ABSTRACT
Research has shown that specific problem behaviours are age related (Egeland et al. 1990; Links 1983). Young children tend to have a greater number of extreme scores on such behaviours as overactivity, restlessness, fighting, clumsiness, teasing others, destructiveness, lack of concentration, attention-seeking, speech difficulties, tension, shyness, extreme timidity and temper tantrums (Papatheodorou 1995; Luk et al. 1991; Golding and Rush 1986). Aggressive behaviour towards peers is a common complaint in preschoolers. Active and boisterous children tend to show domineering behaviour and become more aggressive and less popular with their peers (Campbell 1983). However, most acts of aggression among young children have to do with fights over possession or property (Sutton-Smith et al. 1988; Campbell 1983); aggressive acts are often observed when a child aims to attain or retrieve some object or privilege from his/her peers (Biehler 1981). In this sense, most preschoolers’ aggression is instrumental rather than hostile, intending to hurt other children.
