Measurement of aggressive behavior in early childhood is unique given that relational aggression is just developing, physical aggression is still prevalent, and both forms of aggression are relatively overt or direct. The current study had three aims. The first aim was to examine the internal reliability, validity, and correspondence of five different assessments of aggressive behavior in early childhood: parent report, teacher report, observer report, child report, and naturalistic school-based observations. The second aim was to test a one- and two-factor model of early childhood aggression using confirmatory factor analysis. The final aim of the study was to investigate gender differences among different reports of aggression. Observations, teacher report, and observer (research assistant) report were collected in the children's school, and parent report and child report were collected in a lab session at one time point (N = 300; 56% male; Mage = 44.86 months, SD = 5.55). Observations were collected using a focal child sampling with continuous recording approach, and previously validated measures were used for the remaining four informants. Results demonstrated that all measures were reliable with the exception of child report of relational aggression, and there was small to strong correspondence among the various informants. In addition, a two-factor structure of aggression provided the best fit to the data, providing evidence for divergence among relational and physical aggression. Finally, there were robust gender differences in physical aggression, but gender differences in relational aggression varied by method. The implications of different types of measurement are discussed.

中文翻译：

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儿童早期攻击行为的测量：使用五名线人的批判性分析。

鉴于关系攻击刚刚发展，身体攻击仍然普遍，并且两种形式的攻击都相对公开或直接，因此对儿童早期攻击行为的测量是独一无二的。目前的研究有三个目标。第一个目的是检查幼儿期攻击行为的五种不同评估的内部可靠性、有效性和一致性：家长报告、教师报告、观察者报告、儿童报告和基于学校的自然观察。第二个目的是使用验证性因素分析测试儿童早期攻击性的单因素和双因素模型。该研究的最终目的是调查不同攻击报告之间的性别差异。观察、教师报告、观察员（研究助理）报告收集于儿童学校，家长报告和孩子报告是在一个时间点的实验室会议中收集的（N = 300；56% 男性；法师 = 44.86 个月，SD = 5.55）。使用连续记录方法的焦点儿童抽样收集观察结果，并对其余四名知情人使用先前验证的措施。结果表明，除儿童报告关系攻击外，所有措施都是可靠的，并且各个线人之间存在小到强的对应关系。此外，攻击的双因素结构最适合数据，为关系攻击和身体攻击之间的差异提供了证据。最后，身体攻击存在明显的性别差异，但关系攻击的性别差异因方法而异。