Peer victimization in adolescence has different effects on the sexual behavior of male and female college students

We studied levels of peer victimization from an evolutionary perspective by investigating self-reported victimization during adolescence in relation to sexual behavior in college students. One-hundred and twelve (47 female) undergraduates completed self-report measures of victimization during middle and high school, onset of sexual activity, and number of sexual partners. Nearly 85% of victimization during adolescence was perpetrated by members of the same sex. Furthermore, results show that this intrasexual victimization (particularly indirect forms) was negatively correlated with reproductive opportunities in males, but positively correlated in females. Males who were frequently victimized had fewer total sexual partners and partners per year on average, while females who were often victims of aggression reported having more sexual partners and an earlier onset of sexual activity. Regression analysis revealed that demeaning, diminishing and embarrassing was the most significant predictor of the rate of sexual activity in both sexes (although this relationship was inverted between them), while teasing was the best predictor of total sexual partners in females. This evidence is consistent with evolutionary interpretations regarding human aggression and competition, as well as with recent findings suggesting that indirect victimization during adolescence is a form of intrasexual competition associated with reproductive opportunities.     

Intrasexual peer aggression and dating behavior during adolescence: an evolutionary perspective

It has been suggested that the use of intrasexual aggression is a form of competition associated with reproductive opportunities. Here the authors investigated the relationship between retrospective dating and flirting behavior and peer aggression and victimization during middle and high school. Results indicate that the use of peer aggression was associated with adaptive dating outcomes in both sexes, whereas experiencing peer victimization was correlated with maladaptive dating behaviors among females only. Females who perpetrated high levels of indirect (i.e. nonphysical) aggression reported that they began dating at earlier ages in comparison to their peers, whereas aggressive males reported having more total dating partners. Experiencing female-female peer victimization was correlated with a later onset of dating behavior, more total dating partners, and less male flirtation while growing up. This report strengthens the connection between adolescent peer aggression and reproductive competition, suggesting a potential functionality to adolescent peer aggression in enhancing one's own mating opportunities at the expense of rivals.     

Does bullying others at school lead to adult aggression? The roles of drinking and university participation during the transition to adulthood

This study uses a three‐wave longitudinal study of young Australians to identify developmental processes underlying the relationship between school bullying and physical aggression in early adulthood. The central question is whether and how drinking and participation in work or university study disrupt or entrench aggressive pathways from school bullying to adult aggression. Self‐report data were collected from 88 females and 63 males (N = 151) during childhood (age 10), adolescence (age 14), and early adulthood (age 20). Participants who bullied other students during childhood and adolescence, or during adolescence only, reported more physical aggression during early adulthood than those who never bullied. However, those who had bullied during adolescence only reported significantly higher adult aggression if they were also drinking at above‐average frequencies. Conversely, participation in university, compared to being in the workforce, was associated with significantly less adult aggression among the at‐risk groups. Findings suggest that particular contexts during early adulthood can offer youth on aggressive trajectories (as evidenced by bullying at school) unique opportunities to turn their behaviour around. Other contexts, however, may exacerbate aggressive behaviour patterns.     

Evolutionary perspective on indirect victimization in adolescence: the role of attractiveness, dating and sexual behavior

We studied indirect victimization from an evolutionary perspective by examining links between this type of victimization and several indicators of attractiveness (past sexual behavior, dating frequency and physical appearance). Two thousand three hundred and nineteen (56% female) students (ages 13-18) from a region of southern Ontario, Canada, completed self-report measures of indirect victimization, physical appearance, dating frequency, recent sexual behavior (number of partners in previous month) and past sexual behavior (number of lifetime partners minus number of partners in previous month) as well as indexes of depression, aggression and attachment security, which were used to control for psychosocial maladjustment. Consistent with an evolutionary framework, physical appearance interacted significantly with gender, wherein attractive females were at greater risk for indirect victimization, whereas for males physical attractiveness was a protective factor, reducing risk of victimization. Physical appearance also interacted with grade, being inversely related to indirect victimization for younger adolescents and having a nonsignificant association with victimization for older youth. Finally, recent sexual behavior was associated with increased risk of indirect victimization for older adolescents only, which we discussed with regard to peer perceptions of promiscuity and short-term mating strategies. These findings have important implications for the development of interventions designed to reduce peer victimization, in that victims of indirect aggression may represent a rather broad, heterogeneous group, including attractive individuals with no obvious signs of maladjustment.     

Intersexual aggression and male sexual activity in captive rhesus macaques

Rape has been posited to be an outgrowth of male reproductive strategies. Forced copulations may have evolved as a consequence of the low parental investment made by males in producing and raising offspring. We designed a laboratory experiment which paired rhesus macaque males with females in order to assess the influence of intersexual aggression on male sexual activity. Younger and older adult males had comparable levels of sexual behavior, but younger males were more aggressive towards females than were older males. In addition, females threatened younger males more than older males. Male attacks on females did not result in sexual intercourse. On the contrary, a negative correlation existed between male aggression towards females and male success at achieving intromissions. Female aggression towards males appeared to be an effective tactic which reduced the chances of sexual intercourse. We conclude that intersexual aggression acts either as a mechanism of dominance assertion or as a means to increase spatial distance between individuals. These data do not support the idea that rape in humans has an evolutionary foundation derived from male reproductive strategies.     

Risk Factors of Sexual Aggression and Victimization Among Homosexual Men1

This study examined risk factors of sexual aggression and victimization among homosexual men (N= 310). They completed the Homosexual Experiences Survey to record sexual aggression and victimization and provided information about 2 groups of potential risk factors: childhood abuse and sexual lifestyle (number of partners, age at first intercourse, age at coming out, accepting or paying of money for sex, and rape proclivity). One in 4 respondents reported severe forms of sexual victimization; 17% reported moderate victimization. Prevalence of perpetration of sexual aggression was almost 20% for severe aggression and 9% for moderate aggression. The risk of victimization increased as a function of childhood abuse as well as high number of partners and acceptance of money for sex. The risk of committing sexual aggression was positively related to childhood abuse, acceptance and payment of money for sex, high number of sexual partners, and rape proclivity. The findings are discussed in relation to evidence on heterosexual aggression.     

Dating Violence Victimization,Dispositional Aggression,and Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury among Psychiatrically Hospitalized Male and Female Adolescents

The objective of the current study was to characterize the association between dating violence victimization and dispositional aggression in predicting nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) among psychiatrically hospitalized male and female adolescents. One hundred fifty‐five adolescents (ages 13–17) and their parents completed the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School‐Age Children clinical interview to assess NSSI and child abuse; adolescents completed self‐report measures of aggression and dating violence victimization (verbal, physical, and sexual). Dating violence victimization and NSSI were found to be highly prevalent among both males and females in this psychiatric inpatient sample. Two moderational models were supported, wherein dating violence was associated with NSSI in the context of elevated trait anger in males and indirect aggression in females. Findings suggest that helping victims of dating violence acquire skills to address certain forms of dispositional aggression may attenuate NSSI.     

The Attribution of Date Rape: Observer's Attitudes and Sexual Experiences and The Dating Situation

This study investigated the effects of individual experience with sexual aggression/victimization, rape myth score and dating situational factors on rape attributions. A sample of 332 males and 323 females from a freshman-level class read one of three rape scenarios—a planned date with monetary investment, a planned dutch-treat date and an unplanned pick-up date. ANOVAS consisting of a 3 (scenarios) × 2 (above vs. below median on rape myth scale) × 5 (level of sexual aggression/victimization) were performed separately for each sex on four ratings of the rape scenario. Sexually aggressive males and males who agreed more with rape myths were less likely to perceive the scenarios as rape, blamed the victim more, perceived the victim as desiring intercourse and viewed the assailants' behavior as less violent. The dating situation did not affect their attributions. Females tended to rate a pick-up date scenario as rape more frequently than a date with monetary investment and females who agreed more with rape myths tended to blame the victim and perceive the victim as desiring intercourse. A female's previous experience of sexual victimization did not influence attributions. The results are interpreted within a social-cultural context for males and points to the role of situational factors in understanding date rape from the female/victim perspective.     

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.     

Aggression against middle and high school teachers: Duration of victimization and its negative impacts

Prior research indicates that student aggression against teachers is widespread, and it has negative impacts on victimized teachers’ emotional and physical well-being and job performance. However, little is known about the relationship between the recency and duration of victimization and teachers’ thoughts about quitting the teaching profession and related job dissatisfaction and disconnectedness to school. Analyses of data from a longitudinal study of 1,236 US teachers fills these gaps. The study found that many teachers experienced theft/vandalism and sexual harassment victimization that was limited to just 1 year. In contrast, sizeable proportions of teachers experienced verbal abuse and nonphysical contact aggression that occurred over 2 years. Multiple regression analyses showed that teachers who reported recent or multiyear victimization had lower levels of connectedness to school, less job satisfaction, and more thoughts about ending their teaching careers. These results may indicate that unless victimization recurs, negative effects of victimization are contemporaneous and are less likely to persist. Additional research is needed to examine victimization over longer than 2 years, investigate the effects of the frequency of different types of aggression against teachers, and identify school policies and interventions that weaken the connection of victimization to negative outcomes.     

Susceptibility to sexual victimization and women’s mating strategies

Women show stable individual differences in mating strategies ranging from short-term to long-term. Short-term mating strategies may put women at greater risk of sexual victimization through increased exposure to risky situations or to men most inclined to pursue a strategy of sexual coercion. To test these predictions, we studied female college students who had experienced a completed rape, an attempted sexual victimization, or no sexual victimization. Women’s mating strategies were assessed through the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory. Victims further reported whether they engaged in consensual intimate behaviors with their victimizer before or after the victimization. Victims of completed rape scored highest on short-term mating strategy pursuit; non-victims scored lowest; women experiencing attempted victimization scored between these two groups. Victims of completed rape also more frequently reported consensual kissing and intercourse with their victimizer before and after the victimization than women who experienced attempted victimization. The findings of this study should not be interpreted as blaming the victim, but rather as identifying circumstances that put women at greater risk. Clearly, perpetrators are to blame for sexual victimization. Discussion focuses on future research directions and on practical implications for reducing rates of sexual victimization.     

Ten years of longitudinal research on U.S. adolescent sexual behavior: Developmental correlates of sexual intercourse,and the importance of age,gender and ethnic background

We integrated findings from 35 recent, longitudinal studies of the onset of heterosexual intercourse. Correlates of adolescent sexual intercourse onset, whether in early (before age 16) or middle (ages 16–18) adolescence, included living with other than two biological parents, being less monitored by parents, having more advanced physical maturity and more involvement in dating behavior, and having more permissive attitudes toward sex. When studies were organized by age of participants, the onset of intercourse was more strongly associated with alcohol use, delinquency, school problems and (for girls) depressive symptoms in Early studies (sexual intercourse by age 15 or before only) than was found in studies classified as Middle (assessment of sexual intercourse up to age 18) or Late (knowledge of those who delayed until after age 18). Although more research is needed, additional factors were associated with delaying first sexual intercourse until after age 18, including religious attitudes and anxiety, with some factors more relevant for girls and some more applicable to boys. In total, the evidence suggests there are many similarities, but also some important differences, in the correlates associated with early versus middle versus later onset of sexual intercourse. This seems to signify more than one pathway (set of distal and proximal correlates) associated with sexual behavior during adolescence that should be tested in future research. Throughout the review, we highlight differences in the correlates of girls’ versus boys’ sexual intercourse and how race/ethnicity moderates associations. These gender and racial/ethnic differences were found largely in analyses of family processes, school and religion, and parent education. We end by summarizing several priority areas for future research.     

Early Predictors of Urban Adolescents’ Community Violence Exposure

This study examined the extent to which individual, peer, and family factors predicted the onset of community violence exposure in middle and high school, as well as the indirect effects of early factors. We were particularly interested in the timing of exposure to community violence during adolescence, and thus conducted survival analyses on data from 632 urban youth, followed from first grade through high school. Early aggressive behavior and poor academic readiness were associated with an earlier onset of community violence exposure in adolescence. The effects of early aggression on community violence exposure and victimization were accounted for, in part, by peer rejection and deviant peer affiliation; there was no evidence of moderation by gender or parental monitoring. Findings highlight potential targets for preventive interventions with youth at risk of community violence exposure.     

The relationship between early development and psychosexual behaviors in adolescent females

The relationship between early sexual maturation and the psychosexual behaviors of dating and sexual intercourse was investigated using a national sample of adolescent females aged 15 to 19. Among both black and nonblack subjects, early-maturing girls were more likely to have experienced earlier dating and coital onset than were their later-maturing peers. Blacks experienced menarche and first intercourse at earlier ages, yet dating onset at later ages. Early menarche was also associated with marriage at an early age for nonblacks, but not for blacks. These racial differences were explained in terms of diverse socialization patterns or cultural expectations. For both blacks and nonblacks, those with earlier coital experience were found to have had menarche and dating onset at earlier ages.     

Aggression Predicts Changes in Peer Victimization that Vary by Form and Function

Peer victimization is predictive of serious problems in adjustment, especially among children who are both victimized and aggressive. This study investigated how different types of aggression contribute to later victimization. Specifically, we examined prospective relationships between the types of aggression that children perpetrated and the types that they experienced at the hands of others. Trained observers coded schoolyard behavior of 553 children in grades 3–6 during the initial year of a bullying intervention program. Both observed aggression and victimization were specified by form (direct, indirect) and function (proactive, reactive). Total hourly rates of victimization were highest in the upper grades. Direct-reactive aggression uniquely predicted increases in victimization, while direct-proactive aggression predicted decreases, particularly in direct-proactive victimization. Indirect-proactive aggression (e.g., derogatory gossip) predicted increases in indirect-proactive victimization only in the control group. Indirect-reactive aggression and victimization occurred too rarely to detect change. Aggression-victimization relationships did not differ for boys and girls. Discussion considers why children might risk direct reactive aggression in the face of increased victimization. Different sequelae for different forms and functions of aggression highlight the need to resolve theoretical ambiguities in defining proactive and reactive aggression.     

A developmental perspective on bullying

In this paper, we examined the forms and relationship contexts of bullying in adolescence. Using cross‐sectional data, we assessed grade and sex differences in self‐reports of bullying and sexually harassing peers, as well as reports of dating aggression from1896 students from early to late adolescence. Reports of bullying others were highest around the school transition, with lowest levels at the end of high school. Boys reported more bullying and sexual harassment than girls. Sexual harassment of same‐ and opposite‐sex peers increased over the early adolescent years and leveled off in later high‐school years. There were no sex differences in the prevalence of indirect or physical aggression with a dating partner. Adolescents who bullied were at increased risk for the other forms of relationship aggression. These data highlight bullying as a relationship problem and point to the need for prevention programs to curtail the use of power and aggression in adolescent relationships. Aggr. Behav. 32:376–384, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Sexual assault and stranger aggression on a candian university campus

There is a severe lack of knowledge about sexual assault on Canadian college campuses. This exploratory study of 259 Canadian undergraduate women (mostly white, of British or European heritage, with about half from families of total incomes of over Can $50,000) provides evidence that although Canada generally has a lower crime rate than the United States, sexual aggression against women does not seem to be lower. Further, there is an extraordinary victimization rate for the stranger sexual advances that are legal or barely illegal, but which form a major component of women's fear. Most surveyed women have in the past year been victimized by uncomfortable stranger aggression in public places, while approximately one-third of those who date reported at least one episode of physical, verbal, or psychological sexual coercion. Close to 25% of the women said they had sexual intercourse when they did not want to during the past year.An earlier and substantially different version of this paper was presented at the annual meetings of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Pittsburgh, March 1992.     

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.     

Sexual Risk-Taking Behaviors Among Adolescents with Severe Emotional Disturbance

We investigated the sexual risk-taking behaviors of adolescents with severe emotional disturbance (SED). Subjects (N = 70) were clients of the South Carolina Continuum of Care. Information on sexual intercourse, sexual risk-taking, aggressive behaviors, substance use, and suicidal behavior was gathered using a modified version of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention self-report Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Forty-two percent of each race-gender group reported first intercourse before age 13, except for African American females at 63%. Seventy-five to 79% of all race-gender groups reported first sexual intercourse by age 18. Drinking alcohol before age 13 and carrying a weapon in the past 30 days were associated with first intercourse before age 13. Youth reporting first intercourse between ages 13 and 18 were about 12 times more likely to report suicide ideation than those youth who reported never having sexual intercourse. Youth with SED reporting first intercourse before age 13 appear to have an increased risk for unintended pregnancy and for contracting a sexually transmitted disease compared to youth with SED reporting first intercourse after age 13.