Social Goals and Youth Aggression: Metaanalysis of Prosocial and Antisocial Goals

To advance research evaluating the relationship between social information processing (Crick & Dodge) and youth aggression, this meta-analytic study examined associations between social goals and aggression in children in 21 separate research reports. Eligible studies provided descriptive or preintervention measurement of children’s aggression and social goals, and were reported in English by March 1, 2010. Findings from two random-effects meta-analyses utilizing clustered data analysis techniques (i.e., effect sizes nested within samples) supported an expected (1) negative association between prosocial goals and aggression, and (2) positive association between antisocial goals and aggression. Little heterogeneity in these associations was observed across studies, and no moderating variables were revealed. The findings extend existing meta-analytic research on social information processing and aggression to include social goals as meaningful correlates of youth aggression.