Longitudinal Associations Between Aggression, Popularity, and Popularity Goals

• In Event: 3-154 - The Adaptive Nature of Adolescent Aggression

Integrative Statement

Traditionally, peer relations researchers have focused on negative repercussions of aggression (e.g., peer rejection) in the peer group. More recently, researchers have addressed that
aggressive and antisocial behavior can also be beneficial, especially in terms of popularity. During adolescence, being popular and wanting to be popular, are concurrently associated with antisocial behaviors (e.g., aggression, alcohol use) and prosocial behaviors (Cillessen et al., 2014). In particular, adolescents may use aggression to assert dominance or challenge social competitors (Cillessen & Mayeux, 2004; Xie et al., 2002). However, the reciprocal associations of antisocial and prosocial behaviors with popularity and popularity goals are still unclear due to limited longitudinal studies. Adolescents’ antisocial and prosocial behaviors may both predict and be predicted by their popularity and popularity goals (Dumas et al., 2017). The goal of this study was to elucidate the longitudinal bidirectional associations of antisocial (overt and relational aggression, alcohol use) and prosocial behaviors (prosociality) with popularity and popularity goals in adolescence over three years.
The sample includes 839 adolescents (Mage = 14.44, SD = .51; 51.3% girls) who were followed across three years. Participants completed peer nominations of aggression (overt and relational) and prosocial behavior, as well as self-reports of alcohol use and popularity goal. For our analyses, participants across all three waves were grouped by grade. To test our hypotheses, we conducted cross-panel analyses to examine the pattern of longitudinal associations between popularity, popularity goal, and adolescents’ behaviors from grades 7 to 9. Separate models were conducted for each behavior (i.e., overt aggression, relational aggression, alcohol use, and prosocial behavior). In each model, we specified stability paths from grade 7 (G7) to grade 8 (G8) and grade 8 to grade 9 (G9) for each construct. We also specified predictive paths from each G7 variable to the other constructs in G8 and from all G8 variables to G9 variables.
Analyses revealed that popularity in both grades positively predicted popularity goal the following year, but popularity goal did not predict increases in popularity. Popularity also consistently predicted increases in antisocial behavior (i.e., overt and relational aggression, alcohol use) the following year (see Figure 1), and predicted decreases in prosocial behavior in G9 (see Figure 2). Some bidirectional associations were found. Specifically, G7 alcohol use and G7 overt aggression predicted increases in popularity in G8.
This study fills a gap in the literature regarding the longitudinal associations between adolescents’ popularity, popularity goal, and negative and positive behaviors over three years. Our results indicated that popularity was an antecedent, rather than an outcome, of popularity goal. Furthermore, we found some evidence of bidirectional associations between popularity, popularity goal, and antisocial behaviors (overt aggression and alcohol use) in early adolescence. Although some youth may strategically use both aggression and prosocial behavior to maintain status (Hawley, 2003), our findings suggest that antisocial behaviors are more strongly linked to popularity and popularity goal over time than prosocial behaviors.

Authors

• Sarah T. Malamut, University of Southern California
  Presenting Author

• Yvonne van den Berg, Radboud University, Nijmegen
  Non-Presenting Author

• Toon Cillessen, Radboud University
  Non-Presenting Author