Abstract
Previous research has investigated the associations among childhood maltreatment, self-control, and aggression among adolescents without distinguishing between-person effects from within-person effects. Thus, we evaluated the dynamic longitudinal associations among childhood maltreatment, self-control, and aggression, including whether self-control functioned as a mediator of the reciprocal relations between childhood maltreatment and aggression at the within-person level after disentangling between- and within-person associations. A sample of 2050 Chinese early adolescents (43.69% girls, Mage = 10.39 years, SD = 0.55, range = 9 to 12 years at T1) completed measures on 5 occasions across 2.5 years, using 6-month intervals. Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models were applied to disaggregate between- and within-person effects. RI-CLPMs analysis revealed that at the within-person level: (a) Childhood maltreatment and aggression bidirectionally predicted each other; (b) Childhood maltreatment and self-control bidirectionally predicted each other; (c) Aggression predicted subsequent self-control but not vice versa; (d) Childhood maltreatment did not indirectly predict aggression via self-control and vice versa; (e) Additionally, there were no gender differences observed in the longitudinal associations among childhood maltreatment, self-control and aggression. These findings advanced the literature by elucidating longitudinal associations among childhood maltreatment, self-control, and aggression at the within-person level, highlighting the significance of distinguishing between- and within-person effects in research informing the development of prevention and intervention programs aimed at reducing adolescent aggression.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agnew, R., & White, H. R. (1992). An empirical test of general strain theory. Criminology, 30, 475–500. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1992.tb01113.x
Belsky, J. (1993). Etiology of child maltreatment: A developmental-ecological analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 413–434. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.114.3.413
Bernstein, D. P., Stein, J. A., Newcomb, M. D., Walker, E., Pogge, D., Ahluvalia, T., Stokes, J., Handelsman, L., Medrano, M., Desmond, D., & Zule, W. (2003). Development and validation of a brief screening version of the childhood trauma questionnaire. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27, 169–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(02)00541-0
Bollen, K. A. (1989). A new incremental fit index for general structural equation models. Sociological Methods & Research, 17, 303–316. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124189017003004
Braga, T., Goncalves, L, C., Basto-Pereira, M., & Maia, A. (2017). Unraveling the link between maltreatment and juvenile antisocial behavior: A meta-analysis of prospective longitudinal studies. Aggression & Violent Behavior, 33, 37–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2017.01.006
Bunch, J. M., Iratzoqui, A., & Watts, S. J. (2018). Child abuse, self-control, and delinquency: A general strain perspective. Journal of Criminal Justice, 56, 20–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2017.09.009
Caspi, A., Roberts, B. W., & Shiner, R. L. (2005). Personality development: Stability and change. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 453–484. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141913
Catia, G., Malvaso, P. H., & Delfabbro, A. D. (2016). Risk factors that influence the maltreatment-offending association: A systematic review of prospective and longitudinal studies. Aggression & Violent Behavior, 31, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2016.06.006
Chen, F. F. (2007). Sensitivity of goodness of fit indexes to lack of measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 14, 464–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705510701301834
Chen, X., & Rubin, K. H. (1992). Correlates of peer acceptance in a Chinese sample of six-year-olds. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 15, 259–274. https://doi.org/10.1177/016502549201500206
Cheung, G. W., & Rensvold, R. B. (2002). Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 9, 233–255. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_5
Chirkov, V. I., & Ryan, R. M. (2001). Parent and teacher autonomy support in Russian and US adolescents: Common effects on well-being and academic motivation. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32, 618–635. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022101032005006
Cho, S., & Lee, J. R. (2020). Joint growth trajectories of bullying perpetration and victimization among Korean adolescents: Estimating a second-order growth mixture model-factor-of-curves with low self-control and opportunity correlates. Crime & Delinquency, 66, 1296–1337. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128719890271
Coie, J. D., & Dodge, K. A. (1998). Aggression and antisocial behaviors. Handbook of child psychology: Social, emotional, and personality development, Vol. 3 (5th ed., pp. 779–862). New York: Wiley.
Crick, N. R., & Grotpeter, J. K. (1995). Relational aggression, gender, and social-psychological adjustment. Child Development, 66, 710–722. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1995.tb00900.x
Dietvorst, E., Hiemstra, M., & Hillegers, M. H. J. (2017). Adolescent perceptions of parental privacy invasion and adolescent secrecy: An illustration of Simpson’s paradox. Child Development, 89, 2081–2090. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13002
Ding, H., Han, J., Zhang, M., Wang, K., Gong, J., & Yang, S. (2017). Moderating and mediating effects of resilience between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms in Chinese children. Journal of Affective Disorders, 211, 130–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.12.056
Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., McClaskey, C. L., & Brown, M. M. (1986). Social competence in children. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 51, 1–85. https://doi.org/10.2307/1165906
Ellis, P. D. (2010). The essential guide to effect sizes: Statistical power, meta-analysis, and the interpretation of research results. Cambridge University Press.
Fitton, L., Yu, R., & Fazel, S. (2020). Childhood maltreatment and violent outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. Trauma Violence & Abuse, 21, 754–768. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838018795269
Gvion, Y., & Apter, A. (2011). Aggression, impulsivity, and suicide behavior: A review of the literature. Archives of Suicide Research, 15, 93–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2011.565265
Gottfredson, M. R., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford University Press.
Hamaker, E. L., Kuiper, R. M., & Grasman, R. P. P. P. (2015). A critique of the cross-lagged panel model. Psychological Methods, 20, 102–116. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038889
Ho, D. (1994). Filial piety, authoritarian moralism, and cognitive conservatism in Chinese societies. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 120, 347–365. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353594043023
Hymel, S., & Swearer, S. M. (2015). Four decades of research on school bullying: An introduction. American Psychologist, 70, 293–299. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038928
Jo, Y., & Bouffard, L. (2014). Stability of self-control and gender. Journal of Criminal Justice, 42, 356–365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2014.05.001
Johnson, J. G., Smailes, E. M., Cohen, P., Brown, J., & Bernstein, D. P. (2000). Associations between four types of childhood neglect and personality disorder symptoms during adolescence and early adulthood: Findings of a community-based longitudinal study. Journal of Personality Disorders, 14, 171–187. https://doi.org/10.1521/pedi.2000.14.2.171
Keijsers, L., & Van Roekel, E. (2018). Longitudinal methods in adolescent psychology: Where could we go from here? And should we? Reframing Adolescent Research. London & New York: Routledge.
Kline, R. B. (2010). Principles and practices of structural equation modeling. Guilford.
Lei, H., Chiu, M., Quan, J., & Z, W. (2020). Effect of self-control on aggression among students in China: A meta-analysis. Children and Youth Services Review, 116, 105–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105107
Lereya, S. T., Samara, M., & Wolke, D. (2013). Parenting behavior and the risk of becoming a victim and a bully / victim: A meta-analysis study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37, 1091–1108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.03.001
Little, R. J. A. (1988). A test of missing completely at random for multivariate data with missing values. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 83, 1198–1202. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1988.10478722
Lunkenheimer, E. S., Hamby, C. M., Lobo, F. M., Cole, P. M., & Olson, S. L. (2020). The role of dynamic, dyadic parent-child processes in parental socialization of emotion. Developmental Psychology, 56, 566–577. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000808
Manzoni, P., & Schwarzenegger, C. (2019). The influence of earlier parental violence on juvenile delinquency: The role of social bonds, self-control, delinquent peer association and moral values as mediators. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 25, 225–239. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-018-9392-3
Marsh, H. W., Hau, K. T., & Wen, Z. (2004). In search of golden rules: Comment on hypothesis testing approaches to setting cutoff values for fit indexes and dangers in overgeneralizing Hu & Bentler’s (1999) findings. Structural Equation Modeling, 11, 320–341. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328007sem1103_2
Meldrum, R. C., & Hay, C. (2011). Do peers matter in the development of self-control? Evidence from a longitudinal study of youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41, 691–703. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-011-9692-0
Morgan, J., Robinson, D., & Aldridge, J. (2010). Parenting stress and externalizing child behaviour. Child & Family Social Work, 7, 219–225. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2206.2002.00242.x
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2017). Mplus User’s Guide. 8th Ed. Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.
Mynard, H., & Joseph, S. (2000). Development of the multidimensional peer-victimization scale. Aggressive Behavior, 26, 169–178. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-2337(2000)26:2%3c169:AID-AB3%3e3.0.CO;2-A
Neaverson, A., Murray, A. L., Ribeaud, D., & Eisner, M. (2020). A longitudinal examination of the role of self-control in the relation between corporal punishment exposure and adolescent aggression. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 49, 1245–1259. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01215-z
O’Gorman, J. G., & Baxter, E. (2002). Self-control as a personality measure. Personality and Individual Differences, 32, 533–539. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(01)00055-1
Robinson, W. S. (1950). Ecological correlations and the behavior of individuals. American Sociological Review, 15, 351–357.
Sha, Y. (2018). The present situation and intervention study of parents’ psychological abuse to junior high school students. Master’s thesis, Ludong University.
Sirin, S. R. (2005). Socioeconomic status and academic achievement: A meta-analytic review of research. Review of Educational Research, 75, 417–453. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543075003417
Stith, S. M., Liu, T., Davies, L. C., Boykin, E. L., Alder, M. C., Harris, J. M., Som, A., McPherson, M., & Dees, J. E. M. E. G. (2009). Risk factors in child maltreatment: A meta-analytic review of the literature. Aggression & Violent Behavior, 14, 13–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2006.03.006
Tan, S., & Guo, Y. (2008). Revision of self-control scale for Chinese college students. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 16, 468–470.
Tangney, J. P., Baumeister, R. F., & Boone, A. L. (2004). High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. Journal of Personality, 72, 271–324. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-3506.2004.00263.x
Tehrani, H. D., & Yamini, S. (2020). Parenting practices, self-control and anti-social behaviors: Meta-analytic structural equation modeling. Journal of Criminal Justice, 68, 101687. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2020.101687 [Available Online].
Vaillancourt, T., Brittain, H. L., McDougall, P., Krygsman, A., Boylan, K., Duku, E., & Hymel, S. (2014). Predicting borderline personality disorder symptoms in adolescents from childhood physical and relational aggression, depression, and attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 26, 817–830. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579414000418
Vega, A., Cabello, R., Megias-Robles, A., Gomez-Leal, R., & Fernandez-Berrocal, P. (2021). Emotional intelligence and aggressive behaviors in adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Trauma Violence & Abuse. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838021991296 [Available Online].
Vonderlin, R., Kleindienst, N., Alpers, G. W., Bohus, M., & Lyssenko, L. (2018). Dissociation in victims of childhood abuse or neglect: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Medicine, 48, 2467–2476. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291718000740
Walters, G. D. (2017). Modelling the criminal lifestyle: Theorizing at the edge of chaos. Palgrave's Frontiers in Criminology Theory. Palgrave Macmillan.
Wang, X., Yang, L., Gao, L., Yang, J., Lei, L., & Wang, C. (2017). Childhood maltreatment and Chinese adolescents’ bullying and defending: The mediating role of moral disengagement. Child Abuse & Neglect, 69, 134–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.04.016
Widom, C. S. (1989). The cycle of violence. Science, 244, 160–166. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.2704995
World Health Organization. (2006). Preventing child maltreatment: A guide to taking action and generating evidence. Switzerland.
Xiao, Y., Jiang, L., Yang, R., & Ran, H. (2020). Childhood maltreatment with school bullying behaviors in Chinese adolescents: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 281, 941–948. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.11.022
Zhang, W., Chen, L., Ji, L., Zhang, L., Chen, G., & Wang, S. (2009). Physical and relational victimization, and children’s emotional adjustment in middle childhood. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 41, 433–443. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1041.2009.00433
Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31971005), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (No. 2021A1515012515), and the Major Program of the National Social Science Foundation of China (No. 19ZDA360).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was received from all participants and their parents.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yang, J., Huebner, E.S. & Tian, L. Transactional Processes Among Childhood Maltreatment, Self-Control and Aggression in Early Adolescence: Disentangling Between- and Within-Person Associations. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 50, 321–334 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-021-00863-4
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-021-00863-4