Deviant Peer Affiliation as an Explanatory Mechanism in the Association between Corporal Punishment and Physical Aggression: a Longitudinal Study among Chinese Adolescents

Abstract

Previous research has focused primarily on corporal punishment as a cause and adolescents' physical aggression as an outcome. However, there is a large gap in knowledge of the potentially bidirectional association and explanatory mechanism underlying the association between corporal punishment and physical aggression. The current study, using a longitudinal design across three time points (the fall semester of 7th grade, the fall of 8th grade, and the fall of 9th grade), aimed to a) examine the reciprocal processes between corporal punishment and physical aggression, and b) explore whether deviant peer affiliation may explain such reciprocal connections. Only adolescents participating in all the three time points were included in this study, resulting in a final sample of 342 adolescents (175 boys, 167 girls) who completed questionnaires regarding corporal punishment, deviant peer affiliation, and aggression. Gender, age and socioeconomic status were controlled for in the analyses. Autoregressive cross-lagged models showed that the results did not support the direct reciprocal effect between corporal punishment and physical aggression among Chinese adolescents. A direct longitudinal link from corporal punishment to physical aggression was found, however, the inverse association was not significant. Moreover, regarding the longitudinal underlying process, in one direction, corporal punishment at 7th grade predicted higher levels of deviant peer affiliation at 8th grade. In turn, higher deviant peer affiliation at 8th grade predicted increased physical aggression at 9th grade. At the same time, in the other direction, adolescent physical aggression at 7th grade significantly predicted deviant peer affiliation at 8th grade. In turn, higher deviant peer affiliation at 8th grade predicted decreased corporal punishment at 9th grade. Identifying the direct and underlying reciprocal processes between corporal punishment and adolescent physical aggression has important implications for an integrative framework of theory and prevention.

Catching aggression from one's peers: A longitudinal and multilevel analysis

“…In line with their theorizing, the level of aggression in the peer group predicted individual group members' later aggression, despite the high temporal stability of the individual level of aggression across approximately 6 months. Similarly, Zhu et al () observed that affiliation with aggressive peers in 7th and 8th grades predicted aggression in 8th and 9th grades, respectively, in a sample of male and female adolescents from China, controlling for temporal stability and participants' gender, age, and socioeconomic status.…”

Father–Child Longitudinal Relationship: Parental Monitoring and Internet Gaming Disorder in Chinese Adolescents

“…Moreover, 22.3% of participants came from rural areas, 27.4% came from county seats, 41.9% came from small cities, and 8.3% came from large cities. Furthermore, 73.4% of participants’ mothers’ and 70.4% of their fathers’ education level was high school or less, and 52.2% of families had a per capita average monthly income of more than ¥ 3000, which is higher than the average in China in 2015 ( Guangdong Statistical Yearbook, 2015 ; Zhu et al, 2017 ).…”

Parental Psychological Control and Adolescent Aggressive Behavior: Deviant Peer Affiliation as a Mediator and School Connectedness as a Moderator

“…During adolescence, time spent with family steadily decreases and an increasing amount of time is spent in the company of peers (Zhu et al, 2016; Lin et al, 2018; Tian et al, 2019). Prior research has repeatedly shown that affiliate with deviant peers plays an important role in shaping adolescent problem behaviors including aggressive behavior (Longobardi et al, 2017; Zhu et al, 2017; Lin et al, 2018). According to the social development model (Hawkins and Weis, 1985; Choi et al, 2005), parental psychological control may promote the risk of adolescents affiliating with deviant peers, which in turn may increase adolescent delinquencies such as aggressive behavior.…”