Relationships Between Adolescent Aggression and Functioning in Peer Settings

1. Relationships Between Adolescent Aggression and Functioning in Peer Settings F. Christy McFarland Penny Marsh Maryfrances Porter Joseph P. Allen

2. Aggression in Adolescence • General trend reported in longitudinal research is that group means for aggression tend to be quite stable or slowly decreasing during adolescence (Bongers et al., 2004) • Gender differences have also been previously reported – with girls showing an overall stable level and the level for boys decreasing during this time span (Bongers et al., 2004) • If the group trend is stability or decreasing aggression, are groups or individuals who demonstrate increasing aggression across this period at risk for other negative outcomes?

3. Aggression and Social Functioning • In childhood research, aggression is often related to peer rejection with aggressive-rejected children tending to show the most negative outcomes • Is aggression related to rejection or acceptance in a broad peer group in adolescence as well? • Is aggression related to the quality of close friendships in adolescence?

4. Sample • 182 Adolescents, their Best Friends, and Close Friends • Group of target adolescents is 54% Female • Assessed Annually, beginning at approximately Age 13 • Community-based Sample from a small urban area. Recruited through the local public school system – all target adolescents attend the same school at the time of first assessment • Highly Socio-economically Diverse (Median Family Income between $40,000 and $60,000) • 31% - African American; 69% European American

5. Measures • Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) • Only using the aggression subscale (for example – is mean to others, gets in many fights, threatens people, demands attention.) • Friendship Quality Questionnaire (FQQ) • Using the conflict and betrayal scales and a total support scale (all positive ratings of the friendship). • Peer Autonomy and Relatedness Task (Mars Task) • teens and Best friends have an up to 8 minutes discussion about choices from a vignette(Allen, Porter & McFarland 2002).

6. Measures • Self report Peer pressure questions in a Harter format – completed by both target adolescents and best friends • Sociometrics – ratings completed by target adolescents and friends. 420 teens completed ratings of students in their grade. At time 1, approximately 34% of the school was sampled.

7. Basic Latent Growth Curve Model Used Slope Intercept Outcome Variable Adolescent Aggression Grade 7 Adolescent Aggression Grade 8 Adolescent Aggression Grade 9 Adolescent Aggression Grade 10

8. Estimated Sample Means

9. Aggression and Social Functioning

10. Summary of Latent Growth Curve Results • Teens who have a higher overall level of aggression report higher levels of conflict in their close friendships • Teens who have a higher overall level of aggression have more conflict in their close friendships (as reported by the BF). • Teens with increasing levels of aggression from 7th to 10th grade also have Best Friends who rate their friendship as having higher levels of conflict and betrayal. • Teens who have a higher overall level of aggression have lowers levels of support in their close friendships (as reported by BF). • Teens with higher levels of overall aggression have best friends that report feeling more pressured by friends. • Teens with higher levels of overall aggression are less accepted by the broad peer group.

11. Gender Differences

12. Gender differences in these models

13. Summary of results • Higher overall levels of adolescent aggression across grades 7 to 10 is related to the following: • Close friends of the adolescent reporting feeling more pressured by their friends • Higher levels of conflict in relationships with best friends (as reported by both the best friend and the target adolescent) • This result only holds for boys when girls and boys are considered separately. • Lower levels of support in their relationship with their best friend (as reported by the best friend). • Adolescents being less popular in grade 10

14. Summary of results • Increasing levels of adolescent aggression across grades 7 to 10 is related to the following: • Poorer quality friendship with Best Friend as rated by the Best Friend

15. Latent Class Analyses (LCA) • CBCL items – best friend ratings of impulsivity and aggression subscale items for 8th- 10th grade • 3 levels of symptoms: • impulsivity • examples: can’t sit still, restless or hyperactive • mild aggression • examples: frequent mood swings, temper tantrums, is mean to others • moderate aggression • cruel to animals, thinks others are out to get him/her, gets in many fights

16. Latent Class Analyses • For each symptom level, an overall score reflecting the complete absence of any of the symptoms versus the presence of any one of the symptoms was created 0 = no symptoms in that level endorsed by best friend, 1 = at least 1 symptom in that level endorsed by best friend • Separate LCA’s were performed at each grade including a regression of the latent class variable on gender. • Latent Class membership at each age was not significantly related to family income.

17. LCA – Gender Differences • Only in 8th grade is there a significant association between class and gender (c2=5.66, df=1, p<.02) • In 8th grade, girls are more likely than expected to be in the Moderate Problem Class

18. LCA – Class composition

19. Gender Differences in Class Composition • The only significant gender difference in class composition is in the levels of impulsivity between girls and boys in 8th grade in the Moderate Problem Class. • 76% of girls in this class were rated as impulsive • 93% of boys in this class were rated as impulsive

20. Latent Classes Over Time r 8,9=.23** r 9,10 = .26**

21. Aggression Latent Classes and Social Functioning • Aggression and Peer Acceptance

22. Aggression Latent Classes and Friendship • Aggression and Friendship Quality

23. Aggression Latent Classes and Friendship • Measures of Poor Friendship Quality with Best Friend

24. Aggression Latent Classes and Friendship • Teen Promoting Autonomy in Interactions with Best Friend

25. Conclusions • While the overall group levels of aggression are relatively stable, boys and girls showed different group trends from 7th to 10th grade. • Girls were more likely to be found in a Moderate Problem Class in 8th grade (when considering impulsive and aggressive symptoms). There is no association between problem class and gender in grades 9 and 10. • From Grade 8 to Grade 10, the Low Problem Class showed decreasing levels of Impulsivity and increasing levels of Mild and Moderate Aggression.

26. Conclusions • From Grade 8 to Grade 10, the moderate Problem Class showed increasing levels of Moderate Aggression and relatively constant levels of Impulsivity and Mild Aggression. • Aggression is related to several indices of social functioning in adolescence: • Teens who are more aggressive tend to be less socially accepted and have poorer quality friendships. • Teens aggression during one grade also appears to influence their social acceptance during the following school years.

27. Acknowledgments • Jill Antonishak Jennifer Haynes • Jessica Meyer Mindy Schmidt • Katie Little Elizabeth Ball • Nell Manning Amanda Hare • Wrenn Thompson • Thanks to Dr. Jack McArdle for his assistance with data analysis. • Copies of this Talk & Related Papers will be available at: www.teenresearch.org