela Nickels

Second Advisor

Marilyn Patterson

Third Advisor

Anita Sankar

Abstract

Aggressive tendencies constitute a consistent behavioral pattern that spans early childhood through preadolescence, adolescence, and adulthood. Researchers have linked high levels of preadolescent aggression with adolescent adjustment problems in school, the home, and community. This study explored the relationship between aggression levels and school performance among a sample of seventh-grade students. Thirty subjects were randomly selected from a seventh-grade class (n=230) located in a midwestern suburban middle school. Behavior and academic performance was associated with aggression levels as measured by the Missouri Children's Behavior Checklist (MCBC) among this sample. Academic performance, as measured by Grade Point Average (GPA) was negatively correlated with higher levels of aggression. Although statistically insignificant, Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) composite percentiles and aggression also trended toward association. Further, higher levels of aggression were significantly related to behavior problems at school as measured by office administered disciplinary counts. Social cognitive-behavior therapy interventions - particularly the Anger Coping Program (ACP) and Aggression Replacement Training (ART) - were examined for effectiveness in addressing the needs of this population.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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