Associations between forms of aggression and peer victimization: Does prosocial behavior matter?

Relatively little is known regarding factors that may mitigate the strength of the associations between forms of aggressive behavior and peer victimization. The goal of the current study was to investigate prosocial behavior as a moderator of these links over a 2-year period during middle childhood. Participants included 410 third-grade students (53% boys) and their homeroom teachers. Results indicated that prosocial behavior was associated with lower initial levels of victimization, whereas relational aggression was associated with higher initial levels of victimization. Physical aggression predicted more stable patterns of victimization over time, and prosocial behavior moderated the prospective link from relational aggression to peer victimization; specifically, relational aggression predicted decreases in victimization at higher levels of prosocial behavior and more stable patterns over time when levels of prosocial behavior were low. Further, gender differences were observed in the moderating effect of prosocial behavior on the prospective link from physical aggression to peer victimization, such that it served as a risk factor for boys and a protective factor for girls.

Creating profiles of juvenile offenders using functions of aggression and callous-unemotional traits: relations to crime type.

A rich line of criminological theories and research has suggested that individual characteristics may be important to predicting criminal activity. However, there is limited research examining how individual characteristics may be related to the type of crime committed (e.g. violent, sex, drug). To provide guidance to these questions, the current set of two studies used latent profile analysis to identify groups of offenders based on individual factors (i.e. proactive and reactive aggression, and callous-unemotional traits), chosen for their interrelatedness and their established associations with crime, and examined whether these groups relate to type, severity or the number of crimes committed across two studies. In both studies, four groups of offenders were identified, but these groups were not associated with offending behaviors or patterns. Findings and implications are discussed.

Are perceived containment and coping styles differentially associated with reactive and proactive aggression?

Studies informing ways to target aggression in youth, particularly through the identification of internal patterns predictive of concurrent and future levels of aggression, could be particularly beneficial. To this end, the current study surveyed 216 elementary-aged children on topics of perceived containment (i.e., perceived ability of authority figures to control, limit, and set consequences for one's behaviors), coping responses, and reactive (RA) and proactive aggression (PA). Using multilevel modeling, the individual and interactive effects of coping responses and perceived containment on aggression within time and across two school years were examined. Within time, lower levels of perceived containment were associated with greater RA and PA. Passive coping was also positively associated with RA. The relation between perceived containment and RA within time was dependent on humor, whereas the relation between perceived containment and PA depended on problem-solving. Across time, while T1 passive coping predicted the trajectory of both functions of aggression, a greater number of T1 coping responses predicted the slope of RA with problem-solving and friend support-seeking as well as T1 perceived containment also predicting the trajectory of RA. No coping responses moderated the relation between T1 perceived containment and the trajectory of RA. In contrast, humor moderated the influence of T1 perceived containment and the trajectory of PA. Findings give insight into the ways internal processes of perceived containment and coping are associated with patterns of aggression in elementary-aged youth. This work is valuable in identifying several potential areas for prevention and intervention research.

Impact of Sibling Victimization on Child Internalizing Symptoms.

The current study examined associations between sibling victimization and anxiety and depression symptoms while also considering peer victimization within time and six months later among elementary school-age youth. Both sibling and peer victimization were associated with depression symptoms within as well as across time when considered independently. However, when examined together, peer victimization was only uniquely associated with depression symptoms within time and sibling victimization was only uniquely associated with depression symptoms across time. Sibling and peer victimization were associated with anxiety symptoms within, but not across, time when examined independently, and no associations were evident when sibling and peer victimization were examined simultaneously. No interactive effects of sibling and peer victimization were evident for depression or anxiety symptoms, indicating unique rather than cumulative contributions. Findings suggest that the impact of sibling victimization on depression symptoms is more robust than effects of peer victimization over time.

Alcohol Use and Internalizing Symptoms Among High School students: Does Parental Permission Matter?

This study sought to examine percentages of youth who use alcohol with and/or without parental permission and associations with symptoms of depression and anxiety. At least one in four youth indicated use with parental permission, with approximately 12.7% of youth indicating that they use alcohol both with and without parental permission. Those who used alcohol without parental permission, regardless of use with parental permission, reported higher levels of both depression and anxiety symptoms than those who did not use alcohol. Those who reported only using alcohol with parental permission did not differ on levels of depression symptoms from any other group of youth and did not differ on levels of anxiety symptoms with youth did not use alcohol or who only used alcohol without parental permission. These findings suggest that alcohol use with parental permission may not reduce more risky alcohol use and can be associated with internalizing difficulties.

Do after-school activities help mitigate the negative impact of community violence exposure? A person-centered approach.

The current study used a person-centered approach to identify classes of after-school activities that may reduce the harmful effects, including anxiety and depression, of community violence exposure (CVE) in Latino youth. Participants in the current study included 144 students (54.2% male, ages 14-19) who were recruited from a charter high school in a large, Midwestern city. Students provided information on after-school activities, CVE, and internalizing symptoms. Indices supported a two-class model. Classes were characterized by students who reported high participation in extracurricular activities at school (Class 1) and students who reported spending more time completing after school (Class 2). No between-class differences emerged in anxiety or depression symptoms and class membership did not moderate the relationship between CVE and internalizing symptoms. Findings provide a description of Latino youths' after-school activities and support an individualized, person-centered approach to understanding the risk and protection of environmental factors.

Informant Discrepancies in Suicidality Screening Tools Among School Age Youth.

As the rate of death by suicide in youth ages 6 to 12 rises, it is imperative to better understand informant discrepancies when screening for suicidality. Accordingly, this study investigated associations among youth-, caregiver-, and clinician-reports of youth's suicidality and their associations with youth- and caregiver-reports of youth's depressive symptoms. Participants were 161 6- to 12-year-old youth presenting for outpatient psychological services at a Midwest training clinic between 2014 and 2019. More than 1 in 4 youth had at least one informant report some suicidal concerns. Results indicated that all informants' reports of suicidality were correlated with one another, with youth- and clinician-report being most strongly linked and caregiver- and clinician-report having the weakest correlation. Clinician- and youth-reports of suicidality were associated with youth-report, (but not caregiver-report) of depressive symptoms. Caregiver-report of suicidality was not associated with youth- or caregiver-report of depressive symptoms. When youth-report of depressive symptoms was regressed on sex, age, and youth-, caregiver-, and clinician-reports of suicidality, there was a trend that youth-report of suicidality was positively associated with youth-report of depressive symptoms. No informant's report of suicidality was uniquely associated with caregiver-report of depressive symptoms. Findings indicate that youth- and clinician-reports at intake are more strongly linked with one another than with caregiver-reports. Further, youth-reports on suicidality screening tools are more strongly associated with depressive symptoms than caregiver-report, suggesting that caregiver-reports are insufficient to assess concerns of suicidality at intake among school age youth.

Psychometric properties of the children's emotion management scales within a psychiatric sample.

The Children's Emotion Management Scales (CEMS) are widely used measures of children's emotion regulation strategies in response to three specific emotions: sadness, anger, and worry. Original factor analyses suggested a three-factor subscale structure for each emotion: inhibition, dysregulation, and coping (Zeman et al., 2001, 2002, 2010). However, this factor structure had not been reexamined since it was originally developed, including within a racially diverse psychiatric sample. The present study attempted to address this gap for the Anger Management Scale and Sadness Management Scale separately, as well as testing the overarching structure of these two in combination. Participants included 302 children (ages 8-12; 70.4% boys; 55.72% African American; 39.3% White) from inpatient and outpatient centers and their primary caregivers. The three-factor structure replicated well with the Anger Management Scale and Sadness Management Scale separately in our sample. A bifactor model that included both higher order emotion factors (i.e., Anger and Sadness) and higher order strategy factors (i.e., Coping, Dysregulation, and Inhibition) best represented the overarching structure of the CEMS. Results from latent correlations and structural regressions showed that some of these factors were related to child-reported depressive symptoms and parent-reported disruptive behaviors, supporting the validity of the bifactor model conceptualization of scores on the CEMS. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The mediating role of impulsivity in the associations between child maltreatment types and past month substance use.

BACKGROUND: Child maltreatment has emerged as an important risk factor for substance use. However, despite evidence consistently demonstrating that substance use peaks during emerging adulthood, less is known about the specificity of maltreatment effects on substance use during this critical developmental period. Further, the factors that might play a role in these associations are not well understood. OBJECTIVE: The current study examined the associations between child maltreatment types (i.e., physical abuse, physical neglect, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and emotional neglect) and past month marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco use among emerging adults, and tested whether impulsivity accounted for these associations. METHODS: Participants were 500 emerging adults ranging in age between 18 and 25 years old (M = 18.96, SD = 1.22, 49.6% male) recruited from a large, public university in the Midwest United States. RESULTS: Tests of indirect effects suggested that impulsivity accounted for associations between emotional abuse and past month marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco use. CONCLUSIONS: Current findings provide support for impulsivity as a mechanism linking childhood emotional abuse to substance use among emerging adults, highlighting the need for targeted screening and intervention.

Interactive Effects of Coping Strategies and Emotion Dysregulation on Risk for Peer Victimization.

The aim of the current longitudinal study was to examine the interactive effects of six common coping strategies (i.e., adult support seeking, friend support seeking, problem solving, humor, passive coping, and cognitive distancing) and emotion (i.e., anger and sadness) dysregulation on concurrent levels and subsequent trajectories of peer victimization over a 2-year period. Participants were 287 predominantly Caucasian students (53.7% boys; ages 6-9) from an elementary school located in the Midwestern United States. Self-reported coping strategies and emotion dysregulation were assessed at baseline; children also provided ratings of peer victimization annually over a 2-year period. Results indicated that the effectiveness of particular coping strategies may depend on children's overt, undercontrolled displays of anger and sadness. Consistent with recent recommendations, these findings suggest that some youth may require interventions that focus on both enhancing emotion regulation skills and teaching strategies for responding to peer victimization in a more adaptive manner.

Emotion Regulation Attenuates the Prospective Links from Peer Victimization to Internalizing Symptoms during Middle Childhood.

Objective: Peer victimization has been shown to be a robust predictor of depressive and anxiety symptoms over time. Relatively little is known, however, regarding what protective factors may attenuate these associations and render youth more resilient to this interpersonal stressor. Therefore, the current study examined sadness and worry regulation as moderators of the prospective links from peer victimization to internalizing symptoms over a 1-year period.Method: Participants included 464 predominantly Caucasian children (54.7% boys; ages 7-10), as well as their homeroom teachers, from an elementary school located in the Midwestern United States. Child and teacher reports of peer victimization and child reports of sadness and worry regulation were assessed at Time 1. Children also provided ratings of depressive and anxiety symptoms at Time 1, approximately 6 months later (Time 2), and again approximately 1 year later (Time 3). Moderating effects were evaluated using a series of multivariate latent growth curve models.Results: Consistent with expectations, sadness regulation attenuated the prospective links from both child- and teacher-reported peer victimization to internalizing symptoms. Worry regulation also attenuated the prospective links from teacher-reported peer victimization to internalizing symptoms. The moderating effects of emotion regulation did not differ according to gender.Conclusions: Findings suggest that the ability to effectively manage feelings of sadness and worry may serve as a buffer against the internalizing symptoms associated with peer victimization. Additional research is needed to determine whether interventions focused on enhancing victims' emotion regulation skills reduce their subsequent risk for depressive and anxiety symptoms.

Indicators of suicidal outcomes among 6- to 12-year-old treatment seeking youth.

Suicide among elementary school-age youth is vastly understudied despite being a major health concern. This study utilized mediation and moderation models to elucidate the nature of risk factors for suicide by examining the effect emotion dysregulation (of anger, sadness, and worry) has on the relation between ADHD symptoms (hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention) and suicidal outcomes (suicidal behavior and risk for suicide) in children ages 6 to 12. When accounting for sex, age, depressive symptoms, and emotion dysregulation, hyperactivity/impulsivity was positively associated with suicidal behavior; however, inattention was negatively associated with suicidal behavior. After accounting for the variance associated with sex, age, and depressive symptoms, two interaction effects were evident. At low levels of sadness and worry dysregulation, hyperactivity was positively associated with suicide risk. However, at high levels of sadness and worry dysregulation, hyperactivity was not related to suicide risk. Findings support moderation over mediation.

Varying Experiences of Cyber Victimization among Middle and High School Students.

BACKGROUND: Although cyber victimization (CV) occurs in both middle school (MS) and high school (HS)-and these experiences appear to differ between boys and girls-to our knowledge, no studies have directly examined these differences across specific acts of CV. Further, limited research has examined school environment factors, such as school safety and attachment, as they relate to CV. OBJECTIVES: The current study compared CV experiences reported by boys and girls in both MS and HS as well as examined CV's association with perceived school safety and school attachment. METHOD: Participants were 286 MS and 304 HS students (52% boys) from a small, rural Midwestern community in the United States. Self-reported measures were collected. RESULTS: HS girls reported experiencing more CV than MS girls on 5 of the 6 CV acts examined. Additionally, HS girls reported experiencing more CV on 3 of the acts compared to MS boys. In general, HS boys and HS girls report similar rates of CV, with the exception of HS girls experiencing higher levels of "people saying mean and nasty things about them." Regression analyses indicated that youth who report higher CV feel less connected to school, but their CV experiences do not appear to be related their perceived school safety when also considering traditional forms of victimization. CONCLUSIONS: CV experiences are higher for HS girls for the majority of different types of CV acts compared to MS youth but similar to HS boys, and experiencing these acts is associated with less school connectedness.

Bivariate Growth of Perceived Containment and Functions of Aggression Over 2 Years.

Perceived containment is the belief that one can be controlled by the limits set by authority figures, with low levels of perceived containment indicating that one does not believe they can be controlled by others. Low levels of perceived containment have been associated with a range of problem behaviors in youth, including proactive and reactive aggression. However, the stability of perceived containment across time and authority figures in middle childhood is not well understood. Additionally, more research is needed to understand how perceived containment is associated with the trajectories of related problem behavior, such as proactive and reactive functions of aggression. Thus, the current study evaluated univariate and bivariate growth trajectories of perceived containment and proactive and reactive aggression across 2 years in middle childhood. Participants were 249 elementary school youth (41% female, 7-10 years old). Children self-reported on perceived containment and proactive and reactive aggression at 4 time points across a two-year period. Results indicated that perceived containment and proactive aggression remained stable, while reactive aggression increased over a two-year period. Bivariate models indicated that perceived containment was negatively associated with the latent intercept of proactive and reactive aggression; however, perceived containment was not significantly associated with growth of reactive aggression. Findings and implications for treatment and prevention are discussed in turn.

The Association Between PTSD Symptoms and IPV Perpetration Across 6 Years.

A large literature documents that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration among adults. However, research on this relationship among adolescents and young adults has been plagued by methodological flaws (e.g., cross-sectional designs). Thus, the purpose of the present study was to examine the longitudinal and bidirectional associations between PTSD symptoms and psychological and physical IPV perpetration from adolesence to young adulthood. A sample of racially and ethnically diverse high school students (N = 1,042; 56% female) were assessed annually for 6 years (from 2010 to 2015 in Southeastern Texas). At each assessment, participants completed measures of PTSD symptoms and psychological and physical IPV perpetration. The mean age of the sample at the first assessment was 15.09 (SD = .79). Structural equation modeling demonstrated that PTSD symptoms at Years 2, 3, and 4 predicted increases in psychological IPV perpetration in the subsequent year. In turn, psychological IPV perpetration at Years 1 and 4 predicted increases in PTSD symptoms in the subsequent years. In addition, psychological IPV perpetration mediated the association between PTSD symptoms and physical IPV perpetration over time. Results were consistent across gender and race/ethnicity. Findings provide initial evidence that PTSD symptoms are associated with IPV perpetration across time from adolescence to young adulthood. Prevention and intervention programs for adolescent and young adult IPV perpetration may benefit from screening for, and potentially treating, PTSD symptoms.

Parallel Trajectories of Proactive and Reactive Aggression in Middle Childhood and Their Outcomes in Early Adolescence.

This study used an accelerated longitudinal design to investigate trajectories of proactive and reactive aggression in middle childhood and their outcomes in early adolescence. Children (N = 1420; ages 5-12; 48% female) were assessed biannually over 6 school years. Classroom teachers rated students' proactive and reactive aggression throughout grades K-5; and multi-method (teacher-report, self-report, school records) measures of peer problems, depressive symptoms, academic performance, disciplinary actions, and school absenteeism were collected throughout grades 3-5. Latent class growth models were estimated to differentiate parallel-process trajectories of proactive-reactive aggression. Class membership was then examined as a predictor of outcomes at the end of 5th grade. The best-fitting solution had four trajectory classes: (1) low aggression, 76.7%; (2) high proactive-reactive aggression, 4.7%; (3) declining aggression, 4.9%; and (4) predominantly reactive aggression, 13.7%. Most classes showed seasonal upticks in aggressive behavior in the spring semester relative to fall; these were especially pronounced for proactive aggression, both as a variable and for the proactive-reactive class. Relative to their low-aggression peers, children in any elevated-aggression class had higher levels of peer problems, depressive symptoms, and disciplinary actions and lower GPAs at the end of 5th grade. The reactive class-which on no occasion had the highest total aggression-exhibited the most consistently unfavorable pattern of outcomes across methods and measures. Findings offer new insights concerning the multifinality and heterogeneity of aggressive behavior in childhood. Research, theory, and practice could benefit from adopting person-centered conceptualizations that consider the long-term trajectories, short-term variations, and proactive vs. reactive functions of youth aggression.

Demographic Differences in Youth Perceptions of Staff: A National Evaluation of Adjudicated Youth.

Despite the large societal and personal cost associated with the detainment of juvenile offenders in residential facilities, little is known about the factors that contribute to youth behavior while incarcerated. One factor that may be of importance to maintaining security within facilities and improving rehabilitation efforts is youth's perceptions of correctional staff, namely, youth's perceptions of positive staff characteristics (e.g., friendliness; helpfulness) and staff behavior toward youth (e.g., fair punishments). Accordingly, the current study used the National Survey of Youth in Custody across two cohorts to better understand youth perceptions about staff by examining rates of these perceptions within juvenile detention centers nationwide. Furthermore, given the overrepresentation of marginalized groups in the justice system, systematic differences in youth's perceptions about staff were evaluated based on demographic characteristics, including age, race, sex, and sexual orientation, to better understand how these characteristics influence youth perceptions. Results suggested several significant differences based on demographic characteristics, with the most prominent and consistent differences associated with race and age, with Black youth and older youth having the least positive views of staff. Interestingly, non-heterosexual youth were more likely to view staff characteristics as positive than heterosexual youth. Implications of findings are discussed.

Diagnostic classification of irritability and oppositionality in youth: a global field study comparing ICD-11 with ICD-10 and DSM-5.

BACKGROUND: Severe irritability has become an important topic in child and adolescent mental health. Based on the available evidence and on public health considerations, WHO classified chronic irritability within oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in ICD-11, a solution markedly different from DSM-5's (i.e. the new childhood mood diagnosis, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder [DMDD]) and from ICD-10's (i.e. ODD as one of several conduct disorders without attention to irritability). In this study, we tested the accuracy with which a global, multilingual, multidisciplinary sample of clinicians were able to use the ICD-11 classification of chronic irritability and oppositionality as compared to the ICD-10 and DSM-5 approaches. METHODS: Clinicians (N = 196) from 48 countries participated in an Internet-based field study in English, Spanish, or Japanese and were randomized to review and use one of the three diagnostic systems. Through experimental manipulation of validated clinical vignettes, we evaluated how well clinicians in each condition could identify chronic irritability versus nonirritable oppositionality, episodic bipolar disorder, dysthymic depression, and normative irritability. RESULTS: Compared to ICD-10 and DSM-5, ICD-11 led to more accurate identification of severe irritability and better differentiation from boundary presentations. Participants using DSM-5 largely failed to apply the DMDD diagnosis when it was appropriate, and they more often applied psychopathological diagnoses to developmentally normative irritability. CONCLUSIONS: The formulation of irritability and oppositionality put forth in ICD-11 shows evidence of clinical utility, supporting accurate diagnosis. Global mental health clinicians can readily identify ODD both with and without chronic irritability.

Relationship Between Body Habitus and Aggression Subtypes Among Healthy Young Adults from the American Midwest.

This study examined associations between body habitus and functions of aggression, in a sample of 474 college students from the Midwestern region of the United States (age range = 18-25y; 73% Caucasian). Two instruments of aggression, the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire from Dodge & Coie 1987 (DC) and Raine et al. 2006 (RPQ) were given as self-assessments. Body habitus measures standardized by age and gender specific weight and height were collected. Subjects considered to have a large body habitus in our study had both weight and height measures above the 75th percentile. Large body habitus was positively correlated with both proactive and reactive functions of aggression among adult males but not females; however, regression analyses indicated that body habitus was most strongly and robustly associated with proactive aggression. Findings suggest that even in a healthy homogeneous population, large body size in males is associated with aggression, particularly proactive aggression including bullying rather than retaliatory aggression. The presence of a large body physique may reinforce aggressive behavioral traits acquired through life experiences and activities evoking physical dominance. Alternatively, the relationship may reflect neurological processes related to size influenced by genetic factors and hormones leading to antisocial behaviors requiring future research on the role of genes for aggression.