Relational Aggression during Early Childhood: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Seminal work on relational aggression in middle childhood began in 1995 and the first study to examine relational aggression in early childhood was published in 1996 in the Journal of Research in Childhood Education. Since then, an abundance of research examining the prevalence of relational aggression during early childhood has been published in over 53 peer-reviewed journals. This review summarises the empirical evidence from these studies. A systematic search of the literature published between 1995 and 2019 identified 106 studies for inclusion. Studies were coded to extract data on participant characteristics, measurement characteristics, the prevalence of relational aggression, dependent variables (psychosocial factors), and research rigor. Results indicate that the prevalence of relational aggression during early childhood has remained stable over the past 25 years. However, we observed considerable heterogeneity regarding the instruments and informants that were used and psychosocial factors that were evaluated in the different studies. Recommendations and consideration are given to future directions in the study of relational aggression during early childhood.