Peer-reported Aggression Research Articles

How popularity goal and popularity status are related to observed and peer-nominated aggressive and prosocial behaviors in elementary school students

Whereas previous research with secondary school students has demonstrated that popularity goals and actual popularity status are related to peer-reported aggression, it is unclear whether this is already the case in the upper grades of elementary school. The current study extends previous research by assessing elementary school students, focusing on both aggressive and prosocial behaviors, and importantly by observing aggressive and prosocial behaviors in cooperative and competitive small-group settings. Participants were 173 Dutch fifth- and sixth-grade students (58.2% girls; Mage = 11.11 years, SD = 0.72), who self-reported popularity goals and nominated peers for popularity, aggressive behavior, and prosocial behavior. Participants’ behavior in a cooperative task and a competitive task, completed in groups of 4, was observed. Results show that popularity goal was related to high levels of aggression according to peers (only for boys) and to low levels of prosocial behavior across reporters and settings. Actual popularity status was related to high levels of strategic aggression across reporters and settings and additional high levels of strategic prosocial behavior in a cooperative setting. Thus, the current study demonstrates that popularity goal is already related to social behavior in elementary school and that desired and actual popularity are not only predictive of the behavior as perceived by peers but also predictive of observed behaviors during group interactions.

Conflict moderates the longitudinal association between aggression with classmates and popularity: Leveraging disagreements into peer status

The present study tests the hypothesis that conflict amplifies longitudinal associations from aggressiveness and disruptiveness to classroom popularity. Participants were 356 (181 girls, 172 boys) Florida primary school students (ages 8–12). The results revealed that higher initial levels of peer-reported aggression, and disruptiveness were associated with increases in peer-reported popularity, particularly for children who report frequent conflict with classmates. The findings highlight a hitherto unexplored avenue through which aggressive and disruptive children attain status in the peer group.

Do narcissistic boys and girls differ in their aggression?

ABSTRACTNarcissistic individuals harbor self-views that are grandiose yet fragile. Evidence suggests that adult narcissists lash out when their highly inflated self-views are challenged. The present study sought to investigate whether being rejected or victimized accounts for increased aggression among adolescent narcissists. Cross-sectional self- and peer-reported data were obtained from a sample of 372 adolescents (mean age 14.4 years). Aggression measure combined self- and peer-reported aggression. Being rejected was associated with elevated aggression in narcissistic males. Being rejected or victimized was associated with having less aggression in narcissistic females. We conclude that rejection and victimization are possibly dealt with differently by narcissistic adolescent males and females.

Afternoon cortisol provides a link between self-regulated anger and peer-reported aggression in typically developing children in the school context.

Aggression jeopardizes positive development in children and predicts social and academic maladjustment in school. The present study determined the relationships among anger dysregulation (a marker of emotion regulation), cortisol activity (a biomarker of stress), and peer-nominated aggression in typically developing children in their everyday classroom setting (N = 151, Mean age = 10.86, SD =.74). Salivary cortisol was collected at 09:15, 11:45, and 14:45 hr across 4 consecutive days. Children provided self-reports of anger regulation; peers reported proactive and reactive aggressive behaviors. Hierarchical linear regression analyses, followed by a bootstrapping analysis identified basal afternoon cortisol as a significant mediator between anger regulation and peer-reported aggression. More dysregulated anger significantly predicted lower afternoon cortisol, which in turn predicted increased peer-reported aggression. These results align with previous research on links among hypocortisolism, emotional regulation, and behavior, and suggest a possible meditational pathway between emotion and behavior regulation via decreased afternoon cortisol levels.

Adolescent Communal Narcissism and Peer Perceptions.

The present study extended recent work on communal narcissism to a sample of at-risk adolescents. Although narcissism is widely considered an agentic personality construct, Gebauer and colleagues (Gebauer, Sedikides, Verplanken, & Maio, 2012) demonstrated the existence and utility of a communal narcissism construct in adults. The extent to which this variant of narcissism applies to adolescents is not yet known. Because communal narcissism (e.g., feeling that one is the most helpful, is a great influence on others, will bring about world peace) may actually be aversive to others, we investigated the associated self- and peer perceptions of adolescent communal narcissism. Participants were 136 adolescents (104 males, 32 females; 52.2% White, 42.2% Black, 5.6% Other) aged 16-19, who were attending a 22-week residential program together. Participants completed self-report measures of narcissism and interpersonal behavior, as well as a peer nomination procedure. Self-reported communal narcissism was significantly related to self-reported pro-social behavior but was associated with peer-reported aggression, similar to the findings for nonpathological narcissism, which is considered agentic. Adolescent communal narcissism appears to be tied to negative peer perceptions. The implications for understanding the interpersonal consequences of adolescent grandiosity in communal domains are discussed.

Associations Between Victimization and Adolescents' Self-Reported Responses to Peer Provocation Are Moderated by Peer-Reported Aggressiveness.

Many early adolescents experience peer victimization, but little research has examined how they respond to aggression by peers. Thus, in a large sample of early adolescents (N=648; M age=12.96; SD=0.30; 52.0% female), we examined (1) the associations between peer-reported victimization and self-reported responses to peer provocation, and (2) whether these associations were moderated by peer-reported aggression. In particular, we predicted that the reported use of assertion, a strategy generally viewed as socially skillful, would be associated with less victimization, but only for youth low on peer-reported aggression. Results were consistent with this hypothesis. Moreover, seeking adult intervention was associated with greater victimization for youth high on peer-reported aggression. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Tipping points in adolescent adjustment: predicting social functioning from adolescents' conflict with parents and friends.

Despite widespread interest in examining the role of conflict for adolescent development, researchers only rarely have examined adolescents' experiences of conflict across relationships. The present study examined how adolescents' experiences of conflict with parents and friends were linked to their social functioning. Adolescents (n = 189) and their mothers and fathers participated in semistructured discussions about areas of parent-adolescent conflict in the laboratory. In addition, adolescents reported about conflict in their best friendships, and peers reported about adolescents' social acceptance and behavior in social settings. Parent-adolescent conflict was associated with peer-reported aggression and delinquency, and friendship conflict was associated with delinquency and prosocial behavior. In addition, significant Parent-Adolescent Conflict × Friend-Adolescent Conflict interactions revealed that parent-adolescent conflict was associated with poor social functioning only when conflict with best friends was also high. The findings suggest that consideration of conflict across relationships may yield insight into the specific contexts in which conflict is associated with negative outcomes for adolescents.

Intent Attributions and Aggression: A Study of Children and their Parents

This research aimed to further clarify the relationship between children's self-reported hostile intent attributions (for ambiguous instrumental or relational provocations) and peer-reported aggression (physical and relational) in 500 fourth-grade children. In addition, we examined whether parents' intent attributions might predict children's intent attributions and aggression. Both parents (mothers and fathers) in 393 families completed intent attribution questionnaires. Results showed, consistent with past research, that boys' instrumental intent attributions were related to physical aggression. Children's relational intent attributions, however, were not associated with relational aggression. Contrary to expectations, most children responded with hostile intent attributions for relational provocations. Finally, in regard to parent-child connections, maternal intent attributions correlated with children's intent attributions whereas paternal intent attributions corresponded with children's relational aggression.

Similarities in Aggression, Inattention/Hyperactivity, Depression, and Anxiety in Middle Childhood Friendships

Friendship similarities on behavioral and psychopathological characteristics have been proposed as risk factors for maladaptive development, yet these similarities have not been thoroughly investigated. The present study examined adolescent friendship similarities on aggression, inattention/hyperactivity, depression, and anxiety. Two hundred thirty-four 4th to 9th grade students (9- to 17-year-olds) completed self- and peer-report measures that identified friends and nonfriends and assessed behavioral and psychopathological characteristics. Friends were more similar than nonfriends on peer-reported inattention/hyperactivity. They also tended to be more similar than nonfriends on peer-reported aggression, self-reported inattention/hyperactivity, peer-reported depression, and self-reported anxiety. Female friends were more similar on peer-reported aggression and depression than male friends, whereas male friends tended to be more similar on self-reported inattention/hyperactivity. Understanding the similarities in friendships may help school counselors and therapists more adeptly address these behavioral and psychopathological characteristics in their clients.

Narcissistic Features in Young Adolescents: Relations to Aggression and Internalizing Symptoms

Recent research and theory suggest narcissistic features contribute to aggression in adults. The present study examined the association of narcissistic features with aggression and internalizing symptoms in 233 students of 5th–8th grade at three inner-city schools. A factor analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory in this sample revealed three factors: Adaptive Narcissism, Exploitativeness, and Exhibitionism. Regression analyses were used to predict the association of these three narcissistic features with self-, teacher-, and peer-reported aggression and self-reported internalizing symptoms. Results indicate narcissistic exploitativeness positively predicted self-reported proactive aggression, and narcissistic exhibitionism positively predicted internalizing symptoms. Narcissism and self-esteem interacted to predict teacher-reported aggression and self-reported internalizing symptoms. Results are discussed in the context of existing theories of narcissism, threatened egotism, and self-perception bias.