Consistency of assertive, aggressive, and submissive behavior for children

The interpersonal behavior of 50 third- through fifth-grade children was assessed over an 8-month period in a wide variety of naturally occurring school activities. The consistency of the children's behavior was found to vary as a function of the child's sex, the class of behavior examined, and the similarity/dissimilarity of the contexts in which the behaviors occurred. Boys demonstrated remarkable consistency in their aggressive expression; 46 of 105 intercorrelations for the aggressiveness dimensions were statistically significant. In general, the consistency of assertive behavior for both boys and girls was unexpectedly high.