Latent Profiles of Anxious Children and Their Differences in Aggressive Behavior

Children tend to develop forms of anxiety that can be associated with school violence. However, the previous scientific literature on anxiety and aggression is scarce. In addition, it has only focused on examining differential relationships between both variables. This study aimed to analyze the relationships between three forms of anxiety (anticipatory anxiety, school-based performance anxiety, and generalized anxiety) and the components of aggression (physical and verbal aggression, anger, and hostility) by adopting a person-centered approach. The sample consisted of 1161 Spanish students from 8 to 11 years old ( M = 9.72, SD = 1.14); 46.2% were boys. Informed written consent from the parents or legal guardians was obtained. The Visual Analogue Scale for Anxiety—Revised and the Aggression Questionnaire were used. The latent profile analysis technique identified three profiles of anxious children: Low Anxiety, High School-based Performance Anxiety, and High Anxiety. The High Anxiety group scored significantly higher than the Low Anxiety group in all components of aggression, with effect sizes ranging from moderate to large ( d = 0.59 to 0.99). The High Anxiety profile showed significantly higher scores than the high school-based performance anxiety profile only in anger ( d = 0.56) and hostility ( d = 0.44). The results have relevant implications for practice, since there is evidence that different intervention strategies should be applied according to the risk profile.