Different forms of aggression among inner-city African-American children: Gender, configurations, and school social networks

Using narrative reports of peer conflicts among a sample of African-American children and adolescents from inner-city schools, this study investigated the development and social functions of four types of aggressive behaviors: social, direct relational, physical, and verbal aggression. A total of 489 participants in grades 1, 4, and 7 were interviewed (220 boys and 269 girls). Results showed that low levels of social aggression and high levels of physical aggression were reported in peer conflicts. Gender differences on social, direct relational, and physical aggression were primarily observed in the comparisons of same-gender conflicts at grade 7. Distinct configurations were identified across different forms of aggression. Boys with configurations of physical and/or verbal aggression had higher levels of school social network centrality than non-aggressive boys. Girls with configurations of social and/or direct relational aggression showed relatively higher levels of network centrality than non-aggressive girls.     

Functions of Aggression and Peer Victimization in Elementary School Children: the Mediating Role of Social Preference

This study examined whether social preference was a mechanism that explained the relation between proactive and reactive aggression and peer victimization. Participants were 494 children in grades 2–5. Proactive and reactive aggression was assessed via a self-report measure and indices of social preference and peer victimization were assessed via a peer nomination inventory. Data was collected during the fall and spring of two academic years. The relations among aggression, social preference, and peer victimization varied as a function of aggression and gender. For girls, reactive aggression was a significant negative predictor of social preference. Findings also revealed social preference mediated the relation between reactive aggression and peer victimization for girls. This pathway did not hold for boys. There was some evidence that proactive aggression was negatively associated with peer victimization, but only for girls. Findings from the current study suggest social preference may be a key mechanism through which reactive aggression is associated with future victimization for girls. Boys’ aggression was not related to subsequent peer victimization. Future research and intervention efforts should consider gender differences and the function of aggression when investigating children’s peer victimization experiences.     

Peer and teacher bullying/victimization of South Australian secondary school students: Prevalence and psychosocial profiles

This study examined the nature and prevalence of bullying/victimization by peers and teachers reported by 1,284 students (mean age = 15.2 years) drawn from a representative sample of 25 South Australian government and private schools. Students completed a self‐report survey containing questions relating to teacher and peer‐related bullying, measures of psychosocial adjustment, and personality. The results showed that students could be clearly differentiated according to the type of victimization they had experienced. Students reporting peer victimization typically showed high levels of social alienation, poorer psychological functioning, and poorer self‐esteem and self‐image. By contrast, victims of teacher victimization were more likely to be rated as less able academically, had less intention to complete school and were more likely to be engaged in high‐risk behaviours such as gambling, drug use and under‐age drinking. Most bullying was found to occur at school rather than outside school and involved verbal aggression rather than physical harm. Boys were significantly more likely to be bullied than girls, with the highest rates being observed amongst boys attending single‐sex government schools. Girls were more likely to be subject to bullying if they attended coeducational private schools. The implications of this work for enhancing school‐retention rates and addressing psychological distress amongst adolescent students are discussed.     

Fifth-Grade Children’s Daily Experiences of Peer Victimization and Negative Emotions: Moderating Effects of Sex and Peer Rejection

This study examined the relations of fifth-grade children’s (181 boys and girls) daily experiences of peer victimization with their daily negative emotions. Children completed daily reports of peer victimization and negative emotions (sadness, anger, embarrassment, and nervousness) on up to eight school days. The daily peer victimization checklist was best represented by five factors: physical victimization, verbal victimization, social manipulation, property attacks, and social rebuff. All five types were associated with increased negative daily emotions, and several types were independently linked to increased daily negative emotions, particularly physical victimization. Girls demonstrated greater emotional reactivity in sadness to social manipulation than did boys, and higher levels of peer rejection were linked to greater emotional reactivity to multiple types of victimization. Sex and peer rejection also interacted, such that greater rejection was a stronger indicator of emotional reactivity to victimization in boys than in girls.     

The effect of religiosity and ethnic origin on direct and indirect aggression among males and females: Some Israeli findings

Israeli society is characterized by significant internal divisions. Two of the most salient of these divisions within the Jewish population relate to (1) religiosity (religious vs. secular Jews) and (2) ethnic origin (Eastern [Asian and North African] vs. Western [European and American]). The aim of this study was to assess the effects of these social divisions on aggressive behavior and victimization to aggression among Israeli children. Three types of aggressive behavior (physical, verbal, and indirect) were investigated by means of peer estimation. The sample (N = 630) was composed of three age groups (8‐, 11‐, and 15‐year‐olds). The findings indicate that in general, secular respondents scored higher on aggressive behavior and victimization than their religious counterparts, and respondents of Eastern origin scored higher than those of Israeli or Western origin. The effect of both religiosity and ethnic origin was stronger among girls than among boys. Ethnic origin had no effect on any of the boys’ measures but did affect these measures among girls. Among boys, religiosity affected verbal and indirect aggression and victimization. Among girls, indirect aggression and victimization, as well as victimization to physical aggression, were affected by religiosity. As to the effect of age, similar to previous studies, in all types of aggression and victimization, the 11‐year‐olds scored highest and the 15‐year‐olds scored lowest. Differences between the three types of aggression and victimization, as well as various interactions between the variables, are reported. The results are discussed within the wider context of the role of religiosity and ethnic origin in Israeli society. Aggr. Behav. 28:281–298, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Depression, suicide ideation, and aggression among high school students whose parents are divorced and use alcohol at home.

106 high school students from a small rural high school completed the Children of Alcoholics Scale, Zaks and Walters' Aggression Scale, Beck Depression Scale, and a modified version of the Beck Scale of Suicide Ideation. Analyses of variance showed boys were not experiencing suicide ideation any more than girls; suicide ideation was similar across the four grades, but on aggression alcohol-dependent boys scored significantly higher than girls, and in Grade 9 boys' scores were significantly higher than those in Grade 10. The sophomores' scores on alcohol dependency were significantly lower than the freshmen's scores. Boys and children from divorced homes had higher scores on aggression than girls and children from nondivorced homes. Children from homes in which alcohol was used had higher depression scores than children from nonalcoholic homes. Freshman girls and sophomore boys had higher depression scores than senior boys and girls. A Pearson r of 0.28 between scores on alcohol dependency and suicide ideation was significant, but research is needed to understand better the associations of thoughts of suicide and drug-alcohol dependency among these high school students so strategies for prevention and intervention can be focused.     

Factors Associated with Peer Sexual Harassment Victimization Among Taiwanese Adolescents

This study examined the individual and interpersonal factors of peer sexual harassment victimization among Taiwanese adolescents. A random sample of 1,376 7th to 9th grade middle school students in Taichung City, Taiwan, completed questionnaires about their demographics, delinquency, peer/teacher interaction, and experience of being sexually harassed by peers. Approximately 25.4% of the respondents had suffered peer sexual harassment during the previous semester. Boys reported more exposure to sexual harassment than did girls. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed separately for boys and girls. Significant risk factors of peer sexual harassment victimization for both genders included being bullied by peers and teacher maltreatment. Boys’ sexual harassment victimization was also associated with their involvement in fights. Peer relationship problems contributed to girls’ sexual harassment victimization. These findings suggested the relevance of a hostile school climate to peer sexual harassment and the gender differences in risk factors.     

Will Victims Become Aggressors or Vice Versa? A Cross-Lagged Analysis of School Aggression

Peer aggression and victimization are ubiquitous phenomena in schools which warrant the attention of educators and researchers. The high connection between aggression and victimization behooves researchers to look into how the comorbidity of them develops over time. The present study investigated the associations between aggression and victimization over 3 years in early adolescence and whether these associations are moderated by gender and teacher support. Participants were 567 Grade 7, 8 and 9 students (49.38% girls) from 3 schools in Hong Kong. Over the course of study, they were asked to fill in a set of questionnaires that consisted of items related to peer aggression, victimization, and teacher support at 5 time points. Four models of cross-lagged relations between peer aggression and victimization were tested. The results supported a reciprocal model of peer aggression and victimization for both boys and girls although girls engaged in less peer aggression and victimization than boys. Further analyses also revealed that teacher support acted as a suppressor of the reciprocal relations. The present study sheds lights on intervention strategies that may remediate peer aggression and victimization in schools.     

Friendships with Peers Who are Low or High in Aggression as Moderators of the Link between Peer Victimization and Declines in Academic Functioning

This paper reports two prospective investigations of the role of friendship in the relation between peer victimization and grade point averages (GPA). Study 1 included 199 children (105 boys, 94 girls; mean age of 9.1 years) and Study 2 included 310 children (151 boys, 159 girls; mean age of 8.5 years). These children were followed for two school years. In both projects, we assessed aggression, victimization, and friendship with a peer nomination inventory, and we obtained children's GPAs from a review of school records. Peer victimization was associated with academic declines only when children had either a high number of friends who were above the classroom mean on aggression or a low number of friends who were below the classroom mean on aggression. These results highlight the importance of aggression levels among friends for the academic adjustment of victimized children.     

Patterns of Adolescent Aggression and Victimization: Sex Differences and Correlates

This study identified heterogeneous patterns of peer and dating aggression and victimization among boys and girls and examined their relation to risk and protective correlates. Girls (n = 1648) and boys (n = 1420) in grades 8–10 completed surveys assessing 14 indicators of violence involvement. Latent class analyses indicated a four-class solution, though a test of measurement invariance indicated the nature of the classes differed by sex. Among boys and girls, three classes emerged: Uninvolved (45% of girls, 61% of boys), Peer Aggressor-Victims (23% of girls, 21% of boys), and Cross-Context Aggressor-Victims (CCAV) (12% of girls, 5% of boys). Those in the Peer Aggressor-Victims class were likely to report involvement in peer aggression only; however, girls in this class were likely to be involved only in moderate violence, whereas boys were likely to be involved in moderate and severe violence. Those in the CCAV class were likely to report involvement in all forms of violence except sexual and controlling aggression, which was likely only among boys. Among girls, but not boys, a Verbal Dating Aggressor-Victims class (21% of girls) emerged that was characterized by involvement in occasional verbal dating aggression only. Among boys, but not girls, a Cross-Context Physical Victims class (13% of boys) emerged that was characterized by being only a victim of moderate physical peer and dating violence. Unique and shared risk and protective factors distinguished class membership for girls and boys. Findings suggest the pathways leading to violence may differ by sex and result in different patterns of violence involvement.     

Relational and physical victimization within friendships: nobody told me there'd be friends like these

In past research, relational and physical forms of peer victimization have been identified that have been shown to be significantly associated with social–psychological maladjustment. These forms of victimization, although studied primarily within the group peer context, also occur within dyadic relationships such as friendships. Gender differences in friend victimization and the association between friend victimization and children's social–psychological adjustment were examined. Results showed that boys were more physically victimized by their friends than were girls. Girls were more relationally than physically victimized by their friends. Friend victimization was related to adjustment difficulties for both boys and girls; however, friend physical victimization was particularly related to boys whereas friend relational victimization was particularly related to girls. The implications of these findings for future research and intervention with victimized children are discussed.     

Expectations and perceptions at school transitions: The role of peer status and aggression

This study integrated research on aggression, peer status, and social and academic functioning across the middle- and high-school transitions. We examined how peer status and aggression are related to adolescents' expectations about their academic and social functioning in a new school system before the transition into that system, and their perceived academic and social functioning after the transition. Social preference, perceived popularity, overt and relational aggression, and social and academic expectations were assessed in Grades 5 and 8; identical peer status and aggression constructs and perceived social and academic functioning were assessed in Grades 6 and 9. Results indicated moderate correlations between adolescents' social and academic expectations and perceived functioning across both school transitions. Girls reported higher social and academic functioning than boys did in most cases. Perceived popularity was consistently positively associated with academic and social expectations for middle and high school, whereas social preference was associated with perceived social functioning in both middle school and high school. The link between aggression and outcome variables varied by age and was moderated by gender and peer status.     

The Protective Role of Teacher Preference for At‐Risk Children's Social Status

Aggressive behaviors have been associated with social costs (e.g., rejection) and benefits (e.g., popularity) in previous studies. The current study sought to examine the moderating effect of teacher preference on the association between distinct forms of aggressive behavior (i.e., physical aggression and relational aggression) and social status (i.e., rejection and popularity), and to explore whether these associations differed for boys and girls. Fourth and fifth grade students (N = 193) completed peer nomination procedures to assess rejection and aggressive behavior and teachers provided self‐reports of their preferences for their students. Findings indicated that relationally aggressive girls were more likely to be popular with their peers when their teachers also liked them. In addition, both relationally and physically aggressive girls were less likely to be rejected by their peers when their teachers liked them. Although physical aggression was most strongly associated with rejection among boys whose teachers liked them, relational aggression predicted popularity among boys whose teachers disliked them. Results suggest that teacher preferences may be a particularly important factor contributing to both physically and relationally aggressive children's social status (e.g., rejection and popularity), especially for girls. Aggr. Behav. 38:481‐493, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The association between stress,self‐esteem and depressive symptoms in adolescents

This cross‐sectional study investigated gender and age differences on domains of stress, self‐esteem and depressive symptoms, as well as the association between those domains using a sample of Norwegian adolescents (N = 1,239). The data was analysed using Pearson product moment correlation, t‐tests, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses. The results showed significant differences between genders. Girls scored higher on five of seven stressor domains comprising peer pressure, home life, school attendance, school/leisure conflict and school performance as well as depression, while boys scored significantly higher on self‐esteem. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that higher stress from school performance and school attendance related significantly to more depressive symptoms in both genders. Additionally, stress of home life significantly related to more depressive symptoms in girls, whereas stress of peer pressure was significant in association with depressive symptoms in boys. A strong, inverse association was found between self‐esteem and depression controlled for stress, especially in girls. Self‐esteem was not found to be a moderator of any stressor‐depression interactions. In conclusion, the results give support for the significant role of stress and self‐esteem on the experience of depressive symptoms in adolescents.     

The development of social aggression and physical aggression: A narrative analysis of interpersonal conflicts

Using conflict narratives reported by children and adolescents, this study investigated the development and social functions of social aggression in comparison to physical aggression. A total of 510 participants in two cohorts of a longitudinal study were involved (116 girls and 104 boys from Grade 4 and155 girls and 135 boys from Grade 7). Patterns of social aggression and physical aggression were identified based on interview reports in the first year of the study. Results showed that a triadic structure of social relationship was often reported in conflicts where social aggression was employed, whereas a dyadic structure was reported in conflicts involving physical aggression. Girls tended to use social aggression against girls, whereas boys tended to use physical aggression against boys. Children and adolescents who were central in peer social networks were more likely to employ social aggression than those who were peripheral in the networks. Social aggression was not reliably linked to concurrent or future problematic adjustment. Physical aggression, however, was not related to network centrality but was linked to concurrent and future maladjustment (e.g., low academic competence and school dropout). Aggr. Behav. 28:341–355, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

“It Makes Me a Man from the Beating I Took”: Gender and Aggression in Children’s Narratives About Conflict

Personal conflict narratives were written by 364 4th–6th graders from two urban schools in the U.S. mid-south that contrasted in levels of poverty and crime. Narratives were coded for severity of violence, type of aggression, explanations, characters’ mental and emotional states, and authors’ moral evaluations. Boys described more severe physical violence than girls, but provided fewer explanations, less moral evaluation, and showed less psychological mindedness in the moderate-stress neighborhood, but only when they wrote stories about boy aggressors and physical or psychological aggression. Boys describing girl or relational aggression were as psychologically and morally astute as girls were. Girls also neglected to explain and evaluate boys’ aggression. Findings supported a social constructivist model of how narrative discourse may gender aggression.     

Sex differences in the personal costs and benefits of relational and physical aggression in high school

While recent research using peer ratings demonstrates positive relations between youth's reputations for aggression and popularity, it is not clear whether aggressive youth themselves make these links. Using youth's self‐reports, this study assessed the associations of relational and physical aggression with indicators of both personal gains in peer relations (perceived popularity and receipt of prosocial attention) and personal costs in terms of retaliation or depressive responses (peer victimization and depressive symptoms) in a large sample (n=455) of eighth‐ to tenth‐grade students. Regression analyses reveal that more relationally aggressive youth report more prosocial attention but also more relational (but not physical) victimization. In contrast, more physically aggressive youth report more depressive symptoms and physical (but not relational) victimization. Findings suggest that some costs of aggression (victimization) are higher for boys while others (depressive symptoms) are greater for girls. Group differences were also found for aggressive, victimized, and aggressive/victimized youth compared to the typical low aggressive/low victimized youth. These data suggest that the costs of relational and physical aggression may outweigh benefits except for aggressive non‐victimized boys. Aggr. Behav. 32:409–419, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

High School Girls’ Experience of Victimization by Boys: Where Sexual Harassment Meets Aggression

School-based research into sexual harassment, on the one hand, and aggression (including bullying) on the other, originate from different disciplinary traditions, but are beginning to connect. We examined whether the sexual harassment of high school girls by boys can be regarded as a form of aggression. Year 8 to 10 girls from 5 coeducational high schools (N = 679) responded to a 24-item version of the Direct and Indirect Aggression Scale, including 6 new sexually toned items; participants indicated how often they experienced each behavior. Principal components analysis identified 4 components: direct aggression, psychological aggression, cyberbullying, and sexual harassment. The latter included the more intrusive sexually toned behaviors, whereas verbal sexualized insults were a component of psychological aggression—the component that most strongly undermined girls’ sense of safety at school. Research and policies on school peer victimization need to explicitly include sexual aspects, in recognition of the harmfulness of such “everyday” psychological aggression.     

流动儿童同伴侵害的特点及与内化问题的循环作用关系:一项追踪研究

本研究采用纵向设计,以北京市426名四、五年级流动儿童为被试,进行连续4次的追踪测查,考察流动儿童同伴侵害的特点及其与内化问题的动态相互作用关系。结果发现:(1)打工子弟学校流动儿童的同伴侵害与内化问题水平比公立学校流动儿童高;流动儿童的流动性越大,同伴侵害和内化问题越多。(2)控制了性别、年级、家庭社会经济地位(SES)和流动性后,从T1到T2,同伴侵害与孤独感为相互作用关系,且同伴侵害可以显著预测抑郁,但对社交焦虑的预测作用不显著,而从T2到T4,同伴侵害和3种内化问题的相互作用模式完全一致,即T2时的社交焦虑、抑郁和孤独感显著预测T3的同伴侵害,进而显著预测T4的社交焦虑、抑郁和孤独感。(3)抑郁、孤独感与同伴侵害的循环作用在两类流动儿童中具有较强的稳定性,而在社交焦虑和同伴侵害的模型中,打工子弟学校流动儿童的同伴侵害对社交焦虑的作用比公立学校流动儿童更大。可见,同伴侵害和内化问题呈循环作用关系,未来预防/干预研究可以聚焦于减少流动儿童的同伴侵害或内化问题的角度打破二者的恶性循环,帮助他们建立良好的人际关系,构建良性循环,促进他们的积极发展。     

A multi-informant longitudinal study on the relationship between aggression, peer victimization, and dating status in adolescence

Adolescent peer-aggression has recently been considered from the evolutionary perspective of intrasexual competition for mates. We tested the hypothesis that peer-nominated physical aggression, indirect aggression, along with self-reported bullying behaviors at Time 1 would predict Time 2 dating status (one year later), and that Time 1 peer- and self-reported peer victimization would negatively predict Time 2 dating status. Participants were 310 adolescents who were in grades 6 through 9 (ages 11-14) at Time 1. Results showed that for both boys and girls, peer-nominated indirect aggression was predictive of dating one year later even when controlling for age, peer-rated attractiveness, and peer-perceived popularity, as well as initial dating status. For both sexes, self-reported peer victimization was negatively related to having a dating partner at Time 2. Findings are discussed within the framework of intrasexual competition.