How Popularity Determinants and Popularity Goals Predict Aggression?

• In Event: Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Topic - Social Relationships

Abstract

Popularity is one of the major concerns during adolescence. In support of this, past studies have found that youth are more likely to prioritize popularity over other values such as friendship (LaFontana & Cillessen, 2010). These desires about wanting to be popular are related to their behaviors. Previous studies have found that popularity goals are positively related to aggression (Caravita & Cillessen, 2012; Li & Wright, 2014). However, there are still many questions about why adolescents who want to be popular are aggressive behaviors with peers. Recent studies have focused on children’s beliefs about what behaviors make youth popular (LaFontana & Cillessen, 2002; Li et al., 2012) and found that beliefs about aggression being popular are predictive of actual aggression (Li & Hu, 2018). These findings suggest that youth who want to be popular and believe aggression make them popular may choose aggression as a behavioral strategy. We hypothesized that beliefs about aggression being a determinant of popularity would intensify the relationship between popularity goals and relational/overt aggression. We also compared boys and girls in these relationships.
Participants were 292 7th and 8th graders (59.6% Female, 51.9% 8th grade). They completed their popularity goals (Dawes & Xie, 2017), aggression (Little, Jones, Henrich, & Hawley, 2003), and determinants of popularity (Li et al., 2012).
Correlation analysis indicated that popularity goals were significantly related to both aggression. Relational aggression was associated with overt aggression and relational aggression determinants. Overt aggression was positively related to overt aggression determinants. Both determinants were positively correlated.
Moderation analysis using Mplus (Muthen & Muthen, 2010) indicated that no significant interaction was found between popularity goals and beliefs that aggression being a determinant of popularity in predicting aggression. However, multiple-group analyses found that interaction of popularity goals with relational aggression determinants significantly predicted popularity goals for boys (β = .301, p = .003; see Figure 1), but not for girls. When boys believe relational aggression contributed to popularity, popularity goals were positively associated with relational aggression (B = .111, p = .011), and it was negatively significant at low levels of determinants (B = -.108, p = .004). Additionally, overt aggression being determinants of popularity moderated the relationships between goals and overt aggression for boys (β = .336, p = .004; see Figure 2), but not for girls. At high levels of determinants, popularity goals were positively related to overt aggression (B = .155, p < .001), but it was not significant at low levels of determinants.
The findings suggest that boys who wanted to be popular and believed aggression was a characteristic of peer popularity were more likely to be aggressive with peers. For girls, it seems that popularity goals and determinants of popularity influence aggression separately.

Authors

• Sunmi Seo, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
  Presenting Author

• Kristina Lynne McDonald, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
  Non-Presenting Author

• Joo Young Yang, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
  Non-Presenting Author