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Relational Aggression, Victimization and Self-Concept: Testing Pathways from Middle Childhood to Adolescence

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Abstract

When studying adolescent development, it is important to consider two key areas that are salient for teens, which are self-concept and peer relations. A secondary analysis of the National Institute of Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development was conducted to examine the prospective bidirectional associations between self-concept and peer relations. To date, how social development broadly and peer relations in particular (e.g., relational aggression and victimization) affect self-concept domains is not fully understood. Using a large sample (N = 1063; 532 girls; M = 11.14 years; SD = .59) with multiple informants, the present study examined whether fifth grade relational aggression and sixth grade relational victimization was associated with adolescent self-concept in three key domains (i.e., academic, sports, physical appearance). A significant direct effect emerged, such that relational aggression in middle childhood was associated with decreases in academic self-concept and increases in sports self-concept in adolescence. Analyses also revealed that having higher levels of domain specific self-concept led to decreases in relational aggression across the transition to adolescence. The findings highlight the importance of examining bidirectional prospective associations between relational aggression, relational victimization, and domain specific self-concept. Implications for future research and clinical intervention are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The contributions of the entire Early Child Care Research Network, NICHD staff is greatly appreciated. We appreciate Dr. Julie Bowker providing extensive feedback on an earlier version of this manuscript. We thank the UB Social Development Lab for their assistance and special thanks to Kimberly Kamper-Demarco and Dr. Stephanie Godleski for methodological and statistical consultation. We also thank McKenzie Cantlon and Emily Hammer for their assistance with manuscript preparation. We are grateful to the families, teachers, and administrators of participating schools.

Author contributions

SB conceived of the study, participated in its design, performed the statistical analyses and drafted the manuscript; JO participated in the design of the study, assisted with statistical analysis and interpretation, and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 226 Park Hall, Buffalo, NY, 14260-4110, USA

    Sarah J. Blakely-McClure & Jamie M. Ostrov

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  1. Sarah J. Blakely-McClure
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Correspondence to Sarah J. Blakely-McClure.

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Blakely-McClure, S.J., Ostrov, J.M. Relational Aggression, Victimization and Self-Concept: Testing Pathways from Middle Childhood to Adolescence. J Youth Adolescence 45, 376–390 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0357-2

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