Adolescent disclosure and concealment: Longitudinal and concurrent associations with aggression

Abstract

This longitudinal study assessed the association between prior (preschool) and concurrent physical and relational aggression as they relate to Russian adolescents' disclosure and concealment patterns with their parents. In the initial preschool study, there were 106 boys and 106 girls (mean age = 60.24 months, SD = 7.81). Both peer nominations and teacher ratings of aggression were obtained for these children. Ten years later, the majority of these children (72.2%; n = 153) completed a longitudinal follow-up battery of assessments. Included in these measures was a self-reported measure of aggression as well as an assessment of the extent to which these adolescents disclosed to and concealed information from their parents. Separate models were estimated by gender of child for the 153 children who participated in both Time 1 and Time 2 data collections. Preschool physical aggression proved an important longitudinal predictor of adolescent disclosure and concealment for girls. Concurrently, self-rated relational aggression was also significantly associated with concealment for both boys and girls.

Effects of viewing relational aggression on television on aggressive behavior in adolescents: A three-year longitudinal study.

“…One sample item from the current study was “When mad at a person, I try to make sure that the person is left out from group activities.” Cronbach’s α was acceptable at each wave (Wave 4 α = .74; Wave 5 α = .72; Wave 6 α = .71). This measure has been used in a number of studies and has shown good internal reliability and validity across multiple samples in adolescence (e.g., Leavitt et al, 2013; Nelson et al, 2014; Stockdale et al, 2013). Items used in the current study encompass both covert (e.g., gossiping) and overt (e.g., social exclusion) forms of relational aggression (Nelson, Springer, Nelson, & Bean, 2008).…”

Child community violence exposure in an at-risk sample: Developmental trajectories, caregiving risks, and the role of child temperament.

“…Perhaps, these findings imply that there are important distinctions among related aspects of parenting styles (e.g., harshness versus strictness). That is, harsh parenting has been found to decrease children’s disclosures relating to their whereabouts (Leavitt, 2010), which may ultimately undermine parents’ attempts at monitoring or limiting their children’s susceptibility to community violence.…”

Media violence and judgments of offensiveness: A quantitative and qualitative analysis.

“…Aggression. Participants were asked to read a series of statements and indicate how well each described him or her on a 5-point Likert scale (1 ϭ very inaccurate to 5 ϭ very accurate; Leavitt, Nelson, Coyne, & Hart, 2013;Nelson, 2005;Nelson, Coyne, Swanson, Hart, & Olsen, 2014;Stockdale, Coyne, Nelson, & Padilla-Walker, 2013). The physical aggression subscale consisted of two questions that measured physical forms of aggression against others (e.g., "Threaten to hit [or hit] other people").…”