Peer estimates of school-aged boys' and girls' aggression to same- and cross-sex targets

Research comparing boys' and girls' aggression has typically, focused on th e overall amount of aggression using a within-sex design. Less attention ha s been given to differences in children's aggression according to the sex o f the target. In the research reported here, boys' and girls' amount and st yle of aggression were compared for same- and cross-sex targets A peer esti mation procedure was used with children in Grades 2, 6, 9, and 11. Physical , verbal, and indirect aggression were studied Although there were some dif ferences according to Grade level, both the amount and style of aggression for boys and for girls differed as a function of the sex of target, with cr oss-sex aggression generally falling between the amount and style of boys-t o-boys and girls-to-girls aggression. The results draw attention ro the pos sible separate nature of the cross-sex context, and highlight the importanc e of taking into account the target of aggression when investigating differ ences in aggression between boys and girls.