The Incidence of Peer Aggression and Peer Victimization between the Sexes

Abstract

The Reduced Aggression and Victimization Scales (RAVS) developed by Orpinas and Horne (2006) were administered to 148 sixth-graders with the aim of knowing the differences in the incidence of peer aggression and peer victimization between boys and girls. RAVS measures the frequency of reporting aggressive behaviors or of being victimized during the previous week prior to the survey. The scales are composed of six items each. Each point represents one instance of aggression or victimization. To be able to determine the differences, independent samples t-test was used. Statistical analyses showed that there were differences in the incidence of peer aggression and peer victimization and were significant at the 0.01 level. With reference to the mean scores, the incidence of both peer aggression and peer victimization were higher among boys compared to girls.