Investigating the Interplay Between Friendship, Rejection, Aggression, and Victimization Networks

• In Event: 3-100 - Peer Network Dynamics and Child Development: Appraising the Evidence and Charting New Directions

Integrative Statement

To obtain status and affection, two fundamental social goals (Adler & Adler, 2003), adolescents display a wide variety of behaviors, including aggression and bullying. Peer literature indicates that youth who exhibit aggressive behavior habitually obtain social benefits such as friendships and popularity (Cillessen & Borch, 2006). Conversely, victims frequently experience rejection and social isolation from their peers (Boulton, 1999; Salmivalli & Isaacs, 2005). However, social contexts such as classrooms can strengthen or mitigate these social processes.
In this paper, we are interested in the extent to which classrooms’ prosocial climate moderates the relationship between being perceived as an aggressor or a victim and being considered a friend or rejected (Figure 1). Prosocial climate classrooms may produce a positive behavioral regulation in the group, in which the improvement in cooperation and supportiveness may create a naturally positive and inclusive school climate (Caprara et al., 2015). Behaviors involving cooperation, helping, sharing, and emotions, such as empathy, are related to the development of concern for others (Eisenberg et al., 2006). In fact, empathic concern and prosocial actions can reduce prejudice, improve attitudes towards other groups, and produce more positive and cooperative social interactions (Batson, 2011). For instance, adolescent friendships have been identified as one of the most important factors counteracting the negative consequences of victimization (Cuadros & Berger, 2016). Moreover, aggressive behavior might become less attractive and salient in settings where the social norms sanction against aggression.
By examining peer network processes in classrooms where the prosocial climate was promoted through an intervention, we hypothesize that in more prosocial classrooms, compared to less prosocial classrooms, victims will be less rejected (H1) and will have more friends (H2), whereas aggressive youth will be less rejected (H3) and will have fewer friends (H4).
We use data from an intervention to promote prosocial behavior performed in approximately 550 Chilean seventh graders from 16 classrooms in 8 schools, who were measured three times (pre-, post-, and follow-up) over a two-year period. We use longitudinal multiplex social network models implemented in RSiena, to examine simultaneously friendship (“with whom I usually hang out during recess?”), rejection (“with whom I would not like to hang out during recess?”), aggression (“who behave aggressively or make fun of others?”), and victimization networks (“who are victimized, or kids make fun of him?”), controlling for structural network effects and gender.
Preliminary results with data from two assessments (pre- and post-) indicate that in prosocial classrooms, compared to the control group classrooms, students who are perceived as a victim or aggressive are less likely to be rejected (Table 1). Interventions fostering prosocial classrooms may produce a positive behavioral regulation in the group, in which the improvement in cooperation and supportiveness may create a favorable and inclusive school climate (Caprara et al., 2015). This behavioral peer regulation can be particularly relevant for those who are, in general, more rejected, as aggressive peers or victims. The group regulation might benefit, in the short term, those who are more prone to show aggressive reactions in daily school life.

Authors

• Diego Palacios, University of Groningen
  Presenting Author

• Paula Luengo Kanacri, Pontificia Universidad Católica
  Non-Presenting Author

• Christian Berger, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jan Kornelis Dijkstra, University of Groningen
  Non-Presenting Author

• Rene Veenstra, University of Groningen
  Non-Presenting Author