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Developmental Trajectories of Chinese Adolescents’ Relational Aggression: Associations With Changes in Social‐Psychological Adjustment
Author(s) -
Chen Liang,
Zhang Wenxin,
Ji Linqin,
DeaterDeckard Kirby
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/cdev.13090
Subject(s) - aggression , psychology , developmental psychology , context (archaeology) , adolescent development , trajectory , social environment , poison control , medicine , environmental health , paleontology , physics , astronomy , political science , law , biology
This study investigated the development of relational aggression (RA) in a sample of Chinese youth ( N = 2,274, 52% boys) from fourth ( M age = 10.27 years) to ninth grade. Using latent class growth analysis, four trajectories were identified for both peer‐ and teacher‐rated RA: a no aggression trajectory, a low‐increasing trajectory, a moderate‐decreasing trajectory, and a chronically high trajectory. Chronically high RA showed a chronicity effect on adolescent peer acceptance, rejection, and rule‐breaking behaviors. Adolescents showed worse adjustment as RA increased, but they did not necessarily evidence significant improvement in adjustment even if their RA decreased. Findings reveal the maladaptive nature of RA and highlight the importance of considering cultural context in understanding RA.