Adolescent Relational Aggression Research Articles

Emotional awareness and adolescent relational aggression: The moderating effect of Machiavellianism

Despite previous research highlighting the impact of relational aggression on interpersonal relationships, few studies have examined the occurrence of this phenomenon during adolescence. To address this gap we conducted a crosssectional study of 702 Chinese adolescents to examine the association between emotional awareness and relational aggression, and the moderating effect of Machiavellianism. Our results revealed that there was a significant correlation between emotional awareness and relational aggression, and that Machiavellianism moderated this relationship. Specifically, we found that emotional awareness was a stronger negative predictor of relational aggression at low versus high levels of Machiavellianism. These findings provide new insight into potential strategies for reducing adolescent relational aggression.

Childhood psychological abuse and relational aggression among adolescents: A moderated chain mediation model.

Adolescents are in a period when a marked upward trend of adolescents relational aggression. Even though previous studies have found that childhood psychological abuse experience is an important factor influencing adolescent relational aggression, it is unclear when and under what circumstances childhood psychological abuse impacts adolescent relational aggression. This study constructed a moderated chain mediation model to investigate the influence of childhood psychological abuse on relational aggression among Chinese adolescents and its internal mechanism. Data from 1868 (923 male and 945 female, M = 14.31, SD = 1.60) Chinese adolescents in two full-time middle schools in Guangzhou were collected via a cross-sectional survey in 2020. Adolescents reported on childhood psychological abuse, relational aggression, rejection sensitivity relational victimization and cognitive reappraisal. The results demonstrated that: (1) childhood psychological abuse was significantly positively related to relational aggression; (2) childhood psychological abuse was significantly linked with adolescents' relational aggression through the separate mediating effects of rejection sensitivity and relational victimization, as well as through the chain mediating effects of rejection sensitivity and relational victimization; (3) the chain mediated effect of childhood psychological abuse on relational aggression through rejection sensitivity and relational victimization was moderated by cognitive reappraisal. These findings indicate that childhood psychological abuse, as a kind of poor parenting style, has influence on adolescents' internal personality (rejection sensitivity) and external behavior development (relational victimization and relational aggression). This study is helpful to demonstrate the protective effect of cognitive reappraisal and reveal the internal mechanism of childhood psychological abuse on relational aggression.

The Influence of Parental Psychological Control on the Tendency for Smartphone Addiction as Mediated by Relational Aggression in Adolescents

This study examines the influences of parental psychological control on the tendency for smartphone addiction and investigates whether adolescents’ relational aggression mediated the relation of parental psychological control on the tendency for smartphone addiction in adolescents. The sample for this study was 374 students (M 196, F 178) from four middle schools located in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. Variables were measured with the Psychological Control Scale-Youth Self Report (PCS-YSR), the Peer Conflict Scale (PCS), and the Smartphone Addiction Diagnostic Scale (S-scale). The data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics analysis, one-way ANOVA, correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and the Sobel test. Also, the Baron and Kenny’s model (1986) was used to verify mediating effects. The results are as follow. First, differences in the tendency for smartphone addiction according to gender, the period when participants started using their own smartphone, activities performed most by smartphone, hours of smartphone use per day on weekdays, and hours of smartphone use per day on weekends were significant. Second, parental psychological control, relational aggression, and all subvariables of the tendency for smartphone addiction showed a significant positive correlation. Third, relational aggression turned out to mediate partially between both maternal and paternal psychological control and all subvariables of the tendency for smartphone addiction. The results of this study show that parental psychological control has direct and indirect effects on the tendency for smartphone addiction and describe the mediating effects of relational aggression

DEMOGRAPHIC DETERMINANTS OF RELATIONAL AGGRESSION AMONG ADOLESCENT STUDENTS

Objective: To determine the predictive relation of demographic variables with relational aggression.
 Study Design: Cross sectional study.
 Place and Duration of Study: Department of Psychology, University of Gujrat, Gujrat Pakistan, from Aug 2017 to Jan 2018.
 Methodology: A total of 612 adolescent students were selected with age 12-19 years from diverse academic institutes of Gujrat city. Urdu version of diverse adolescent relational aggression scale was used to measure relational aggression. Neural network analysis was carried out by using SPSS-21.
 Result: The findings of this study revealed significant predictive relation of demographic variables (gender, birth order, family system, number of siblings and age) with relational aggression. The most important predictor of relational aggression in teenagers was birth order 0.249 (100%), age 0.246 (98.9%) siblings 0.242 (86.3%), family system 0.166 (66.8%) and gender 123 (49.6) respectively.
 Conclusion: Demographic variables are the significant predictor of relational aggression. By managing the effects of these variables, adverse behavior of relational aggression can be controlled in adolescent students

Social Control and Self-Control: A Serial Mediation Model From Economic Hardship to Juvenile Aggression.

Economic hardship is a well-established risk factor for aggressive behaviors in adolescents, yet understanding of the individual and social mediators is limited. The present study aims to investigate whether the association between economic hardship and juvenile aggression is mediated by social control and self-control. Respondents included 1,280 adolescents (47.4% male) with an average age of 15.68 years (SD = 1.23). Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model. The findings revealed that economic hardship was related to a low level of social bonds, which in turn led to a low level of self-control, thereby increasing physical, verbal, and relational aggression in adolescents. Our study combined social control and self-control into an integrated model, highlighting the role of social and individual processes in juvenile aggression. Several implications for interventions and policies are suggested for reducing aggression in adolescents.

Assessing the Correlation between Parental Incarceration and Relational Aggression: Factor Structure of the Diverse Adolescent Relational Aggression Scale (DARAS)

ABSTRACT This study details the development of the Diverse Adolescent Relational Aggression Scale (DARAS), to examine the association between parental incarceration and relational aggression in a high school population. The sample was comprised of predominantly African American high school students (N = 191) between 14–18 years of age from a North Texas school district. Data were collected through survey completion: a demographics survey, the DARAS, the Index of Family Relations, and a relational aggression subscale. Exploratory factor analysis, regression analysis, and reliability tests were conducted. The results indicate average validity and reliability for the DARAS with this diverse sample. Although no association was found between relational aggression and parental incarceration, there was an association found between parental arrest and parental aggression. Overall, the findings provided support for the DARAS when studying this population. The use of this measure by student service personnel to assess relational aggression was discussed, along with implications for practice and continued research.

Effects of Insecure Attachment to Parents in Childhood on Adolescent Relational Aggression to Romantic Partners: Mediated by Rejection Sensitivity

Effects of Insecure Attachment to Parents in Childhood on Adolescent Relational Aggression to Romantic Partners: Mediated by Rejection Sensitivity

Emotion Regulation and Relational Aggression in Adolescents: Parental Attachment as Moderator

This study explores the relations between the functional subtypes of relational aggression (proactive and reactive) and difficulties with emotion regulation (cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression). Further, it examines the moderating role of parental attachment including parental availability and dependency in these associations. Based on previous research, it was expected that difficulties in emotion regulation strategies would be associated with reactive but not with proactive relational aggression, and these links would be moderated by self-reported attachment quality to both parents. Participants of the study were 518 Greek junior high school students (50% girls), aged between 12 tο 16 (M = 13.66, SD = 1.13) who completed a self-report questionnaire. The results showed that expressive suppression holds a positive association only with reactive but not with proactive relational aggression, while low maternal attachment security was linked to both proactive and reactive relational aggression. Moderation analyses also revealed that at low levels of perceived dependency on father the expressive suppression was negatively associated with student’s engagement in proactive relational aggression. The findings also evidenced that gender differentiates adolescents’ self-reported engagement in proactive RA and perceived dependency on father for males as well as cognitive reappraisal for females. The importance of exploring interpersonal factors along with individual traits in the interpretation of relational aggression is discussed.

Relational Aggression in Adolescents with Conduct Disorder: Sex Differences and Behavioral Correlates.

As most research on conduct disorder (CD) has been conducted on male participants, it has been suggested that female-specific symptoms may be underestimated based on current DSM-5 criteria. In particular, relational aggression, i.e. the hurtful, often indirect, manipulation of relationships with the intention of damaging the other's social position, has been proposed as a characteristic of CD that is more common in females. In addition, sex-specific studies on correlates of relational aggressive behavior are lacking. Relational aggression may be strongly related to the correlates of proactive aggression, namely low affective empathy, and high levels of callous-unemotional (CU) traits and relational victimization. Thus, the present study investigated sex differences in relational aggression, and associations between relational aggression and correlates of proactive aggression in 662 adolescents with CD (403 females) and 849 typically-developing controls (568 females) aged 9-18years (M = 14.74, SD = 2.34) from the European multi-site FemNAT-CD study. Females with CD showed significantly higher levels of relational aggression compared to males with CD, whereas no sex differences were seen in controls. Relational aggression was only partly related to correlates of proactive aggression in CD: Independent of sex, CU traits showed a positive association with relational aggression. In females only, cognitive, but not affective empathy, was negatively associated with relational aggression. Relational victimization was more strongly associated with relational aggression in males compared to females. Despite interesting sex specific correlates of relational aggression, effects are small and the potential clinical implications should be investigated in future studies.

Dilemmas of Adolescents: Dark Triad and Relational Aggression, Moderated by Economic Status

Objective of the present study was to find out the relationship between dark triad and relational aggression among adolescents. A sample of 612 adolescent students with age range 12-19 were selected from different educational institute of Gujrat, Pakistan. Dark triad personality scale short version and the Urdu version of diverse adolescent relational aggression scale were used to measure relational aggression. The findings of the current study revealed significant predictive relation of machiavellianism with relational aggression [R2 =. 220; F (1, 607) = 171.340, p<.01], narcissism with relational aggression [R2 =.189; F (1, 607) = 141.753, p<.01] and psychopathy with relational aggression [R2 =.265; F (1, 607) = 218.635, p<.01]. Conclusion: The present study supported the predictive relationship of dark triad with relational aggression. These findings may have implication in the future intervention and prevention procedure for adolescents.

Moderating Role of Perceived Social Support between Perceived Parenting Styles and Relational Aggression in Adolescents

ABSTRACTThis study examined the moderating role of perceived social support between perceived parenting styles and relational aggression (RA). A sample (N = 400) was selected through stratified sampling from public and private schools and colleges. Adolescents (n = 200 boys and n = 200 girls) completed (a) Demographic Performa, (b) Early Memories of Upbringing for Children to measure perceived parenting styles, (c) Social Support Questionnaire to measure perceived social support, and (d) Diverse Adolescent Relational Aggression Scale to measure RA. Statistical analyses showed that perceived social support moderated the relationship between perceived parenting styles and RA. Findings indicated that perceived social support strengthens the negative relationship between perceived father’s Overprotection parenting and RA. Results also showed that perceived social support strengthens positive relationship between perceived father’s Anxious Rearing parenting and RA. Moreover, perceived social support strengthens the positive relationship between perceived mother’s Rejection parenting and RA. Results help in implementing interventions to promote the consolidation or increment of sources that constitute adolescents with concrete and feasible actions in the cultural, educational, and counseling implications.

A Longitudinal Study of Relational Aggression and Victimisation in Early Adolescence: Gender Differences in the Moderating Effects of Social Status

Relational aggression is defined as behaviours intended to harm others by damaging their relationships. Drawing from two theoretical perspectives, the social process model and the peer socialisation model, we tested how relational aggression and victimisation could influence each other over time, and examined peer status and gender as moderators of these bidirectional associations. We hypothesised that aggression would lead to increasing victimisation and victimisation to increasing aggression, and that the association from aggression to later victimisation would be weaker for more popular and preferred youth, especially girls. Participants were 328 Australian early adolescents (172 boys, 156 girls) in Grades 5, 6 or 7, who nominated classmates who were aggressive, victimised, popular, and preferred. Results showed support for the role of status and gender in the bidirectional associations between aggression and victimisation. Relational aggression was associated with more T2 relational victimisation only among adolescents who were low in popularity and among girls with low social preference. Victimisation was associated with T2 aggressive behaviour among more popular girls. Relational victimisation was also associated with less T2 aggression among popular boys. Findings highlight the complexities introduced by gender and social status for the unfolding of early adolescent relational aggression and victimisation.

‘You can't sit with us:’ Gender and the differential roles of social intelligence and peer status in adolescent relational aggression

Despite common notions that relational aggression (i.e., gossip, rumors, manipulation targeting another's social status; Crick & Grotpeter, 1995) is most commonly exhibited by females, there is mixed evidence regarding gender differences and what factors might heighten gender-specific risk for adolescent relational aggression (RA). The present study considered perceived social intelligence and peer status as such factors. Participants were 258 adolescents (217 males, 41 females) ranging in age from 16 to 19 attending a residential program for youth who have dropped out of school. Males and females did not differ on RA according to self-report or peer nominations. Self-reported social intelligence was associated with higher self-reported RA but only for females. The implications for future research as well as efforts for understanding RA are discussed.

Relational aggression in adolescents: A review of theoretical and empirical research

Abstract The need for an integrated approach to studying relationally aggressive behavior is evident, considering the growing though scattered and fragmentary research documenting the predictors and outcomes of this behavior. In the current paper a comprehensive review of the extant literature concerning relationally aggressive behavior of adolescents is presented, taking into account the conclusive evidence supporting the prevalence of relational aggression during this developmental stage. It opens with a conceptual clarification of the term and discussion of the theoretical approaches to the study of this aggressive form of behavior. It focuses on the main findings of the relevant theory and empirical research providing insight into both individual and contextual antecedents as well as the correlates of relationally aggressive behavior. Assessment methods for identifying relational aggression in children and adolescents are described, with an emphasis on measurement techniques most sustainable for capturing this sometimes-intangible construct. The article concludes with a discussion of proposed best practices for effectively preventing and responding to incidents of relational aggression within the context of social and emotional learning, positive behavioral or family-based interventions. Recommendations for future investigations with reference to the current theoretical conceptualizations and empirical findings on relational aggression are advanced.

The Relationship between Covert Narcissism and Relational Aggression in Adolescents: Mediating Effects of Internalized Shame and Anger Rumination

 Abstract—The purpose of this study was to test the pass model of the causal relationships among covert narcissism, internalized shame, anger rumination, and relational aggression. Also, another purpose was to verify internalized shame and anger rumination mediated between covert narcissism and relational aggression. For this study, data were collected from 653 students (336 males, 317 females) at eleven Korean high schools and were analyzed with the method of structural equation modeling. The results supported our hypothetical model. First, our findings in this study demonstrated that covert narcissism was associated with relational aggression. Second, path analysis revealed that both internalized shame and anger rumination mediated the relationship between covert narcissism and relational aggression. In addition, anger rumination mediated the relationship between internalized shame and relational aggression. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.

Parenting, relational aggression, and borderline personality features: associations over time in a Russian longitudinal sample.

Crick, Murray-Close, and Woods (2005) encouraged the study of relational aggression as a developmental precursor to borderline personality features in children and adolescents. A longitudinal study is needed to more fully explore this association, to contrast potential associations with physical aggression, and to assess generalizability across various cultural contexts. In addition, parenting is of particular interest in the prediction of aggression or borderline personality disorder. Early aggression and parenting experiences may differ in their long-term prediction of aggression or borderline features, which may have important implications for early intervention. The currrent study incorporated a longitudinal sample of preschool children (84 boys, 84 girls) living in intact, two-parent biological households in Voronezh, Russia. Teachers provided ratings of children's relational and physical aggression in preschool. Mothers and fathers also self-reported their engagement in authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and psychological controlling forms of parenting with their preschooler. A decade later, 70.8% of the original child participants consented to a follow-up study in which they completed self-reports of relational and physical aggression and borderline personality features. The multivariate results of this study showed that preschool relational aggression in girls predicted adolescent relational aggression. Preschool aversive parenting (i.e., authoritarian, permissive, and psychologically controlling forms) significantly predicted aggression and borderline features in adolescent females. For adolescent males, preschool authoritative parenting served as a protective factor against aggression and borderline features, whereas authoritarian parenting was a risk factor for later aggression.

Interaction between COMT Gene rs6267 Polymorphism and Maternal Parenting Behavior on Adolescents' Physical and Relational Aggression

The influencing factors and underlying mechanisms of aggressive behavior are important fundamental issues in research on human aggression. With the advancement of molecular genetics, the research on the mechanisms of aggression has reached molecular level in recent years. Recent studies using candidate gene strategy have demonstrated that the COMT(catechol-O-methyltransferase) gene was significantly associated with human aggression. However, existing research mainly focused on physical aggression, while the genetics mechanism of relational aggression has scarcely been investigated. To our knowledge, only two studies examined the genetic underpinnings of the two specific subtypes of aggression by examining the direct associations between COMT gene Val158 Met polymorphism and both physical and relational aggression, but these studies failed to investigate the gene-environment interaction. Recent research has revealed a new functionally single nucleotide polymorphism rs6267 in the COMT gene which also plays an important role in individual's development, but its possible interaction with environment on aggressive behavior remains unclear. The present study aimed to extend the previous research by examining the association between COMT gene rs6267 polymorphism and both physical and relational aggression among Chinese children and adolescents, with a particular focus on the possible moderating effects of maternal parenting behavior and gender on the association.One thousand two hundred and fifty eight children(male = 649) from 40 classes of 14 primary schools in Jinan City were followed from grade 4 till to grade 7. The subjects' physical and relational aggression were obtained through peer rating, and the maternal parenting behavior was measured by mother report. DNA was extracted from saliva. In detail, genotype at rs6267 polymorphism in the COMT gene was performed for each participant in real time with MassARRAY RT software version 3.0.0.4 and analyzed using the MassARRAY Typer software version 3.4(Sequenom). Pearson correlation and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the effect of rs6267 polymorphism and maternal parenting behavior on adolescent aggression. The main findings of the present study were as follows: Rs6267 polymorphism in the COMT gene significantly interacted with maternal parenting behavior in predicting adolescent physical aggression, but this interaction was observed only among males, such that maternal warmth negatively predicted male adolescent physical aggression among carriers of GG homozygote but not T allele. Similarly, maternal rejection and punishment only positively predicted male adolescent physical aggression among carriers of GG homozygote but not T allele. However, the interaction between rs6267 polymorphism in the COMT gene and maternal parenting behavior on adolescent relational aggression was not significant. The findings of the present study indicate that gene-environment interactions on adolescents' aggression may vary across physical and relational aggression and across gender, and thereby provide additional support for the dichotomy of these two subtypes of aggression. Besides, by elaborating the moderating effect of maternal parenting behavior and gender, the present study enriches the literature of the relation between COMT gene and aggression.

Maternal cultural values and parenting practices: Longitudinal associations with Chinese adolescents’ aggression

Interrelations among cultural values, parenting practices, and adolescent aggression were examined using longitudinal data collected from Chinese adolescents and their mothers. Adolescents’ overt and relational aggression were assessed using peer nominations at Time 1 (7th grade) and Time 2 (9th grade). Mothers reported endorsement of cultural values (collectivism and social harmony) and parenting practices (psychological control and inductive reasoning) at Time 1. While controlling for Time 1 adolescent aggression, maternal collectivism and social harmony indirectly and longitudinally linked to adolescent aggression through maternal parenting practices. Specifically, maternal collectivism was positively related to inductive reasoning, which, in turn, negatively related to adolescent overt aggression at Time 2. Similarly, maternal social harmony negatively related to psychological control that positively predicted later adolescent relational aggression. Results of the present study shed light on mechanisms through which culture may indirectly influence adolescent aggression.

Do physical and relational aggression explain adolescents' friendship selection? The competing roles of network characteristics, gender, and social status

The role of physical and relational aggression in adolescents' friendship selection was examined in a longitudinal sample of 274 Chilean students from 5th and 6th grade followed over 1 year. Longitudinal social network modeling (SIENA) was used to study selection processes for aggression while influence processes were controlled for. Furthermore, the effects of network characteristics (i.e., reciprocity and transitivity), gender, and social status on friendship selection were examined. The starting assumption of this study was that selection effects based on aggression might have been overestimated in previous research as a result of failing to consider influence processes and alternative characteristics that steer friendship formation. The results show that selection effects of both physical and relational aggression disappeared when network effects, gender, and social status were taken into account. Particularly gender and perceived popularity appeared to be far more important determinants of friendship selection over time than aggression. Moreover, a peer influence effect was only found for relational aggression, and not for physical aggression. These findings suggest that similarity in aggression among befriended adolescents can be considered to be mainly a by-product rather than a leading dimension in friendship selection.

Relational Aggression in Peer and Dating Relationships: Links to Psychological and Behavioral Adjustment

AbstractWe examined the contribution of relational aggression in adolescents’ peer and dating relationships to their psychological and behavioral adjustment. In the Fall and again four months later, 1279 (646 female) grade 9 students reported on relational aggression perpetration and victimization in their romantic and peer relationships, depression/anxiety symptoms (psychological adjustment) and delinquency (behavioral adjustment). Using hierarchical regression analyses, controlling for Time 1 adjustment/behavior, peer relational aggression perpetration predicted depression/anxiety. Dating relational victimization also predicted depression/anxiety, but only for girls. Furthermore, girls who were perpetrators of relational aggression in both peer and dating contexts were most likely to show increases in delinquent behavior. We conclude that dating and peer relationships are not redundant, but make independent and additive contributions to adolescent adjustment. Girls, in particular, may be at greatest risk for poor outcomes when they have relationally aggressive relationships. Results also highlight the need for greater awareness of the complexity and significance of adolescent dating relationships.