TY - JOUR
T1 - Peer victimization and subsequent disruptive behavior in school
T2 - The protective functions of anger regulation coping
AU - Kaynak, Övgü
AU - Lepore, Stephen J.
AU - Kliewer, Wendy
AU - Jaggi, Lena
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was funded by NIH R01MH081166 awarded to Wendy Kliewer and Stephen J. Lepore. We thank the principals, teachers, and students at our participating schools.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd.
PY - 2015/1/1
Y1 - 2015/1/1
N2 - Peer victimization is linked to adjustment problems in youth, including aggressive behavior, yet not all victimized youth are aggressive. The present study investigated whether youth's anger regulation coping might attenuate the positive association between peer victimization and subsequent aggressive behavior. Longitudinal data from 485 7th-grade students (55% female, mean age=12.84. years) and their teachers were collected in the fall and six months later. Teacher ratings of youth aggressive behavior at follow-up were the primary outcome, with statistical adjustments for baseline aggressive behavior and demographics. Results from multilevel models showed significant interactive effects of baseline anger regulation and peer victimization on residualized teacher-rated aggressive behaviors that were consistent with the hypothesis that anger regulation played a protective role: under high levels of peer victimization, youth with higher levels of anger regulation displayed lower levels of aggressive behavior than their counterparts with lower levels of anger regulation. These findings suggest that targeting and improving students' ability to regulate their anger may be protective in the face of peer victimization and reduce subsequent aggressive behavior.
AB - Peer victimization is linked to adjustment problems in youth, including aggressive behavior, yet not all victimized youth are aggressive. The present study investigated whether youth's anger regulation coping might attenuate the positive association between peer victimization and subsequent aggressive behavior. Longitudinal data from 485 7th-grade students (55% female, mean age=12.84. years) and their teachers were collected in the fall and six months later. Teacher ratings of youth aggressive behavior at follow-up were the primary outcome, with statistical adjustments for baseline aggressive behavior and demographics. Results from multilevel models showed significant interactive effects of baseline anger regulation and peer victimization on residualized teacher-rated aggressive behaviors that were consistent with the hypothesis that anger regulation played a protective role: under high levels of peer victimization, youth with higher levels of anger regulation displayed lower levels of aggressive behavior than their counterparts with lower levels of anger regulation. These findings suggest that targeting and improving students' ability to regulate their anger may be protective in the face of peer victimization and reduce subsequent aggressive behavior.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.paid.2014.09.012
DO - 10.1016/j.paid.2014.09.012
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84907703039
SN - 0191-8869
VL - 73
SP - 1
EP - 6
JO - Personality and Individual Differences
JF - Personality and Individual Differences
ER -