Peer Support for Coping as a Moderator of the Relation Between Victimization by Relational Aggression and Adjustment
Year: 2011
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Over the past few decades, relational aggression (RA) has received increased attention in research and the media.Relational aggression is defined as aggressive acts that are aimed at damaging others' relationships.There is evidence that youth with supportive friends may be buffered in some way from the negative impact of being a victim of relational aggression, but there is limited research on how exactly youth's friends help their victimized peers.The purpose of the current study was to examine the association between relational aggression victimization and adjustment (e.g., loneliness, academic adjustment, aggression) and how peer support for coping with victimization may moderate the association.Hierarchical multiple regression analyses supported the hypothesis that peer support for coping would moderate the association between relational aggression victimization and academic adjustment, with an effect being shown for all three types of coping (engagement, disengagement, and externalizing).Specifically, peer support for engagement coping and disengagement coping generally provided a buffer for youth against academic maladjustment; however, the advantage lessened as the level of RA victimization increased.Peer support for externalizing coping acted as a risk factor for academic maladjustment in general, such that youth who received higher peer support for externalizing coping methods showed poorer academic adjustment.Although the study is correlational and thus causality cannot be determined, these findings have implications for theory and practice.Awareness of how victimization by relational aggression impacts youth in the classroom and how peers play a role in how children cope with RA may help teachers, peers, and parents better support victimized youth's academic adjustment.Thank you to my advisor, Eric Dubow, for his support and guidance during the entire process of collecting data and writing and revising my thesis.I appreciate his comprehensive, yet efficient review of my drafts and his ability to communicate concepts in a way that is easily comprehended.Thank you to my other committee members Carolyn Tompsett and Dara Musher-Eizenman
Author: Michelle A. Rubinlicht
Institution: Bowling Green State University
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2597298456