Introduction

1. Low Dismissing Gender Differences in Rejection Sensitivity and Relational Dating AggressionAmanda Hare, Emily Marston, Erin Miga, & Joseph P. Allen The University of Virginia Introduction Similarly, rejection sensitivity tends to be negatively associated with being a perpetrator of relational aggression in romantic relationships for young women, but RS young men are more likely to be perpetrators. • Dyadic Conflict-at T2, romantic partners reported on levels of dyadic conflict in their romantic relationship with the target participant using the conflict subscale of the Network of Relationships Inventory (NRI; Furman & Buhrmester, 1985). • Sample item: “How much do you and this person get upset with or mad at each other?” • Perpetration of Relational Aggression-at T2, romantic partners reported on target participants’ use of relational aggression in their romantic relationship using the victimization subscale of the Romantic Relational Aggression and Victimization (RRAV; Morales & Crick, 1998). • Sample item: “My romantic partner has threatened to break up with me in order to get what he/she wants.” • Victimization of Relational Aggression-at T2, romantic partners reported on target participants’ exposure to relational aggression in their romantic relationship using the perpetration subscale of the RRAV. • Sample item: “I try to make my partner jealous when I am mad at him/her.” • Background: • What is rejection sensitivity? • Rejection sensitivity (RS) has been conceptualized as the disposition to anxiously expect, readily perceive, and intensely react to social rejection (Downey, Feldman, Khuri, & Friedman, 1994). • What is the role of RS in romantic relationships? • RS is associate with reports of lower overall relationship satisfaction and the occurrence of more breakups over one academic year (Downey & Feldman,1996). • RS predicts dating violence among men who are highly invested in their relationships (Downey, Feldman & Ayduk, 2000) . • Conversely, RS adolescent girls are more likely to exhibit self-silencing behaviors (Harper, Dickson & Welsh, 2006). • Research Questions: • Is RS predictive of subsequent overall romantic conflict in our sample? • More specifically, is RS predictive of subsequent perpetration and victimization of romantic relational aggression in our sample? • Will these patterns differ for men and for women? • Participants • Eighty-two target adolescents were interviewed at Time 1, and their romantic partners were interviewed two years later (Time 2). • Target adolescent demographics: • 48 females and 34 males • Mean age 16.35 years • Socio-economically diverse (median family income= $40-60,000/yr) • 31% African American; 69% Caucasian • Measures • Rejection Sensitivity-at T1,targetparticipants completed a revised version of the Children’s Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (RSQ-R: Downey, Lebolt, Rincon & Freitas, 1998), which was adapted for this study in order to be developmentally salient for adolescents. • Sample item: “Your boyfriend/girlfriend has plans to go out with friends tonight, but you really want to spend the evening with him/her, and you tell him/her so. How concerned or anxious would you be about how the other person would respond?” Results Preliminary results revealed a significant interaction between rejection sensitivity and gender in predicting levels of romantic conflict (β= -.49, p< .05). Specifically, self-reported dyadic conflict tends to increase for boys higher in rejection sensitivity, while it decreases for girls higher in rejection sensitivity. Further investigation of this conflict by looking specifically at perpetration and victimization reveals more complex findings. Conclusions • In summary, the current data suggest that: • RS young men experience higher levels of dyadic conflict in their romantic relationships 2 years later, including higher levels of relational aggression perpetration andvictimization. • This finding is consistent with previous research that suggests that male RS is associated with greater levels of violence (Downey, Feldman & Ayduk, 2000) , but indicates that they are being victimized as well. • RS young women do not experience higher levels of dyadic conflict in their romantic relationships 2 years later. In fact, they are less likely to be both victims and perpetrators of relational aggression. • This finding is consistent with previous research that suggests that RS adolescent girls tend to display the need to preserve relationships and avoid rejection (Harper, Dickson & Welsh, 2006). • Future studies should investigate the role of rejection sensitivity and gender in predicting overt aggression in romantic relationships to gain further understanding of its manifestation. • Copies of this poster & related research will be available at: • www.teenresearch.org Method Rejection sensitivity tends to be positively associated with being a victim of relational aggression in romantic relationships for young men, while RS young women are less likely to be victimized. We would like to thank the National Institute of Mental Health for funding awarded to Joseph P. Allen, Principal Investigator, (Grant # R01-MH58066) to conduct and write-up this project.