Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to examine links between children's overly positive perception of their own social competence and their subsequent stress responses and aggressive behavior. Elementary school students (grades 4 to 6; N=670) participated in the present study, which used a short-term longitudi-nal design. The results showed that effects of positive illusions depended on the children's stress level. Positive illusions about their social competence were related to a decrease in their stress responses when the children had been stressful to begin with. The results also revealed that detrimental effects of positive illusions depended on the children's level of aggression. The children's overly positive perceptions about their social competence were related to an increase in their aggressive behavior. However, this result was true only for those children who had been highly aggressive at the beginning.
