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Correlates and Outcomes Associated with Aggression and Victimization Among Elementary-School Children in a Low-Income Urban Context

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Abstract

Previous research suggests that the prevalence of aggression is high among low-income urban youth who have to cope with a number of psychological stressors. Less is known about the early development and consequences of aggression and peer victimization prior to adolescence in these contexts. This study examined the correlates, interplay, and consequences of aggression and victimization among children in a low-income urban context. Data were collected in the spring of grades 1, 2, and 3. The final sample included 333 children (59.5 % girls, M = 6.46 years). Each year, children completed sociometric and peer assessments in their classrooms. A cross-lagged panel model with extended effects showed that aggression was relatively stable over time, whereas victimization was less stable. Aggression and victimization became increasingly less correlated over time. Further, early victimization negatively predicted later aggression for boys, but positively for girls. Growth curve modeling showed that initial aggression and victimization were associated with initial behavioral and relational problems. Early aggression, but not victimization, predicted relative stable or increasing in behavioral and relational problems over time. The results underscore the importance of a developmental perspective on early childhood aggression and victimization in high-risk contexts, in order to understand their implications for adjustment in adolescence.

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Acknowledgments

The first author was supported by a Research Assistant Grant from the Netherlands Royal Academy of Sciences. This research was supported by a grant from the University of Connecticut Research Foundation to the second author. The authors are grateful to the children, parents, and school administrators who made this research possible. In addition, the authors are grateful to William J. Burk for his assistance with the analyses.

LP participated in the design, performed the statistical analyses, interpretation of data and drafted the manuscript. AC participated in the design and coordination of the study, performed the data collection, helped to analyze the results, interpreted the data and helped to draft the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the manuscript.

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  1. Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    J. Loes Pouwels & Antonius H. N. Cillessen

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Pouwels, J.L., Cillessen, A.H.N. Correlates and Outcomes Associated with Aggression and Victimization Among Elementary-School Children in a Low-Income Urban Context. J Youth Adolescence 42, 190–205 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9875-3

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