Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between aggression and self-esteem of upper elementary school children with stress and coping shown in the ‘People In the Rain Test(PIRT).’ The participants were 293 elementary school children (149 males, 144 females) in grades 4, 5, and 6 from Seoul. The results were as follows. First, aggression showed a significant negative correlation with self-esteem and coping resource, self-esteem had a significant negative correlation with stress and a significant positive correlation with coping ability. Stress showed a significant negative correlation with coping ability, whereas coping resource showed a significant positive correlation with coping ability. Second, coping resource and coping ability were significantly higher in the low aggression group than in the high aggression group. In the ‘heavy rain’ and ‘multiple precipitation or snowfall’ items, the high aggression group showed significantly higher scores than the low aggression group, and in the ‘wind’ item, the low aggression group scored significantly higher than the high aggression group. In the items of ‘flawless protection’ and ‘missing body parts’, the high aggression group showed significantly higher scores than the low aggression group, and in the ‘boots’ item, the low aggression group scored significantly higher than the high aggression group. Third, there was no significant difference in stress, coping resource, and coping ability between the high self-esteem group and the low self-esteem group. The low self-esteem group scored significantly higher than the high self-esteem group in the ‘heavy rain’ item, and the high self-esteem group scored significantly higher than the low self-esteem group in the ‘cloud’ item. There was no significant difference in all items of coping resource. Based on the results of this study, the possibilities and limitations of the PIRT used for checking children's aggression and self-esteem were discussed.