Poster #223 - BAS Reward Responsiveness Moderates the Relation Between Peer Victimization and Aggression in Children

• In Event: 2-110 - Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Section - Social Relationships

Integrative Statement

One of the most damaging peer experience that children and adolescents face is peer victimization. Chronic victimization often leads to reduced self-esteem as well as to internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety, and social withdrawal). However, for some children victimization also leads to increased externalizing problems, including aggression (Kochenderfer & Ladd, 1997; Leadbeater & Hoglund, 2009). Studies of chronically victimized children have found that aggression and victimization are not highly correlated, meaning that some victims are also highly aggressive whereas other victims are not (Olweus, 1993; Perry et al., 1988). It is unclear how peer victimization influences aggressive behavior, but a growing literature indicates that certain cognitive structures influence children to behave aggressively, particularly after they have experienced some form of peer adversity (Aults, 2016; Llewellyn & Rudolph, 2014; Rudolph, et al., 2011; Salmivalli, et al., 2005; White & Kisner, 2011). It is suggested that children with high social goal orientation, or approach motivation, are more sensitive to social judgments, and place high importance on being socially prominent and well received by peers. In turn, adverse situational experiences, stimulate these enduring cognitive structures increasing children’s threshold for exhibiting aggression during peer interactions. To examine the interacting determinates of children’s aggressive behavior, we measured peer victimization and approach motivation in an ethnically diverse sample (44% White, 26% Hispanic or Latino, 17% African American, 13% Mixed Race) of children (N = 170, M age = 11.54, SD = .63) in the southeastern United States. Overt peer victimization and aggression were measured by peer nomination inventories, and approach motivation was measured using the Behavioral Inhibition/Behavioral Activation Scale (BIS/BAS) (Carver & White, 1994). Hierarchical linear regression analyses were employed to assess whether approach motivation moderated the relation of peer victimization to aggression. In each analysis, the separate components of approach motivation, BAS drive, BAS reward responsiveness, and BAS fun seeking were entered as potential moderators. Only BAS reward responsiveness moderated the effect. On the first step, sex was entered. On the second step, peer victimization and BAS reward responsiveness were entered. On the third step, the interaction of peer victimization x BAS reward responsiveness was tested. The two-way interaction was significant on the third step (β = .47, p < .001). As shown in Figure 1, Aiken and West (1991) follow up analyses indicate that peer victimization is positively associated with aggression especially for children with high (+1 SD) BAS reward responsiveness (β = .64, p < .001). These results suggest that children more sensitive to reward react with aggressive behavior when exposed to peer victimization. More generally, high BAS activation has been linked to positive and negative affect, depending on the context (Anderson & Huesmann, 2003; Coplan et al., 2006; Harmon-Jones, 2003). However, high BAS reward responsiveness appears to be a unique moderator of peer victimization’s effect on aggressive behavior in children.

Authors

• Natasha Tullo, King's College
  Non-Presenting Author

• Nathaniel Dyanick, King's College
  Non-Presenting Author

• Celyna Jackson, King's College
  Non-Presenting Author

• Christopher D Aults, King's College
  Presenting Author