The relationship between family-school socioeconomic status match and adolescent aggressive behavior

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to analyze the effect of the match between family and school socioeconomic status (SES) on adolescents’ aggressive behaviors. Additionally, the moderating roles of gender and the parent–child relationship were examined. A total of 2,823 adolescents completed the Aggressive Behavior Scale, the Parent–Child Relationship Scale, and the Family SES Scale. School SES was measured by the average family SES of all students in the school. SES was categorized as high or low based on one standard deviation above or below the mean. The results showed that when there was a match between family and school SES, adolescents with “Low Family-Low School” SES exhibited more aggressive behaviors compared to those with “High Family-High School” SES. When there was a mismatch between family and school SES, adolescents with “High Family-Low School” SES exhibited higher levels of aggressive behaviors than those with “Low Family-High School” SES. Gender did not moderate these effects. Furthermore, when the parent–child relationship was poor, adolescents exhibited higher levels of aggressive behaviors when family SES exceeded school SES. Conversely, the effects of family and school SES on aggressive behavior were not significant when the parent–child relationship was strong. The present study highlights that the match and mismatch between family and school SES significantly influence adolescents’ aggressive behaviors and that a strong parent–child relationship has a protective effect.