The UVM Social Development Lab is committed to understanding the development of social behavior in children and adolescents. Our research focuses on the development of aggressive behavior and experiences of victimization with a particular focus on the role of gender. We investigate forms of aggression that are typical across genders (e.g., relational aggression, including social exclusion and rumor-spreading), in addition to the aggressive behaviors that have traditionally attracted the majority of empirical attention and are more characteristic of boys and men (e.g., physical aggression). Our work includes research related to the measurement of aggression, identifying risk factors for aggression, and identifying the maladaptive outcomes associated with experiences of perpetration and victimization. Our recent projects have focused on how physiological stress functioning (autonomic nervous system, cortisol) relates to aggressive behavior and peer victimization.