Citation

Long Y, Li Y. Aggressive Behav. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, International Society for Research on Aggression, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/ab.21872

PMID

31646644

Abstract

Previous research has shown that adolescents' insecurity about their social status is related to their use of relational aggression. However, little is known about how adolescents' social cognition may moderate this association. Employing a mixed-method approach and a short-term longitudinal design, this study addresses this issue by examining the moderation effects of attribution and outcome expectancies regarding relational aggression on the associations between social status insecurity and relational aggression among 476 Chinese adolescents (238 girls). The main results showed that self-serving attributions and instrumental outcome expectancies strengthened the positive and longitudinal association between social status insecurity and self-reported relational aggression. The findings of this study enrich our knowledge about the social cognitive processes pertinent to peer status and relational aggression among adolescents.

© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language: en

Keywords

Chinese adolescent; attribution; outcome expectancy; relational aggression; social cognitive process; social status insecurity