A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Is Aggression Associated With Biased Perceptions of One's Acceptance and Rejection in Adolescence?
Authors: Malamut Sarah T, Garandeau Claire F, Badaly Daryaneh, Duong Mylieng, Schwartz David
Publisher: AMER PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC
Publication year: 2022
Journal: Developmental Psychology
Journal name in source: DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
Journal acronym: DEV PSYCHOL
Volume: 58
Issue: 5
First page : 963
Last page: 976
Number of pages: 15
ISSN: 0012-1649
eISSN: 1939-0599
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001333(external)
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001333(external)
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9274109(external)
In adolescence, being rejected by one's peers is positively associated with aggression. However, whether self-perceptions of being rejected or accepted by peers, and biases in these perceptions, are linked to aggression remains unclear, as the literature points to 2 perspectives: Youth are more likely to be aggressive when they (a) know or believe that they are rejected or (b) overestimate their acceptance. By addressing some of the limitations of prior studies, this study aimed to clarify how self-perceptions of status are related to concurrent and future aggression, and whether high levels of aggression are predictive of biased self-perceptions of acceptance and rejection. Data were collected in 2 consecutive school years from 572 high school students (Mage = 15.06, SD = .75; 55.4% girls). The ethnic/racial composition of the sample was 47.5% Asian, 43.1% Latino/Hispanic, 4.0% White, and 5.3% other. For well-liked youth, awareness of one's acceptance was positively associated with concurrent relational aggression, whereas for highly rejected youth, awareness of one's rejection was positively associated with concurrent overt aggression. Awareness of being rejected (i.e., high levels of both self-perceived and actual rejection) was associated with elevated levels of aggression over time. There was no evidence that youth with high levels of aggression had more biased perceptions of their status (concurrently or longitudinally) than youth with low levels of aggression. These findings help clarify how youth's status-related perceptions relate to the development of aggression.