College student peer aggression: A review with applications for colleges and universities

Abstract

Abstract This review summarizes literature focusing on peer relational and physical aggression in the context of college and university environments. Studies included in the review were published from 2006 to 2016. While some research focused on physical aggression, most focused on relational aggression. Overall, the research reviewed suggested that social-cognitive constructs such as hostile attribution biases, individual traits such as lower agreeableness, impulsivity, and poor mental health, negative emotions such as embarrassment, social characteristics such as exclusivity in friendships, and past relationship experiences correlated with aggressive behavior. In research that focused on aggressive behavior perpetrated on college campuses specifically (such as campus housing), most of the literature focused on relational aggression between college females. Since the quality of students' social relationships relates to student adjustment, further investigation of aggression in college can provide information for administrators who wish to increase retention rates and improve learning outcomes. Future research in this area would do well to focus on interactions between individual factors such as social-cognitive constructs and situational factors relating to aggression, as well as various forms of aggression (reactive; proactive) in context. Research of this kind can provide strong theoretical foundations for intervention efforts that can reduce relational and physical aggression in colleges and universities.