Peer Victimization and Aggressive Behavior Among Chinese Adolescents: Delinquent Peer Affiliation as a Mediator and Parental Knowledge as a Moderator

Abstract

Grounded in social network theory and a risk-buffering model, this study examined whether delinquent peer affiliation mediated the association between peer victimization and adolescent aggressive behavior and whether this mediating process was moderated by parental knowledge. A total of 4,209 Chinese adolescents (48.47% male, Mage = 13.68) completed questionnaires on peer victimization, parental knowledge, delinquent peer affiliation, and adolescent aggressive behavior. Path analyses showed that delinquent peer affiliation partially mediated the relationship between peer victimization and aggressive behavior. Moreover, parental knowledge had a protective effect of buffering the adverse influence of peer victimization on aggressive behavior. This indirect link was stronger for adolescents with low parental knowledge than for those with high parental knowledge. This finding highlights delinquent peer affiliation as a potential link between peer victimization and aggressive behavior and provides an effective intervention for addressing the adverse effects of peer victimization.

The Influence of Parental Knowledge and Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction on Peer Victimization and Internet Gaming Disorder among Chinese Adolescents: A Mediated Moderation Model

“…The Cronbach’s alpha was 0.86 for this questionnaire in this study. In Chinese adolescents, this questionnaire demonstrated good validity and reliability [ 29 , 45 ].…”

Parental Socialization, Social Anxiety, and School Victimization: A Mediation Model

“…School victimization is defined as a type of peer abuse in which students are subjected to violent verbal, physical, and psychological behavior by one or more peers [1,2]. This problem has serious consequences for the development and psychosocial adjustment of students [3][4][5]. As regards gender, data suggest that, in the case of school victimization, boys are victimized by their partners overtly and girls relationally [6,7], although some studies have not reported such differences [8,9].…”

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

“…Participants reported on their own aggressive behaviors using the Chinese version of the Buss–Warren aggression questionnaire (BWAQ) (Maxwell, 2008; Lin et al, 2018). In the current study, 19 items were used indicating levels of physical, relationship, and verbal aggression behaviors during the past 6 months, such as “Once in a while, I can’t control the urge to strike another person.” Responses are rated on a 5-point scale (from 1 = Not at all to 5 = Absolutely like me ).…”

“…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).…”

“…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.…”