Understanding Romantic Relational Aggression in Emerging Adults Using Latent Profile Analysis of Jealousy and Hostile Attribution Bias.

The present study sought to identify profiles of 753 emerging adults (62.5% females) with different levels of hostile attribution bias (HAB) and jealousy dimensions (i.e., cognitive, emotional, behavioral) and examined differences in their levels of romantic relational aggression (RoRAgg) across profiles. Participants were recruited from Greek universities and completed and online survey. Using a person-centered approach, Latent Profile Analysis indicated the presence of three profiles of participants: a) jealous and hostile intent attributers who had high scores on jealousy dimensions and HAB, b) low risk who scored low on jealousy and HAB, and c) emotionally jealous and moderate hostile intent attributers with moderate cognitive and behavioral jealousy as well as HAB, and high emotional jealousy. As predicted, jealous and hostile intent attributers scored higher on RoRAgg compared with emotionally jealous and moderate hostile intent attributers and low risk. The findings confirm previous research and are discussed in terms of their implications. Interventions targeting relational aggressor's hostile attributions, cognitive suspicions, and negative thoughts should be implemented to reduce RoRAgg.

Testing the Associations Between Attachment Anxiety, Relational Aggression and Depressive Symptoms in Romantic Relationships: Actor-Partner Interdependence Model and Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediator Model.

Emerging adulthood is a pivotal period for romantic relationships, yet the specific mechanisms through which attachment anxiety influences relationship dynamics and psychological outcomes in this phase are poorly understood. Particularly, in the context of romantic dyads, understanding how partners' behaviors and emotional patterns reciprocally influence each other remains underexplored. This study utilizes the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model and Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediator Model to explore the relationship between attachment anxiety,relational aggression (both perpetration and victimization), and depressive symptoms among emerging adults. A sample of 138 mixed-sex emerging adulthood couples from China, was recruited (Mage = 21.40, SD = 2.54; 50% female, 62.6% reporting that this relationship was ongoing for more than a year). Attachment anxiety significantly predicted relational aggression in both partners, with male attachment anxiety also significantly predicted female relational aggression. Significant indirect effects of both partners' relational aggression perpetration and victimization on their own and each other's relationship between attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms. These findings contribute to understanding the intricate dynamics of attachment anxiety and relational aggression in romantic relationships during emerging adulthood, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to mitigate these risks.

Relational aggression in romantic relationship: empirical evidence among young female adults in Malaysia.

BACKGROUND: Aggressive behaviour in romantic relationship is a social problem of great concern. Studies related to the influence of psychosocial factors on relational aggression are still limited. Furthermore, these factors have not been widely studied in the local context, resulting in the issue of relational aggression among young female adults still not being addressed. This study aims to explore whether psychosocial factors such as big five personality traits, adult attachment style and loneliness could predict relational aggression in romantic relationships among young female adults in Malaysia. In addition, this study aims to identify the moderating effect of social support in the relationship between psychosocial factors and relational aggression in romantic relationship. METHODS: A quantitative research approach was used with 424 young female adults in Malaysia aged between 18 and 30 years old (mean age = 24.18) were recruited through multistage sampling design by completing a questionnaire consisting of the Big Five Inventory (BFI), Experiences in Close Relationships Scale II (ECRS-II), Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, Measure of Relational Aggression and Victimization (MRAV) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). RESULTS: Multiple regression analysis predicted significant relationship between agreeableness personality, loneliness, avoidant attachment style and anxious attachment style with relational aggression in romantic relationships. Hierarchical regression analysis found a significant effect of social support as a moderator between loneliness with relational aggression in romantic relationships. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, the results show that young female adults with low level of agreeableness, high level of loneliness, avoidant attachment style and anxious attachment style are at a higher risk of engaging in relational aggression in romantic relationships. The implication of this study can help in understanding the psychosocial factors that form the basis of relational aggression in romantic relationships. Hence, the gap in knowledge warrants further research.

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.

Love withdrawal use by toddlers: Multi-informant associations with aggression and parents' use of love withdrawal.

Love withdrawal is a form of interpersonal manipulation that shares many features with relational aggression; its use by children has not been examined. Guided by social learning theory, we sought to investigate the prevalence of toddlers' use of love withdrawal toward caregivers (parents and teachers) and further investigate how this behavior was associated with relational and physical aggression and parents' use of love withdrawal. These aims were examined using parent and teacher reports in a sample of 198 toddlers (Mage = 33.62 months; SD = 5.00 months; 50.5% girls). We found that most toddlers used love withdrawal directed at parents (79.2%) and teachers (72.1%) when angry and displayed this type of behavior more than relational and physical aggression. Accounting for household income, hours per week in childcare, and child age in months, as well as classroom clustering, we found that relational aggression, and not physical aggression, predicted the use of love withdrawal by toddlers (teacher reports), and that the associations were stronger for love withdrawal and relational aggression than for physical aggression. We also found that parents' use of love withdrawal toward their child was correlated with their reports of their child's use of love withdrawal, but not with their child's use of aggression. These results highlight the importance of considering the use of love withdrawal by children given its association with aggression which is linked to poorer psychosocial functioning.

For richer, for poorer: Financial behaviors, power (im)balance, and relational aggression among different-gender newlyweds in the U.S.

Guided by an intersectional feminism framework, we used three-wave, dyadic survey data from a nationally representative sample of 1625 U.S. different-gender newlywed couples to test three research questions. First, as balanced power is considered a key concept for relational well-being in feminism, we examined developmental trajectories in husbands' and wives' perception of power (im)balance. Second, considering money as a major influence on power and aggression, we examined how financial behaviors relate to power (im)balance and in turn relational aggression-a type of intimate partner violence that is controlling and manipulative in nature. Third, informed by the intersectionality between gender and socioeconomic status (SES), we examined gender differences and SES disparities in the associations among financial behaviors, developmental trajectories of perception of power (im)balance, and relational aggression. Our findings demonstrate that newlywed different-gender couples are experiencing power struggles, where two partners diminish each other's influence over time. We also found that healthy financial behaviors are associated with balanced power and, in turn, less relational aggression (especially for wives and in lower-SES households). Taken collectively, we continue calling for efforts to facilitate money management skills and promote balanced marital power.

Relational and physical aggression in preschool-age children: Associations with teacher, parent, sibling, and peer relationship quality.

Early childhood relationships with teachers, parents, siblings, and peers are foundational factors for later social functioning. High rates of childhood aggression have been associated with negative developmental consequences, however, the associations between child aggression on the quality of these formative relationships have not been studied extensively. In a sample of young children attending preschool (N = 114, Mage = 46.27 months, SD = 9.94, 40% girls), this study investigated associations between early childhood relational and physical aggression and the quality of concurrent teacher-child and parent-child closeness and conflict, sibling relationship quality, and positive peer interactions and peer rejection. Early childhood relational and physical aggression was associated with negative teacher-child relationships, and this was true for boys and girls. Differential patterns of prediction were found for relational and physical aggression on the other relationship variables. Relational aggression strongly predicted more positive peer interactions, whereas physical aggression predicted fewer positive peer interactions and greater peer rejection. Early childhood relational aggression predicted higher levels of teacher-child closeness, whereas physical aggression predicted lower levels of teacher-child closeness and fewer positive sibling interactions. These findings challenge common perceptions that aggression is negatively associated with relationship quality. Notably, relational aggression relative to physical aggression may be associated with some favorable relationship outcomes. We did not find support for an additive model of aggression whereby children who were both relationally and physically aggressive (co-morbid) were at higher risk for negative relationship quality. Implications of these findings for future research and prevention and intervention are discussed.

Mediating role of relational aggression in the association between infertility stigma and marital relationship distress in infertile women.

Infertility is a multifaceted problem that can cause significant impairments with emotional, social, and psychological consequences, including problems in the marital relationship. This study aimed to mediate the role of relational aggression in the association between infertility stigma and marital relationship distress in infertile women. The research method was descriptive and path analysis. The statistical population of the study consisted of all infertile women who were referred to infertility centers and obstetrics and gynecology medical centers in Tehran in 2021 (July to October), and due to lack of full access to them, 300 people were selected by available sampling method who participated in the research through an online questionnaire. Data were collected using the Marital Self-Reporting Questionnaire, Infertility Stigma, and Relational Aggression Questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling. The results showed that the causal model of the relationship between infertility stigma, relational aggression, and marital relationship distress in infertile women was confirmed based on different fitting indices. Infertility stigma and associated aggression directly affect the marital turmoil of infertile women. On the other hand, infertility stigma indirectly affects infertile women's marital distress through relational aggression (P < .05). Therefore, the infertility stigma and relational aggression play an important role in marital distress in infertile women, and targeting these two components in psychological therapies can effectively reduce marital chaos.

Perceived Moral Norms in an Extended Theory of Planned Behavior in Predicting University Students' Bystander Intentions toward Relational Bullying.

Relational forms of bullying, such as social exclusion, are prevalent among students in higher education (HE) and pose challenges to the creation of a safe and inclusive learning environment for young adults. Based on research showing how bystanders in bullying incidents can counteract bullying effectively, the present study investigated the extent to which bystanders' prosocial behavioral intentions may be predicted using an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB). Students' behavioral intentions toward the physical-social exclusion of peers in a hypothetical group work setting were investigated in a sample of 419 university students in the United Kingdom. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that moral norms significantly predicted intention over and above cognitive attitude, descriptive norms, and perceived behavioral control. In contrast, emotional attitudes and injunctive norms were not significant predictors of intention. Moreover, significant weak mediation effects could be shown for moral norms as a mediator of the relationships between standard TPB predictors and intention. The present study contributes knowledge to the growing research body on applications of the TPB and on bystander intentions in bullying in HE. Implications for a development in preventive measures to foster university students' prosocial intentions toward bullying are discussed.

Relational Peer Victimization as a Predictor of Academic Engagement.

Peer victimization can be detrimental to youth. This study examines a particular type of peer victimization, relational peer victimization, and its effect on students' engagement in the classroom. We specifically investigate the longitudinal relationship between relational peer victimization and academic engagement in a sample of 204 Black 3rd through 5th grade elementary school students by utilizing multiple informants: students and their parents reported on relational peer victimization, and teachers reported on students' academic engagement. Our findings showed convergence between student and parent reports of relational peer victimization and revealed that experiencing relational peer victimization during the beginning of the school year (fall) negatively predicts teacher reported academic engagement towards the end of the school year (spring). Our study suggests that relational peer victimization is a critical issue that educators and researchers should consider when trying to foster academic engagement. There is also a need for further research regarding the role that families play in providing support to Black relationally victimized youth.

Normative Beliefs and Aggression: The Mediating Roles of Empathy and Anger.

This study examined a two-mediator model with both empathy and anger as mediators in the association between children's normative beliefs about aggression and forms (relational and physical) and functions (reactive and proactive) of aggressive behavior. Ninety-eight children (54% males, Mage=46.21months, SD = 8.84months) reported their approval of relationally and physically aggressive behaviors depicted in iconic (animation) and enactive (toy figurines) hypothetical scenarios. Children's aggression, empathy and anger were measured using teacher reports. No main effects of normative beliefs about aggression on the corresponding aggressive behavior were found. Normative beliefs about aggression were negatively associated with empathy and empathy was significantly associated with relational aggression, suggesting that developing social emotional processes mediate the relation between social cognitions and aggression. Anger was associated with aggression, but not normative beliefs about aggression. The findings provide support for the distinction between subtypes of aggressive behavior in young children and the developing social-cognitive and affective processes that influence these behaviors.

Chinese Adolescents' Perceptions of Aggressive Peers: The Roles of Gender and Cultural Values.

Aggression is a prevalent, maladaptive behavioral problem, yet how adolescents view and respond to aggressive peers vary across individual characteristics and cultural contexts. Using a dyadic peer-rating approach, this study investigated adolescents' perceptions of real-world, rather than hypothetical, aggressive peers, and the role of dyadic gender and individual cultural values. The sample included 274 adolescents (Mage = 13.23 years, SD = 0.68; 52% boys) from two public schools in rural China. Adolescents rated each classmate's physical and relational aggression, as well as their affiliative preference and social acceptance toward the classmate. Adolescents reported horizontal and vertical individualistic and collectivistic cultural values. Results indicated that (a) adolescents had similarly negative perceptions of physically and relationally aggressive peers; (b) boys and girls had more negative perceptions of male than female physically aggressive peers, and of same-gender than other-gender relationally aggressive peers; and (c) horizontal collectivistic values were associated with more negative, whereas vertical collectivistic and vertical individualistic values were associated with more benign, perceptions of aggressive peers. These findings uncover the complexity of adolescents' perceptions of aggressive peers and highlight the role of gender and cultural values in understanding attitudes toward aggression in a collectivistic context.

Autonomic nervous system reactivity to emotion and childhood trajectories of relational and physical aggression.

This study investigated the role of autonomic nervous system (ANS) coordination in response to emotion in girls' and boys' development of relational (e.g., ignoring, excluding) and physical (e.g., hitting, kicking) aggression. Caregivers reported on children's relational and physical aggression at ages 6, 7, 8, and 10 years (N = 232, 50.4% girls, 46.6% Latinx). Sympathetic nervous system (assessed via pre-ejection period) and parasympathetic nervous system (assessed via respiratory sinus arrhythmia) reactivity were measured in response to video clips depicting fear, happiness, and sadness at age 7. Growth curve models indicated that ANS reactivity to sadness, but not to fear or happiness, was related to trajectories of relational aggression. In contrast, ANS reactivity to all three emotions was associated with trajectories of physical aggression. Effects differed across genders, indicating that distinct patterns of ANS reactivity to emotion may be involved in girls' and boys' development of aggression. Overall, these findings contribute to a growing literature documenting the role of ANS reactivity to emotion in aggressive behavior. Moreover, this study considers ANS reactivity to specific emotions, as related to both relational and physical aggression, and as differentially expressed among girls versus boys.

Trajectories of physical and relational aggression across early childhood: Relations with peer risk factors.

The goal of the current study was to examine trajectories of relational and physical aggression in early childhood and evaluate peer predictors of these trajectories (i.e., peer rejection, relational victimization, and physical victimization). The study spanned three-time points (T1 in the spring, T2 in the fall, and T3 in the spring) in early childhood (N = 300; 44.0% girls; Mage = 44.70 months, SD = 4.38; 3.0% African American/Black, 7.6% Asian/Asian American/Pacific Islander, 1.0% Hispanic/Latinx, 11.3% multiracial, 62.1% White, and 15.0% missing/unknown). Observations of peer victimization and teacher report of peer rejection were collected at T1, and teacher report of aggression was collected at all time points. Results from piecewise latent growth models demonstrated that both forms of aggression decreased from T1 to T2 as children entered a new classroom and increased from T2 to T3 as they remained in that classroom. The increase in physical aggression from T2 to T3 was only significant for boys. Peer rejection at T1 emerged as a predictor of both intercepts and slopes from T1 to T2, and physical victimization predicted the physical aggression intercept and physical aggression slope from T1 to T2. Children high on these peer risk variables had higher initial levels of aggression, followed by a greater decrease in aggression from T1 to T2. Results underscore the importance of studying incremental change in aggression in early childhood and suggest that children who experience negative peer treatment have greater fluctuations in aggression over time.

Fathering and children's relational aggression: Moderating effects of children's temperament and gender.

In this exploratory study, we analyzed the contribution of fathering to relational aggression (RA) in middle childhood and the moderating role of children's temperament and gender. Participants (N = 234; 46% girls) were attending public elementary school (mean age = 8.15; SD = 1.23) in middle-class neighborhoods in two Spanish cities. Fathers provided information about their parenting practices using the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire, parents gave data on their child's temperament using the Temperament in Middle Childhood Questionnaire and children provided information about their peers' aggressive behavior using the Mini Direct Indirect Aggression Inventory. Fathering dimensions considered were Authoritative Cold, Authoritative Warm, Physical Punishment, and Insecurity; temperament dimensions considered were negative affect (NA), effortful control (EC), activity (AC), and shyness (SH). Gender, fathering, and temperament dimensions additively accounted for a significant proportion of the variance observed in RA. Several significant interactions suggested that the effect of fathering on RA was moderated by temperament and, in some cases, by children's gender. NA increased the potential risk of Authoritative Cold fathering (CF) and, in boys only, of Insecure fathering, while EC potentiated the protective effect of Authoritative-Warm fathering and, in boys only, buffered the risk effect of CF. SH buffered the risk effect of CF and decreased the protective effect of Authoritative Warm fathering on RA. Lastly, AC also buffered the risk effect of CF on RA. Results are discussed in light of the protective or the vulnerability role of temperament and in relation to models that explain sensitivity differences to environmental contexts.

The Role of Autonomic System Coordination in Relations Between Peer Factors and Aggressive Behavior in Early Childhood.

This study tested biological sensitivity to context theory in the peer context. Respiratory sinus arrythmia (RSA-R) and skin conductance level (SCL-R) reactivity to a peer stressor were collected for participants (N = 86; M age = 45.99 months old; 70.2% White) in the summer (Time 1). Children's peer risk (i.e., physical and relational victimization) and protective (i.e., received prosocial behavior) factors were examined in the fall (T2) and relational and physical aggression were measured at T2 and in the spring (T3). Interactions were tested in regression analyses. Interactions emerged between relational victimization, RSA-R, and SCL-R in the prediction of T3 relational aggression and between received prosocial behavior, RSA-R, and SCL-R in the prediction of T3 relational and physical aggression, respectively. There was a positive relation between T2 relational victimization and T3 relational aggression for children with a coactivation pattern (i.e., increased RSA and SCL activity to a bullying stressor) but no relation for any other physiological pattern. Conversely, there was a negative relation between T2 received prosocial behavior and both forms of aggression at T3 for children with a reciprocal pattern (i.e., increased RSA and decreased SCL or decreased RSA and increased SCL activity) but no protective benefit of received prosocial behavior on subsequent aggression for children with a coactivation pattern. For children with a coinhibition pattern (i.e., decreased RSA and SCL activity), received prosocial behavior was negatively related to subsequent physical but not relational aggression. In sum, a coactivation pattern in response to stress may represent a vulnerability factor.

The association between peer rejection and aggression types: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Although previous studies have assessed the association between peer rejection and aggression, the results are mixed. OBJECTIVE: This article presents a meta-analysis of the association between peer rejection and aggression types (overt vs. relational) among children and adolescents. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: A total of 61 eligible studies with 70 independent effect sizes were included in the analysis (45,966 participants, Mage = 10.34, SD = 3.13). METHODS: First, random-effects meta-analyses were conducted to explore the association between peer rejection and aggression types (overt vs. relational). Next, moderation analyses were conducted based on the Q statistics for categorical variables (culture, reporting method of peer rejection, reporting method of aggression) and the meta-regression analyses for continuous variable (age). RESULTS: Peer rejection was positively correlated with overall aggression (r = 0.42, 95 % CI [0.38, 0.47], p < 0.001), overt aggression (r = 0.46, 95 % CI [0.38, 0.54], p < 0.001) and relational aggression (r = 0.43, 95 % CI [0.35, 0.51], p < 0.001). This correlation was positive for each type when controlling for other form of aggression. Moderation analyses suggested that reporting method of aggression (self-report vs. peer-nomination vs. adult-report vs. observation), reporting method of peer rejection (self-report vs. peer-nomination vs. adult-report) and culture (collectivist vs. individualist) were moderators of the association between peer rejection and overall aggression. Culture moderated the association between peer rejection and overt aggression, while age moderated the association between peer rejection and relational aggression. CONCLUSIONS: The findings showed a strong positive association between peer rejection and aggression, although this association varied by aggression type and other moderating variables.

Applying a bifactor model to the functions of relational aggression: Associations with hostile attribution biases and difficulties with emotion regulation.

Previous research suggests that reactive and proactive aggression likely have distinct underlying mechanisms that uniquely contribute to the perpetration of each as a result of faulty cognitive and emotional processes. Still, very little work has examined the association of the functions of relational aggression with emotion dysregulation and hostile attribution biases. In addition, it is important to examine relational aggression in its pure and co-occurring functions given that past work finds reactive and proactive aggression to occur both jointly and distinctly. Thus, the current study employed a bifactor model to distinguish between pure reactive, pure proactive, and co-occurring relational aggression in emerging adulthood (N = 647, Mage = 19.92, SD = 2.83), a developmental time period for which relational aggression is particularly prominent. To further address gaps in the relational aggression literature, indirect pathway models revealed that relational hostile attribution biases emerged as a concurrent indirect path in the relationship between emotion dysregulation and pure reactive relational aggression. Furthermore, emotion dysregulation was directly positively associated with both pure functions as well as co-occurring relational aggression, and hostile attribution biases for relational provocations were directly associated with both pure functions of relational aggression, though the association was negative for pure proactive and positive for pure reactive relational aggression. Findings highlight the potential influence of emotion dysregulation and attributing hostile intent to social situations on engaging in the different functions of relational aggression.

Temporal stability of relational aggression profiles in adolescents.

The current study explored the temporal stability in relational aggressor's profiles over a 6-month period. Data were gathered at two time points from a sample of 2207 Greek junior high school students (52.8% females) aged between 13 and 16 (M = 14.04, SD = 0.81) years. This study also considered the role of callous-unemotional traits and hostile attribution bias in predicting profile membership. Results of latent profile and latent transition analyses revealed three distinct relational aggression profiles (i.e., low relational aggression, moderate relational aggression/high reactive indirect relational aggression, and high relational aggression). The examination of the short-term longitudinal stability of these profiles over a period of 6 months showed that their basic structure remained stable at both the within-sample and within-person level across measurement points. In addition, this study showed that callous-unemotional traits and hostile attribution bias affect adolescents' possibility of membership in all three profiles. Adolescents scoring high on callous-unemotional traits and hostile attribution bias were more likely to be associated with the more aggressive profiles, namely with the high relational aggression, and to a lesser extent, with the moderate relational aggression profile. Overall, this study demonstrated that the basic structure of relational aggression profiles remained stable across a short-term time period and provides numerous crucial practical implications including social-cognitive reframing interventions, as well as enhancement of social skills and empathic reactions.

Children's Navigation of Contextual Cues in Peer Transgressions: The Role of Aggression Form, Transgressor Gender, and Transgressor Intention.

When faced with transgressions in their peer groups, children must navigate a series of situational cues (e.g., type of transgression, transgressor gender, transgressor intentionality) to evaluate the moral status of transgressions and to inform their subsequent behavior toward the transgressors. There is little research on which cues children prioritize when presented together, how reliance on these cues may be affected by certain biases (e.g., gender norms), or how the prioritization of these cues may change with age. To explore these questions, 138 5- to 7-year-olds (younger children) and 8- to 10-year-olds (older children) evaluated a series of boy and girl characters who partook in physical or relational aggression with ambiguous or purposeful intent. Children were asked to provide sociomoral evaluations (i.e., acceptability, punishment, and intention attribution judgments) and social preferences. Transgressor gender only impacted children's social preferences. Conversely, aggression form and transgressor intent shifted children's sociomoral judgments: they were harsher toward physical transgressors with purposeful intent over those with ambiguous intent but made similar evaluations for relational transgressors regardless of intentionality. The present results suggest that gender is perhaps not uniformly relevant to children across all contexts, as other cues were prioritized for children's sociomoral judgments. Since children likely have less familiarity with relational aggression compared to physical aggression, it follows that intent would only shift judgments about physical transgressors. This research provides insight about how children simultaneously navigate multiple cues in aggression contexts, which is likely reflective of their real-world experiences.