Aggression and family size

The aggression displayed under controlled conditions by 56 inner-city Hispanic boys ages 7-8 was measured to test the hypothesis that S s from large families will display less antisocial aggression than S s from small families. The results indicate that aggression and family size were related in a linear manner: decreasing aggression was linked to increasing family size. These behavioral results may be, in part, the result of increased accelerated development of social skills within children living in large families.