IN THIS PAPER CERTAIN MANIFESTATIONS OF AGGRESSION IN LATENCY and preadolescent girls are examined. In the areas I have selected for discussion I attempt to show the interplay of aggression, narcissism, and sexuality during this period of development. While my focus is on girls, about whose expressions of aggression there is a paucity of information, I shall point to some contrasts between boys and girls.

The first part of this paper deals with the more or less normal latency and preadolescent child; the second considers some of the pathological aspects. The final part is concerned with the concept of receptivity in the developing girl, especially in the latency period.

The material I present is drawn from psychoanalytic practice and from direct observations, my own and those of educators. Direct