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The longitudinal association between social status insecurity and relational aggression: Moderation effects of social cognition about relational aggression
Author(s) -
Long Yunyi,
Li Yan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
aggressive behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.223
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1098-2337
pISSN - 0096-140X
DOI - 10.1002/ab.21872
Subject(s) - aggression , psychology , moderation , attribution , association (psychology) , developmental psychology , cognition , social cognition , longitudinal study , social information processing , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , attribution bias , social cognitive theory , clinical psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , medicine , environmental health , pathology , psychotherapist
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.