The help-hurt game as a measure of aggression in children with learning and behavior disorders

Two studies were conducted to assess the validity of the Help-Hurt game as a measure of aggressivion for emotionally disturbed (ED) and learning disabled (LD) children. In Study 1, the Help-Hurt game performance of 60 ED children was correlated with peer nominations and teacher ratings of aggressive behavior. Although the latter two measures were significantly related to each other, neither was associated with Hurt scores. Because the Help-Hurt game is typically preceded by a provocatory stimulus (television) when used in laboratory applications, a second study was conducted to examine the influence of this variable. In Study 2, a group of 38 ED and LD children viewed either an aggression-laden or comparison cartoon and then played the Help-Hurt game. Hurt scores for youngsters exposed to the aggressive cartoon condition correlated moderately with mother ratings of aggression but not with direct observations of peer aggression in school. Ironically, the Help score from the nonaggressive cartoon condition was moderately correlated with both ratings and observations of aggression. It was concluded that, within the limits of the present studies, the Help-Hurt game does not appear to be a particularly robust measure of child aggression, but that Hurt scores are moderately associated with certain types of negativistic behavior.