Children's ratings of competence and relationship quality wereused to examine the association between idealized or inflatedself-perceptions and level of aggression. Participants were 62aggressive and 53 nonaggressive second and third graders. Ratings ofcompetence were based on the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competenceand Social Acceptance for Young Children; ratings of relationshipquality were drawn from the Social Support Appraisals Scale and theNetwork of Relationships Inventory. External ratings of competence andrelationship quality were obtained from mothers, teachers, andpeers. Compared to children who were nonaggressive, aggressivechildren were more likely to rate personal competence and relationshipquality in a perfect or idealized manner and to show lessdifferentiation in their ratings of competence and relationshipquality. Aggressive children's self-rated competence andrelationship quality were also inflated relative to the ratings madeby others, whereas the self-ratings of nonaggressive children tendedto be underestimates of their functioning. The tendency for aggressivechildren to idealize and to inflate ratings of competence andrelationship quality was associated with higher levels ofaggression. For aggressive children, a highly positive self-view isconstrued—not as a protective factor or measurement error— but as a defensive posture that places the child at added riskand that impedes the progress of psychosocial interventions.