[The status of aggressive children and victims of aggression in school]

In a representative sample of 1594 pupils of the eight grade in Vienna and lower Austria the experiences of conflicts among pupils and the other school experiences were explored. Based on the reports of their own involvement in aggressive acts 4 groups of pupils were formed--a group which was themself aggressive against other pupils in their class but was no target of aggression (bullies); a group which was frequently a target of aggression; a group which was both--aggressive and target of aggression and finally an uninvolved group. It was shown that aggressive children had a high self-reported readiness to solve conflicts through physical power and that they were often involved in other dissocial acts in school. A major part of these pupils had a rather negative image of their school and of the teachers. The self-concept and the perception of their own role in class depended very much on their being a target of aggression or not. Parallels between these two subgroups and the distinction between socialized and undersocialized aggression are highlighted. In addition the special situation of those pupils who are a target of aggression without being aggressive is considered.