Who Dislikes Whom, and For Whom Does It Matter: Predicting Aggression in Middle Childhood

A Short-Term Longitudinal Examination of the Relation of Forms of Antipathy Relationships to Children's Loneliness, Peer Optimism, and Peer Sociability Behaviors

Researchers have focused on children's friendship relationships more than antipathy (disliking) relationships. The present one-year longitudinal research examined the relation of different forms of antipathy nominations (Mutual, Unilateral Given, Unilateral Received) to children's social competence (self-reports of loneliness and peer optimism, classroom peer nominations for sociability behaviors) for 121 third and fourth graders (fourth and fifth graders in Year 2). From path analyses, the pattern between forms of antipathy relationships to the measures of social competence was identical for concurrent findings at Time 1 and between forms of antipathy relationships and the measures of social competence one year later. Higher numbers of Mutual Antipathies and higher numbers of Unilateral Received Antipathies were related to greater loneliness and fewer peer nominations for sociability behaviors. In addition, higher numbers of Unilateral Received Antipathies were related to less peer optimism. Interestingly, numbers of Unilateral Given Antipathies were not significantly related to any of the social competence measures at Time 1 or one year later. These findings suggest that dislike relationships, whether mutual or unilateral received, may have important negative associations for children's concurrent and later social competence.

Dynamic pathways between rejection and antisocial behavior in peer networks: Update and test of confluence model

The confluence model theorizes that dynamic transactions between peer rejection and deviant peer clustering amplify antisocial behavior (AB) within the school context during adolescence. Little is known about the links between peer rejection and AB as embedded in changing networks. Using longitudinal social network analysis, we investigated the interplay between rejection, deviant peer clustering, and AB in an ethnically diverse sample of students attending public middle schools (N = 997; 52.7% boys). Adolescents completed peer nomination reports of rejection and antisocial behavior in Grades 6-8. Results revealed that rejection status was associated with friendship selection, and adolescents became rejected if they were friends with others who were rejected. Youth befriended others with similar levels of AB. Significant patterns of peer influence were documented for AB and rejection. As hypothesized, rejected youth with low AB were more likely to affiliate with others with high AB instead of similarly low AB. In contrast, nonrejected youth preferred to befriend others with similarly high or low AB. Results support an updated confluence model of a joint interplay between rejection and AB as ecological conditions that lead to self-organization into deviant clusters in which peer contagion on problem behaviors operates.

Popularity Breeds Contempt: The Evolution of Reputational Dislike Relations and Friendships in High School

In this study, we examined the dynamics of the perception of "dislike" ties (reputational dislike) among adolescents within the contexts of friendship, perceived popularity, substance use, and Facebook use. Survey data were collected from a longitudinal sample of 238 adolescents from the 11th and 12th grades in one California high school. We estimated stochastic actor-based network dynamic models, using reports of reputational dislike, friendships, and perceived popularity, to identify factors associated with the maintenance and generation reputational dislike ties. The results showed that high-status adolescents and more frequent Facebook users tended to become perceived as or stay disliked by their peers over time. There was a tendency for friendships to promote the creation and maintenance of reputational disliking but not vice versa. Adolescents tended to perceive others as disliked when their friends also perceived them as disliked. There was no evidence that either cigarette smoking or drinking alcohol affected reputational dislike dynamics. This study highlights the important role that the hierarchical peer system, online peer context, and friendships play in driving information diffusion of negative peer relations among adolescents.

Aggressive and Prosocial? Examining Latent Profiles of Behavior, Social Status, Machiavellianism, and Empathy

The present study tests whether aggression and prosocial behavior can coexist as part of a socially functional and adaptive profile among early adolescents. Using a person-centered approach, the study examined early adolescents' likelihood of being classified into profiles involving aggressive and prosocial behavior, social status (popular, liked, cool), machiavellianism, and both affective and cognitive components of empathy (empathic concern and perspective taking, respectively). Participants were 1170 early adolescents (10-12 years of age; 52% male) from four schools in metropolitan Santiago, Chile. Through latent profile analysis, three profiles emerged (normative-low aggressive, high prosocial-low aggressive, and high aggressive-high popular status). Both empathic concern and perspective taking were higher in the high prosocial-low aggressive profile, whereas the high aggressive-high popular status profile had the lowest scores on both empathy components as well as machiavellianism. No profile emerged where aggressive and prosocial behaviors were found to co-exist, or to be significantly above the mean. The results underscore that aggressive behavior is highly contextual and likely culturally specific, and that the study of behavioral profiles should consider social status as well as socio-emotional adjustment indicators. These complex associations should be taken into consideration when planning prevention and intervention efforts to reduce aggression or school bullying and to promote positive peer relationships.

A conceptual framework for understanding the association between school bullying victimization and substance misuse

This article reviews current research findings and presents a conceptual framework for better understanding the relationship between bullying victimization (hereafter referred to as victimization) and substance misuse (hereafter referred to as SM) among adolescents. Although victimization and SM may appear to be separate problems, research suggests an intriguing relationship between the 2. We present a brief, empirical overview of the direct association between victimization and adolescent SM, followed by a proposed conceptual framework that includes co-occurring risk factors for victimization and SM within family, peer, and school and community contexts. Next, we discuss potential mediators linking victimization and SM, such as internalizing problems, traumatic stress, low academic performance, and school truancy and absence. We then identify potential moderating influences of age, gender and sex, social supports, and school connectedness that could amplify or abate the association between victimization and SM. Finally, we discuss practice and policy implications.

Bullies, victims, and antipathy: the feeling is mutual

In this study we consider whether bullies and victims are disliked by most of their classmates, or whether antipathy is concentrated among the occupants of these roles. Antipathy nominations were collected from a community sample of 699 Finnish adolescents (14 to 17 years of age), who described their own bullying and victimization, as well as problem behaviors and school engagement. Victimization was associated with antipathy, but the strength of the association differed according to characteristics of the nominator. Victimization was related to antipathy when the nominator was high on bullying but not low. Similarly, bullying was related to antipathy when the nominator was high on victimization, but not low. The findings indicate that although bullies and victims have elevated mean levels of rejection, they are not disliked by most peers but rather by those who report themselves to be high on these attributes.

Capturing the friendship context with a collective property: friendship group engagement vs. disaffection

The purpose of this study was to introduce a motivational property of the group, friendship group engagement vs. disaffection, and to examine different composition models for combining individual reports into an indicator of a group-level property. Data were collected from 312 ninth grade students and their teachers. Self-reported friendship group (FG) engagement and disaffection were related to self-reported classroom engagement, aggression, and peer problem behavior, but not to teacher-reported classroom engagement. Group-reported FG engagement and disaffection were related to self-reported FG engagement and disaffection, classroom engagement, aggression, and peer problem behavior, but these relationships were moderated by within-group agreement on the group property. Findings underscore the importance of a priori conceptualization of group-level properties that are theoretically linked to adolescent adjustment, and the need to consider composition models when aggregating individual reports to create profiles of the group. Implications for future work on capturing properties of friendship groups are discussed.