Associations between popularity and aggression in Turkish early adolescents

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine both the linear and the curvilinear relationships amongst perceived and sociometric popularity and aggression in early adolescence. The study sample consisted of 423 volunteer students who were chosen through random sampling from 8th grade students who were attending 19 elementary schools in Turkey. Before examining the study hypotheses, gender differences in aggression, perceived and sociometric popularity were examined. The study findings revealed that boys’ physical, verbal and indirect aggression and anger scores were higher compared to girls. There was no significant gender difference in sociometric and perceived popularity. In addition, aggression scores of boys and girls had a negative linear effect on sociometric popularity, whereas they had a positive linear effect on perceived popularity. Curvilinear relationships showed that girls were more preferred by their peers when their anger scores were low and high, but their level of perceived popularity was slightly reduced at higher levels of physical and verbal aggression. Curvilinear relationships revealed that boys were preferred less at lower levels of verbal aggression. The curvilinear effect of aggression on perceived popularity was not statistically significant for boys.