Citation

Gangel MJ, Keane SP, Calkins SD, Shanahan L, O'Brien M. J. Early Adolesc. 2017; 37(8): 1078-1092.

Affiliation

University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0272431616642327

PMID

32292222

PMCID

PMC7156143

Abstract

This study examined two competing hypotheses regarding the moderators of the association between relational aggression and peer status in early adolescence. The mitigation relational aggression hypothesis examined whether positive social behaviors reduced the negative effects of relational aggression, thus amplifying the association between relational aggression and perceived popularity. The effective use of relational aggression hypothesis examined whether leadership skills facilitated the proficient use of relational aggression, thus amplifying the association between relational aggression and perceived popularity. Participants were 158 fifth graders (52% female). Post hoc analyses indicated that for girls, leadership significantly moderated the association between relational aggression and perceived popularity after controlling for positive social behaviors. Positive social behaviors did not similarly moderate the association between relational aggression and perceived popularity for boys or girls. Our results demonstrated that in the context of greater leadership, female early adolescents who used more relational aggression were perceived as more popular.

Language: en

Keywords

leadership; perceived popularity; positive social behaviors; relational aggression