Commonly observed sex differences in direct aggression are absent or reversed in sibling contexts

Michael Varnum (), Amanda Kirsch, Daniel Beal, Cari Pick, Laith Al-Shawaf, Chiara Ambrosio, Maria Barbato, Oumar Barry, Watcharaporn Boonyasiriwat, Eduard Brandstätter, Suzan Ceylan-Batur, Marco Correa Varella, Julio Cruz, Oana David, Laina Ngom Dieng, Dimitri Dubois (), Ana Fernandez, Silvia Galdi, Oscar Galindo Caballero, Sylvie Graf, Igor Grossmann, David Guzman, Peter Halama, Takeshi Hamamura, Martina Hřebíčková, Ioana Iuga, Lady Javela, Jaewuk Jung, Johannes Karl, Jinseok Kim, Michal Kohút, Anthonieta Mafra, Dieynaba Ndiaye, Beatriz Perez Sánchez, Eric Unzueta, Muhammad Rizwan, A Sevincer, Eric Skoog, Eunkook Suh, Daniel Sznycer, Evelina Thunell, Arnaud Tognetti (), Ayse Uskul, Jaroslava Valentova, Yunsuh Wee, Anja Lundkvist Winter, Torin Young, Danilo Zambrano, Anna Ziska and Douglas Kenrick ()
Additional contact information
Michael Varnum: ASU - Arizona State University [Tempe]
Amanda Kirsch: ASU - Arizona State University [Tempe]
Daniel Beal: Virginia Tech [Blacksburg]
Cari Pick: EDF - Environmental Defense Fund
Laith Al-Shawaf: University of Colorado [Colorado Springs]
Chiara Ambrosio: Università degli studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" = University of the Study of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli
Maria Barbato: USACH - Universidad de Santiago de Chile [Santiago]
Oumar Barry: UCAD - Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar [Sénégal]
Watcharaporn Boonyasiriwat: Chulalongkorn University [Bangkok]
Eduard Brandstätter: JKU - University of Linz - Johannes Kepler Universität Linz
Suzan Ceylan-Batur: TOBB University of Economics and Technology [Ankara]
Marco Correa Varella: USP - Universidade de São Paulo = University of São Paulo
Julio Cruz: Universidad de Antofagasta
Oana David: UBB - Babes-Bolyai University [Cluj-Napoca]
Laina Ngom Dieng: UCAD - Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar [Sénégal]
Dimitri Dubois: CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - UM - Université de Montpellier, UM - Université de Montpellier, CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Ana Fernandez: USACH - Universidad de Santiago de Chile [Santiago]
Silvia Galdi: Università degli studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" = University of the Study of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli
Oscar Galindo Caballero: Ucatolica - Universidad Católica de Colombia [Bogota]
Sylvie Graf: CAS - Czech Academy of Sciences [Prague]
Igor Grossmann: University of Waterloo [Waterloo]
David Guzman: FUKL - Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz = Konrad Lorenz University Foundation
Peter Halama: SAS - Slovak Academy of Sciences
Takeshi Hamamura: Curtin University
Martina Hřebíčková: Ucatolica - Universidad Católica de Colombia [Bogota]
Ioana Iuga: Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai [Cluj-Napoca]
Lady Javela: Universidad del Rosario [Bogota]
Jaewuk Jung: Sogang University [Séoul]
Johannes Karl: Stanford Graduate School of Business [Stanford]
Jinseok Kim: Yonsei University
Michal Kohút: Trnava University
Anthonieta Mafra: USP - Universidade de São Paulo = University of São Paulo
Dieynaba Ndiaye: UCAD - Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar [Sénégal]
Beatriz Perez Sánchez: UFRO - Universidad de la frontera [Tecumo, Chile] = University of La Frontera [Tecumo, Chile] = Université de La Frontera [Tecumo, Chili]
Eric Unzueta: UCB - Universidad Católica Boliviana
Muhammad Rizwan: National University of Medical Sciences, Pakistan
A Sevincer: Leuphana University of Lüneburg
Eric Skoog: PRIO - Peace Research institute Oslo
Eunkook Suh: Yonsei University
Daniel Sznycer: OSU - Oklahoma State University [Stillwater]
Evelina Thunell: Karolinska Institutet [Stockholm]
Arnaud Tognetti: CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - UM - Université de Montpellier
Ayse Uskul: University of Sussex
Jaroslava Valentova: USP - Universidade de São Paulo = University of São Paulo
Yunsuh Wee: OSU - Oklahoma State University [Stillwater]
Anja Lundkvist Winter: Karolinska Institutet [Stockholm]
Torin Young: University of Waterloo [Waterloo]
Danilo Zambrano: FUKL - Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz = Konrad Lorenz University Foundation
Anna Ziska: fresenius University of Applied Sciences,
Douglas Kenrick: ASU - Arizona State University [Tempe]

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Abstract: Decades of research support the generalization that human males tend to be more aggressive than females. However, most of that research has examined aggression between unrelated individuals. Data drawn from 24 societies around the globe (n = 4,013) indicate that this generalization does not hold in the context of sibling relationships. In retrospective self-reports, females report being at least as aggressive as males toward their siblings, often more so. This holds for direct as well as indirect aggression, and for aggression between adult siblings as well as aggression that occurred during childhood. Consistent with prior research on sex differences, males reported engaging in more direct aggression toward nonkin than did females in the majority of societies. The results suggest that the dynamics of aggression within the family are different from those outside of it, and ultimately that understanding the role of sex in aggressive tendencies depends on context and target.

Keywords: aggression sex differences siblings universal; aggression; sex differences; siblings; universal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05235352v1
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Published in PNAS Nexus, 2025, 4, ⟨10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf239⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05235352

DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf239

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