3-235 - Relational and physical victimization, aggression, and bullying in early and middle childhood.

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

This symposium includes four studies representing two countries and multiple-informant and multiple-method designs to address key developmental questions and advances in the study of subtypes (i.e., relational and physical) of victimization, aggression, and bullying.

The first paper address the utility of the relational bullying construct in early childhood and specifically demonstrates differential associations between relational aggression (i.e., positive) and relational bullying (i.e., negative) with relational victimization. These effects held controlling for physical aggression/bullying.

The second study used an accelerated longitudinal design and growth mixture modeling in a middle childhood sample to identify different trajectories of relational and physical victimization and found three similar trajectories for both victimization subtypes.

The third paper, which included a predominately African American middle childhood sample and used sophisticated SEM analyses, found that positive parenting practices and parent-reported parent-teacher involvement in the fall were significantly negatively associated with self-reported relational bullying in the spring. Interestingly, these effects were not found for peer-reported relational aggression showing differential effects with these constructs as seen in the first paper.

The fourth study used a cohort sequential growth curve design with a large sample in middle childhood and similar to the second study examined developmental trajectories for physical and relational victimization. A curvilinear decreasing pattern was found with increases in relational victimization in the earlier waves and a decrease by the end of middle childhood. Significant differences in the aggression trajectories for boys and girls were found and differences were obtained for children with learning difficulties.

Sub Unit

• Social Relationships

Chair

• Jamie M Ostrov, University at Buffalo, SUNY

Individual Presentations

• Unique associations between relational victimization, aggression, and bullying during early childhood. - Presenting Author: Jamie M Ostrov, University at Buffalo, SUNY; Kristin Perry, University at Buffalo; Sarah J. Blakely-McClure, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York; Lauren M. Mutignani, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

• Trajectories of Relational and Physical Victimization in Late Childhood - Presenting Author: Casey A. Pederson, University of Kansas; Paula J. Fite, University of Kansas

• Parenting Predictors of Relational Bullying, Aggression, and Victimization - Presenting Author: Stephen S. Leff, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia/University of Pennsylvania; Tracy E. Waasdorp, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Krista R. Mehari, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Cleanthe J. Kordomenos, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

• Relational and Physical Victimization Across the Early School Years: Cohort Sequential Growth Models. - Presenting Author: Tina Marie Daniels, Carleton University; Christine Polihronis, Carleton University; Nicole Summers, Carleton University; Danielle Quigley, Douglas College