ERIC Number: EJ1146410
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2192-001X
EISSN: N/A
Prosocial Behavior Moderates the Effects of Aggression on Young Adolescents' Friendships
McDonald, Kristina L.; Wang, Jennifer; Menzer, Melissa M.; Rubin, Kenneth H.; Booth-LaForce, Cathryn
International Journal of Developmental Science, v5 n1-2 p127-137 2011
The current study explored how prosocial behavior may moderate how aggression is related to the features of adolescents' friendships. Young adolescents (N = 910) completed friendship nominations in the fall and spring of their first year of middle school. Behavioral nominations of aggression and prosocial behavior were also collected in the fall. A subsample (N = 374) of adolescents and their reciprocated friends reported on friendship quality. Prosocial behavior moderated how aggression was related to the likelihood of having a mutual best friendship in the fall. Dyadic data analyses also revealed that when prosocial behavior was low, aggression was negatively related to friendship quality. Examination of temporal patterns in best friendships indicated that when prosocial behavior was low, aggression was marginally predictive of having different best friends in the fall and spring relative to having a stable best friendship across the school year.
Descriptors: Prosocial Behavior, Aggression, Early Adolescents, Friendship, Middle School Students, Student Behavior, Correlation, Grade 6, Questionnaires, Statistical Analysis, Gender Differences, Regression (Statistics)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Middle Schools; Secondary Education; Junior High Schools; Grade 6; Intermediate Grades; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institute of Mental Health (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: MH58116