Gender difference in the overt expression of aggression among adolescents

Pages: 775-777
Binny Borkha Boruah (Department of Psychology, Gauhati University, Gauhati, Assam)
Mala Chaliha Talukdar (Department of Psychology, Gauhati University, Gauhati, Assam)

Anger is an emotion, which every human being experiences irrespective of the different conditions they live in. Anger is perceived as a negative emotion because of its hazardous effects on human life. Researches have distinctively shown how it affects our physical as well as mental health. The underlying cause of violent acts can be traced down to the feeling of anger, although there may be other perpetuating factors. Aggressive behavior refers to an act that is intended to injure or irritate another person. Aggression is generally defined as a behavioral act that results in harming or hurting others. It is one of the most prevalent and destructive behavior that we face today. Children are particularly at risk, of being either the victim or the perpetrator of an act of violence (Maguire & Pastore, 1998). The present study tries to empirically study the gender difference in overt expression of aggression in children. The tool that has been used is the Overt Aggression Test (OAT) by Vohra and Gupta. The findings of the study show that there exist gender differences in overt expression of aggression. Males tend to be on the higher in overt expression of aggression as compared to females.