Describe the different types of aggression that children may exhibit and the developmental course of each type of aggression

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Physical aggression: peaks between 24 and 42 months and declines after that, although a subset of children can remain aggressive after this period of time.
Relational aggression: begins to be common around age 3-4 and increases over time. Girls are more likely to show relational than physical aggression and boys are the opposite.
Instrumental aggression is physical or relational aggression directed at achieving a goal, and it is high at 4 years of age but declines between 4 and 8 years, possibly because children’s improving language and social skills enable them to find other ways to achieve goals.
Reactive or hostile aggression: physical or relational aggression aimed at harming another person, and it becomes more common than instrumental aggression after age 8, as children begin to understand others’ intentions and to perceive hostile intent from another person that leads to retaliation.