Teacher-rated aggression and co-occurring behaviors and emotional problems among schoolchildren in four population-based European cohorts

Alyce M. Whipp; Eero Vuoksimaa; Koen Bolhuis; Eveline L. de Zeeuw; Tellervo Korhonen; Matteo Mauri; Lea Pulkkinen; Kaili Rimfeld; Richard J. Rose; Catharina E.M. van Beijsterveldt; Meike Bartels; Robert Plomin; Henning Tiemeier; Jaakko Kaprio; Dorret I. Boomsma

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0238667

Teacher-rated aggression and co-occurring behaviors and emotional problems among schoolchildren in four population-based European cohorts

Alyce M. Whipp^*, Eero Vuoksimaa, Koen Bolhuis, Eveline L. de Zeeuw, Tellervo Korhonen, Matteo Mauri, Lea Pulkkinen, Kaili Rimfeld, Richard J. Rose, Catharina E.M. van Beijsterveldt, Meike Bartels, Robert Plomin, Henning Tiemeier, Jaakko Kaprio, Dorret I. Boomsma

^*Corresponding author for this work

Social Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Aggressive behavior in school is an ongoing concern. The current focus is on specific manifestations such as bullying, but the behavior is broad and heterogenous. Children spend a substantial amount of time in school, but their behaviors in the school setting tend to be less well characterized than at home. Because aggression may index multiple behavioral problems, we used three validated instruments to assess means, correlations and gender differences of teacher-rated aggressive behavior with co-occurring externalizing/internalizing problems and social behavior in 39,936 schoolchildren aged 7–14 from 4 population-based cohorts from Finland, the Netherlands, and the UK. Correlations of aggressive behavior were high with all other externalizing problems (r: 0.47–0.80) and lower with internalizing problems (r: 0.02–0.39). A negative association was observed with prosocial behavior (r: -0.33 to -0.54). Mean levels of aggressive behavior differed significantly by gender. Despite the higher mean levels of aggressive behavior in boys, the correlations were notably similar for boys and girls (e.g., aggressive-hyperactivity correlations: 0.51–0.75 boys, 0.47–0.70 girls) and did not vary greatly with respect to age, instrument or cohort. Thus, teacher-rated aggressive behavior rarely occurs in isolation; boys and girls with problems of aggressive behavior likely require help with other behavioral and emotional problems. Important to note, higher aggressive behavior is not only associated with higher amounts of other externalizing and internalizing problems but also with lower levels of prosocial behavior.

Original language	English
Article number	e0238667
Journal	PLoS ONE
Volume	16
Issue number	4 April
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238667
Publication status	Published - Apr 2021

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Whipp, A. M., Vuoksimaa, E., Bolhuis, K., de Zeeuw, E. L., Korhonen, T., Mauri, M., Pulkkinen, L., Rimfeld, K., Rose, R. J., van Beijsterveldt, C. E. M., Bartels, M., Plomin, R., Tiemeier, H., Kaprio, J., & Boomsma, D. I. (2021). Teacher-rated aggression and co-occurring behaviors and emotional problems among schoolchildren in four population-based European cohorts. PLoS ONE, 16(4 April), Article e0238667. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238667

@article{da0244db623f4f23b16c8ec7ba542621,

title = "Teacher-rated aggression and co-occurring behaviors and emotional problems among schoolchildren in four population-based European cohorts",

abstract = "Aggressive behavior in school is an ongoing concern. The current focus is on specific manifestations such as bullying, but the behavior is broad and heterogenous. Children spend a substantial amount of time in school, but their behaviors in the school setting tend to be less well characterized than at home. Because aggression may index multiple behavioral problems, we used three validated instruments to assess means, correlations and gender differences of teacher-rated aggressive behavior with co-occurring externalizing/internalizing problems and social behavior in 39,936 schoolchildren aged 7–14 from 4 population-based cohorts from Finland, the Netherlands, and the UK. Correlations of aggressive behavior were high with all other externalizing problems (r: 0.47–0.80) and lower with internalizing problems (r: 0.02–0.39). A negative association was observed with prosocial behavior (r: -0.33 to -0.54). Mean levels of aggressive behavior differed significantly by gender. Despite the higher mean levels of aggressive behavior in boys, the correlations were notably similar for boys and girls (e.g., aggressive-hyperactivity correlations: 0.51–0.75 boys, 0.47–0.70 girls) and did not vary greatly with respect to age, instrument or cohort. Thus, teacher-rated aggressive behavior rarely occurs in isolation; boys and girls with problems of aggressive behavior likely require help with other behavioral and emotional problems. Important to note, higher aggressive behavior is not only associated with higher amounts of other externalizing and internalizing problems but also with lower levels of prosocial behavior.",

author = "Whipp, {Alyce M.} and Eero Vuoksimaa and Koen Bolhuis and {de Zeeuw}, {Eveline L.} and Tellervo Korhonen and Matteo Mauri and Lea Pulkkinen and Kaili Rimfeld and Rose, {Richard J.} and {van Beijsterveldt}, {Catharina E.M.} and Meike Bartels and Robert Plomin and Henning Tiemeier and Jaakko Kaprio and Boomsma, {Dorret I.}",

note = "Funding Information: This work is part of the ACTION consortium which is supported by funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 602768. FT12: Data collection has been supported by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (grants AA-12502, AA-00145, and AA-09203 to RJR) and the Academy of Finland (grants 100499, 205585, 118555, 141054 and 264146 to JK). JK has been supported by the Academy of Finland (grants 308248, 312073). GENR: This work was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO-grant 016.VICI.170.200) to HT, and the Sophia Children?s Hospital Research Foundation (research fellowship grant 921) to KB. Super computing resources were made possible through the NWO Physical Sciences Division (surfsara.nl). The first phase of the Generation R Study is made possible by financial support from the Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam; the Erasmus University Rotterdam; The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw). NTR: Data collection in the NTR was funded by the Netherlands Organization for Science (NWO): Twin-family database for behavior genetics and genomics studies (NWO-480-04-004); Gravitation program of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO-024.001.003). ?Longitudinal data collection from teachers of Dutch twins and their siblings? (NWO-481-08-011); ?Twin-family study of individual differences in school achievement? (NWO-056-32-010); ZonMW ?Genetic influences on stability and change in psychopathology from childhood to young adulthood? (NWO-912-10-020); ?Netherlands Twin Registry Repository? (NWO-480-15-001/674). DIB would like to acknowledge the KNAW Academy Professor Award (PAH/6635). TEDS: TEDS is supported by a program grant to RP from the UK Medical Research Council (MR/ M021475/1). No funders had any involvement in the conduct of this research, including in the study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of the data, the writing of the report, and the decision to submit to the article for publication. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Whipp et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

year = "2021",

month = apr,

doi = "10.1371/journal.pone.0238667",

language = "English",

volume = "16",

journal = "PLoS ONE",

issn = "1932-6203",

publisher = "Public Library of Science",

number = "4 April",

}

Whipp, AM, Vuoksimaa, E, Bolhuis, K, de Zeeuw, EL, Korhonen, T, Mauri, M, Pulkkinen, L, Rimfeld, K, Rose, RJ, van Beijsterveldt, CEM, Bartels, M, Plomin, R, Tiemeier, H, Kaprio, J & Boomsma, DI 2021, 'Teacher-rated aggression and co-occurring behaviors and emotional problems among schoolchildren in four population-based European cohorts', PLoS ONE, vol. 16, no. 4 April, e0238667. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238667

TY - JOUR

T1 - Teacher-rated aggression and co-occurring behaviors and emotional problems among schoolchildren in four population-based European cohorts

AU - Whipp, Alyce M.

AU - Vuoksimaa, Eero

AU - Bolhuis, Koen

AU - de Zeeuw, Eveline L.

AU - Korhonen, Tellervo

AU - Mauri, Matteo

AU - Pulkkinen, Lea

AU - Rimfeld, Kaili

AU - Rose, Richard J.

AU - van Beijsterveldt, Catharina E.M.

AU - Bartels, Meike

AU - Plomin, Robert

AU - Tiemeier, Henning

AU - Kaprio, Jaakko

AU - Boomsma, Dorret I.

N1 - Funding Information: This work is part of the ACTION consortium which is supported by funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 602768. FT12: Data collection has been supported by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (grants AA-12502, AA-00145, and AA-09203 to RJR) and the Academy of Finland (grants 100499, 205585, 118555, 141054 and 264146 to JK). JK has been supported by the Academy of Finland (grants 308248, 312073). GENR: This work was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO-grant 016.VICI.170.200) to HT, and the Sophia Children?s Hospital Research Foundation (research fellowship grant 921) to KB. Super computing resources were made possible through the NWO Physical Sciences Division (surfsara.nl). The first phase of the Generation R Study is made possible by financial support from the Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam; the Erasmus University Rotterdam; The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw). NTR: Data collection in the NTR was funded by the Netherlands Organization for Science (NWO): Twin-family database for behavior genetics and genomics studies (NWO-480-04-004); Gravitation program of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO-024.001.003). ?Longitudinal data collection from teachers of Dutch twins and their siblings? (NWO-481-08-011); ?Twin-family study of individual differences in school achievement? (NWO-056-32-010); ZonMW ?Genetic influences on stability and change in psychopathology from childhood to young adulthood? (NWO-912-10-020); ?Netherlands Twin Registry Repository? (NWO-480-15-001/674). DIB would like to acknowledge the KNAW Academy Professor Award (PAH/6635). TEDS: TEDS is supported by a program grant to RP from the UK Medical Research Council (MR/ M021475/1). No funders had any involvement in the conduct of this research, including in the study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of the data, the writing of the report, and the decision to submit to the article for publication. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Whipp et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/4

Y1 - 2021/4

N2 - Aggressive behavior in school is an ongoing concern. The current focus is on specific manifestations such as bullying, but the behavior is broad and heterogenous. Children spend a substantial amount of time in school, but their behaviors in the school setting tend to be less well characterized than at home. Because aggression may index multiple behavioral problems, we used three validated instruments to assess means, correlations and gender differences of teacher-rated aggressive behavior with co-occurring externalizing/internalizing problems and social behavior in 39,936 schoolchildren aged 7–14 from 4 population-based cohorts from Finland, the Netherlands, and the UK. Correlations of aggressive behavior were high with all other externalizing problems (r: 0.47–0.80) and lower with internalizing problems (r: 0.02–0.39). A negative association was observed with prosocial behavior (r: -0.33 to -0.54). Mean levels of aggressive behavior differed significantly by gender. Despite the higher mean levels of aggressive behavior in boys, the correlations were notably similar for boys and girls (e.g., aggressive-hyperactivity correlations: 0.51–0.75 boys, 0.47–0.70 girls) and did not vary greatly with respect to age, instrument or cohort. Thus, teacher-rated aggressive behavior rarely occurs in isolation; boys and girls with problems of aggressive behavior likely require help with other behavioral and emotional problems. Important to note, higher aggressive behavior is not only associated with higher amounts of other externalizing and internalizing problems but also with lower levels of prosocial behavior.

AB - Aggressive behavior in school is an ongoing concern. The current focus is on specific manifestations such as bullying, but the behavior is broad and heterogenous. Children spend a substantial amount of time in school, but their behaviors in the school setting tend to be less well characterized than at home. Because aggression may index multiple behavioral problems, we used three validated instruments to assess means, correlations and gender differences of teacher-rated aggressive behavior with co-occurring externalizing/internalizing problems and social behavior in 39,936 schoolchildren aged 7–14 from 4 population-based cohorts from Finland, the Netherlands, and the UK. Correlations of aggressive behavior were high with all other externalizing problems (r: 0.47–0.80) and lower with internalizing problems (r: 0.02–0.39). A negative association was observed with prosocial behavior (r: -0.33 to -0.54). Mean levels of aggressive behavior differed significantly by gender. Despite the higher mean levels of aggressive behavior in boys, the correlations were notably similar for boys and girls (e.g., aggressive-hyperactivity correlations: 0.51–0.75 boys, 0.47–0.70 girls) and did not vary greatly with respect to age, instrument or cohort. Thus, teacher-rated aggressive behavior rarely occurs in isolation; boys and girls with problems of aggressive behavior likely require help with other behavioral and emotional problems. Important to note, higher aggressive behavior is not only associated with higher amounts of other externalizing and internalizing problems but also with lower levels of prosocial behavior.

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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0238667

DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0238667

M3 - Article

C2 - 33914742

AN - SCOPUS:85104952157

SN - 1932-6203

VL - 16

JO - PLoS ONE

JF - PLoS ONE

IS - 4 April

M1 - e0238667

ER -

Teacher-rated aggression and co-occurring behaviors and emotional problems among schoolchildren in four population-based European cohorts

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