Poster #69 - The Longitudinal Association Between Relational Aggression, Victimization, and School Adjustment Among Adolescents

• In Event: Poster Session 11

Abstract

Research has demonstrated the negative correlates and consequences of relational aggression (ignoring, social exclusion, and silent treatment) among youth. However, there is still limited knowledge about relational aggression among children and adolescents who reside in East Asian countries, including Japan. Understanding social and psychological processes among non-Western populations is crucial given the increasing awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion in developmental psychology. Japan is a predominantly collectivistic society, and in such a group-oriented society, relational aggression and victimization are regarded as developmentally salient—that is, harmful to social-psychological and school adjustment (Kawabata, 2018).

School is the environment where problem behaviors can often occur. As a result, it is critical to consider whether student attitudes toward schools play a significant role in the development of problem behaviors. During adolescence, students in any country, particularly in Japan, transition from the relatively more protected environments of elementary to the relatively more demanding environments of secondary schools (Fukuzawa & LeTendre, 2001). They also experience multiple changes in development, including puberty, stronger independence, higher cognition, and increased awareness of their own assessment, which can be additional stressors (Steinberg & Morris, 2001).

Although relational aggression has been shown to be associated with internalizing and externalizing problems across countries, its link with school adjustment (i.e., perceived acceptance by peers, teachers, and other adults; school connectedness) remains largely unexamined. In the present study, we examined the longitudinal association between relational aggression and the school adjustment factors and whether relational victimization mediates this association among Japanese boys and girls.

Participants (n = 271; Mage = 12.72, SD =.45, 50% female) were recruited from 9 classrooms and 2 public middle schools in a large-sized city located in the west-central part of Japan. Participants in Grade 7 (Time 1) were followed when they reached Grade 8 (Time 2) and Grade 9 (time 3). The socioeconomic status (SES) of the participants’ family was estimated to be lower middle to middle class based on the available demographic information.

Self-report instruments were used to assess relational aggression, relational victimization, perceived acceptance, and school connectedness. The validity of these scales has been validated with a Japanese sample. In the present study, the reliability of each construct was found to be good (αs > .80). Approval from the Institutional Review Board at the authors’ university was obtained prior to data collection.

The results of the structural equation modeling (Amos, version 27) revealed that there were indirect effects for both school connectedness and perceived acceptance with an overall sample (Figure 1). That is, higher relational aggression in Grade 7 was associated with higher relational victimization in Grade 8, which in turn led to lower school connectedness and perceived acceptance in Grade 9. A multigroup analysis further showed that the indirect effects were evidenced only for girls (Figure 2). Overall, relational aggression may put youth, particularly girls, at risk of reducing feelings of acceptance and school connectedness, in part due to the experience of relational victimization, at least in Japanese culture.

Authors

• Yoshito Kawabata, University of Guam
  Presenting Author

• Ayako Onishi, Konan University

• Masahiro Kinoshita, Konan University