by Jairyn » Mon May 23, 2005 11:58 am
SALT LAKE CITY — Meanness in girls can start when they are toddlers, a Brigham Young University study has found.
The study found that girls as young as 3 or 4 will use manipulation and peer pressure to get what they want.
“It could range from leaving someone out, to telling their friends not to play with someone, to saying, ‘I'm not going to invite you to my birthday party,' ” said co-author Craig Hart. “Some kids are really adept at being mean and nasty.”
The study is the first to link relational aggression and social status in preschoolers. It appears in the current issue of the journal Early Education and Development.
Researchers long have known that adolescents, particularly girls, engage in this sort of behavior, called relational aggression, to maintain their social status.
“But it is striking that these aggressive strategies are already apparent … in preschool,” Nelson said. “Preschoolers appear to be more sophisticated in their knowledge of social behaviors than credit is typically given them.”
Other research has found that up to 20 percent of preschool and school-age girls display such behavior, Hart said. It also shows up in boys, but much less frequently.
— The Associated Press