Peer Community and Teacher Closeness as Moderators of the Association Between Peer Status and Aggression

Abstract

The goal of this study was to examine the unique associations of aggression with peer status in a non-Western context. The moderating effects of peer community and teacher closeness at the classroom level and gender and grade at the individual level were considered. Participants were 1954 third to sixth grade students (Mage = 9.60 years, SD = 0.97; 49% girls) in South Korea. As in Western studies, overt aggression negatively predicted preference, relational aggression positively predicted popularity, and these associations were stronger in early adolescence than in middle childhood. Whereas the association between relational aggression and peer status was stronger for boys than girls and peaked in sixth grade. Peer community moderated the association between relational aggression and popularity. Specifically, relational aggression predicted popularity in non-communal classrooms, but not in communal classrooms. Future research should address cultural differences in social relatedness and their implications for fostering peer community in classrooms.