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Identifying aggressive victims in Chinese children's peer groups

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Identifying aggressive victims in Chinese children's peer groups

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IDENTIFYING AGGRESSIVE VICTIMS IN CHINESE CHILDREN’S PEER
Copyright 2001
GROUPS
by
Yiyuan Xu
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTERS OF ARTS
(PSYCHOLOGY)
December 2001
Yiyuan Xu
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
The G rad u ate School
U niversity P ark
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90089 1695
This thesis, w ritten b y
VlfMM w ___________________________
Under the direction o f hiS... Thesis
Com mittee, and approved b y a ll its members,
has been presen ted to a n d accepted b y The
Graduate School, in p a rtia l fulfillm ent o f
requirements fo r the degree o f
Master o f Arts
Dean o f Graduate Studies
D ate December 17. 2001
THESfS COMMITTEE
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Yiyuan Xu JoAnn M. Farver
ABSTRACT
This study was an investigation of the behavioral profiles and psychosocial
adjustment of aggressive victims in Chinese children's peer groups. The participants
were 294 elementary school students in Tianjin, China (mean age 11.5 years). Peer
nomination scores and teachers' ratings were combined to form composite ratings of
aggression and victimization ratings. Both cluster analysis and arbitrary cut-off
criterion identified four subgroups. Subgroups were compared to examine social
behavior, peer acceptance/rejection, dyadic friendship, and academic functioning.
Compared to other subgroups, aggressive victims were disliked by peers and were
rated as hyperactive. They also had fewer dyadic friends, lower academic
functioning, and lower assertive/prosocial ratings than non-victimized aggressors and
the normative comparison group. Consistent with the theoretical formulation of
aggressive victims as being emotionally dysregulated and reactively aggressive, they
were also less submissive/withdrawn than were passive victims. The results of this
investigation highlight the distinctiveness and significance of the aggressive victim
subgroup in the Chinese culture.
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Table o f Contents
Introduction________________________________________________ 1
Methods___________________________________________________ 9
Results____________________________________________________ 1 5
Discussion__________________________________________________ 20
Reference 28
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Introduction
The objective of this study was to investigate victimization in Chinese
children’s peer groups. Research conducted with Western populations has shown that
physical aggression and antisocial conduct diminish during middle childhood and
throughout adolescence for both boys and girls (Loeber & Stouthamer-Loeber,
1998). Despite this decline, there is a small minority of children who continue to be
involved in a majority of peer conflicts. In many peer groups, these individuals
represent a few highly aggressive bullies and the classmates who they verbally and
physically victimize (Olweus, 1978; Perry, Kusel & Perry, 1988).
Children who are frequent targets of bullying are disliked by their peers, they
lack self-esteem, and are highly anxious (Kupersmidt, Patterson, & Erikholt, 1989;
Perry et al., 1988; Schwartz, 2000). Although chronically victimized children share
similar behavioral profiles, they are not all alike. Most children are passive victims
who are socially withdrawn and submissive; and appear as “easy marks” to their
bullying peers (Graham & Juvonen, 1998; Pellegrini, 1998; Smith & Brain, 2000).
On the other hand, there is a subgroup of victimized children who are oppositional,
aggressive, and hot tempered. Labeled as aggressive victims (Pellegrini, Bartini, &
Brooks, 1999; Schwartz, D, Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J., 1997; Schwartz,
2000), these children are harassed because they often irritate their peers and are
inclined to fight back (although unsuccessfully), when bullied.
In a prior investigation, Schwartz, Chang, & Farver (2001) established that
peer victimization exists in Mainland Chinese children’s peer groups. Similar to the
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pattern for Western samples, Chinese children who were frequent targets of peer
victimization, were characterized as submissive and withdrawn, were rejected by
peers, and had poor academic functioning. However, Schwartz et al., (2001) did not
examine their Chinese dataset for subtypes of victimization. Therefore, the current
study builds on this previous work by examining these data to determine whether
aggressive victims could be identified in Chinese children's peer groups, and to
investigate the behavioral profiles and psychosocial adjustment of these children.
Overall, most studies of Western populations have found that aggressive
victims represent only a small group of victimized children. While many
classification schemes and cutoff scores have been used in past investigations, the
percentage of children that could be identified as aggressive victims, generally varied
within a narrow range of approximately 4% to 8% (Schwartz, Proctor, & Chien,
2001). Commonly, children who were concurrently victimized and aggressive, were
fewer than the number of children who were high on only one dimension of social
maladjustment, (i.e., either highly victimized or highly aggressive).
In general, few girls have been identified as aggressive victims (Schwartz et
al., 1997; Schwartz, 2000). These apparent gender differences may be attributed to
the fact that in Western populations, boys display higher rates o f overt aggression,
but equivalent or slightly lower rates of relational aggression than girls (Crick, &
Grotpeter, 1995; 1996). Therefore, if previous studies on aggressive victims had
included assessments o f“relational” or “indirect” aggression, more girls may have
been identified.
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Preliminary empirical evidence on the social behavior of aggressive victims
presents a fairly consistent pattern for Western children. Olweus (1978) initially
identified a small group of aggressive victims in Swedish children's peer groups who
were provocative, restless, and hostile. Similarly, Perry and his colleagues (Perry,
Peny, & Kennedy, 1992) conceptualized aggressive victims as “ineffectual
aggressors" or “high-conflict victims,” who had difficulty modulating their affect
during interpersonal conflicts, and consistently lost fights and arguments amid
exaggerated displays of anger, frustration, and poorly modulated emotional distress.
Across many studies, aggressive victims experience poor academic performance, and
have been rated by their teachers as being hyperactive, disruptive, and attention-
seeking (Kumpuiainen, Rasanen, Henttonen, Almqvist, Kresanov, Linna, Moilanen,
Piha, Puura & Tamminen, 1998; Kupersmidt, et al., 1989; Schwartz, 2000), as well
as emotionally dysreguiated, and low in assertive or prosocial behavior (Schwartz,
2000).
Aggressive victims were also found to be at high risk for peer rejection and
other psychosocial adjustment problems. Using a sociometric procedure, Kupersmidt
et al. (1989) found that aggressive victims were more likely to be rejected by their
peers than were either bullies (i.e., non-victimized aggressors) or passive victims.
Similarly, Schwartz (2000) reported that aggressive victims were “liked least” by
their peers than were other victimized or aggressive children.
Aggressive victims also experience difficulty in establishing age-appropriate
friendships (Schwartz, Dodge, Pettit, Bates, & Conduct Problems Prevention
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Research Group, 2000). Several investigators have proposed that aggressive children
victimize classmates who lack friends because these bullies have no fear of
retaliation or ostracism from these children’s fnends (Bukowski, Sippola, & Boivin,
1995; Hodges, Malone, & Perry, 1997; Hodges, Boivin, Vitaro, & Bukowski, 1999;
Kochenderfer & Ladd, 1996). The social skills that are required for the establishment
and maintenance of friendship may be associated with resilience in multiple domains
of social functioning. Aggressive victims may have difficulty in making fnends
because of their irritable disposition and hyperactive off-task behavior.
In summary, compared to passive victims and non-victimized children,
aggressive victims represent an extreme group that is at greater risk for social
rejection and other negative peer group outcomes. It is unclear however, whether
this pattern is similar in a society like Mainland China where children’s sociable,
aggressive, and prosocial behaviors are viewed and valued differently (Chen &
Rubin, 1992; Chen, Rubin, & Sun, 1992). Furthermore, Chinese researchers have
investigated children’s academic functioning and school adjustment (e.g., Chen &
Li, 2000), but little attention has been given to peer group victimization.
The most striking difference between Chinese and Western societies is the
relative emphasis placed on individualism versus collectivism (Chen, 2000; Triandis,
1986). Although Mainland China has been changing rapidly in recent years, the core
cultural values and norms that foster and maintain a harmonious society remain
constant. In contrast to children raised in Western societies, young Chinese children
are encouraged to develop self-control, an interdependent sense of self, sensitivity to
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others, and a cooperative and prosocial orientation (Bond, 1996; Luo, 1996; Ho,
1986; Chen, 2000). Accordingly, Chinese children may display quiet, withdrawn, or
reticient behavior as a reflection of the cultural emphasis on self-restraint and
behavioral inhibition. The shy/sensitivity dimension often associated with
maladaptive behavioral patterns and predictive of both peer rejection (Hymel, Rubin,
Rowden, & Lemare, 1990; Rubin, Chen, & Hymel, 1993) and victimization
(Schwartz, Dodge, & Coie, 1993; Boulton, 1999) in Western cultures, is associated
with a good reputation and peer acceptance in Chinese culture (Chen, et al., 1992;
Chen & Rubin, 1992). Therefore, the Chinese cultural context is of particular interest
because there is evidence to suggest that, the socialization processes which are linked
to positive social outcomes in Chinese peer groups are different from those of
children who are raised in Western cultures (Chen & Rubin, 1992; Chen, Rubin, &
Sun, 1992).
Based on the differences between Chinese and Western societies, and on
previous research conducted in both cultures, we formulated several research
questions. Our first question was whether aggressive victims could be identified in
the Chinese cultural context. In previous studies with Western samples, peer
nominations and multi-informant procedures were used to identify aggressive
victims. Children who had standardized, or composite standardized aggression and
victimization scores above a particular cutoff (e.g., 0.8 SD above the mean), were
classified as aggressive victims (Pellegrini et al., 1999; Schwartz et al., 1997). In the
current study a multi-informant approach (peer nominations and teachers’ ratings)
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and a similar cutoff level (e.g., 0.8 SD above the mean) was used to identify
aggressive victims.
Assuming that aggressive victims could be identified in Chinese children, our
second question was whether their distribution by gender would be similar to that of
Western children. In the few existing studies of gender differences (e.g., Pellegrini et
al., 1999), males are over-represented in the aggressive victim subgroup. However,
because researchers rarely assessed relational aggression (see Crick & Grotpeter,
1995), the number of female aggressive victims may have been underestimated. In
the current study, measures of both direct and indirect aggression were included to
identify more female aggressive victims. On the other hand, given that Chinese girls
are expected to behave in a compliant and passive manner, and often receive social
pressure to behave more submissively than boys, we expected that boys would
outnumber the girls in aggressive victimization.
Our third question was whether Chinese children would have behavior
profiles similar to Western children who were identified as aggressive victims. We
focused on three behavior patterns associated with peer victimization in Western
children: submissive/withdrawn; assertive/prosocial; and hyperactive. Based on
research with Western children and on the previous analysis of peer victimization in
the Chinese setting (Schwartz, et al., 2001), we expected that aggressive victims in
Chinese peer groups would be less submissive or withdrawn than passive victims.
Given that peer victimization was found to be negatively correlated with
assertive/prosocial behavioral ratings in the first analysis of the Chinese dataset
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(Schwartz et al., 2001), and based on prior research showing that prosocial and
assertive behaviors are valued in Asian cultures (Farver & Wimbarti, 1995; Farver &
Lee-Shin, 1997; Whiting & Edwards, 1988), we expected that the Chinese
aggressive victims would receive lower composite assertive/prosocial ratings (i.e.,
teachers’ ratings and peer nominations) than the other subgroups.
As mentioned above, studies on aggressive victims in Western societies
showed that they tend to be hyperactive and engage in frequent off-task behaviors
(e.g., Schwartz, 2000). Also, because hyperactivity may differentiate aggressive
victims from other subgroups, we predicted that aggressive victims would have
higher scores on hyperactivity than the other subgroups (i.e., non-victimized
aggressors, non-aggressive victims, and normative comparison children) of Chinese
children.
Our fourth question was whether the negative psychosocial outcomes
associated with aggressive victimization in Western populations would be similar for
Chinese children. That is, because both aggressive and victimized Chinese children
are highly disliked by their peers (Chen, Rubin, Li, & Li, 1995a; Chen, Rubin, & Li,
1997; Chen, Rubin, Li, & Li, 1999; Schwartz et al., 2001), we expected that
aggressive victims would have lower social preference scores than would the other
subgroups (i.e., non-victimized aggressors, non-aggressive victims, and normative
comparison children).
In addition, because both aggression and victimization are negatively
correlated with Chinese teachers’ perceptions o f children’s school competence
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achievement (Chen, Rubin, & Li, 1995b; Schwartz et al., 2001), we predicted that
the Chinese aggressive victims would also have poor academic functioning.
The current study analysed a dataset containing multi-informant peer group
behavior on Chinese school children to extend this prior work by examining
subtypes of peer victimization and associated behavioral outcomes.
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Methods
Participants
Participants were 296 children (161 boys, 135 girls) recruited from an
elementary school (serving grades 1 through 6) in Tianjin, China. The school had
three fifth-grade and three sixth-grade classes, with approximately 50 students per
class. All six classes participated. The children ranged in age from 9.1 to 1 3 .6 years;
(M= 11.5; SD= .70). Parents were contacted by their child's teacher in the weeks
before data collection, and were given information regarding the study goals and
procedures. Parents were informed they could refuse to allow their child to
participate without negative consequences. No parent refused participation. Eight of
the original 304 children were absent during the questionnaire administration and did
not take part in the study. Two children with missing data were also not entered into
the analyses
Peer nominations and Teacher Ratings
Data were collected using a teacher rating scale and a peer nomination
inventory. All measures were developed from the existing bully-victim literature.
The measures were piloted in two North American cities (see Schwartz, 2000;
Schwartz, 1995; Schwartz & Proctor, 2000), and were translated and back translated
by a paid language consultant who was native to the region of China where the study
was conducted. Composite ratings for children's social behavior were formed using
items from the teacher rating scale and the peer nomination inventory.
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Peer nominations were group administered in the classrooms. The inventory
contained 16 items to assess social behavior, aggression, victimization by peers, and
peer acceptance/rejection (see below for details). Children were asked to nominate
up to three peers who tit each descriptor. Children were also asked to nominate their
friends in their class. There was no limit for how many friends they could nominate
(unlimited nomination).
Teachers completed the Social Behavior Rating Scale (Schwartz et al., 2001),
which contained 46 descriptors o f children's social behavior, peer victimization,
aggression and disruptive behavior, academic functioning, peer acceptance/rejection,
and hyperactivity. Teachers rated each descriptor on a 5-point scale (1 = almost
never true of the child; 5 = almost always true of the child). Teachers were given a
small stipend for participation.
Composite Ratings
Aggression. To measure children’s aggression, we used eight teacher-rating
items (a = .91) from the Social Behavior Rating Scale and four peer nomination
items (a = .89). The correlation between the teacher’s rating and peer nomination
scores was r = .57; p < .0001. Teachers’ ratings and peer nominations of aggression
were generated from the standardized mean of the eight teacher items and the total
number of nominations received across the four peer nomination items (standardized
within class). We averaged aggression scores between teachers’ ratings and peer
nomination scores. The mean aggression ratings were entered into the analyses.
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Peer Victimization. Using the strategy described above for aggression, we
computed an index of peer victimization. We included scales designed to tap
multiple subtypes of peer group victimization. Items focused on victimization
through verbal and physical behaviors. We also assessed “indirect” and “relational”
victimization as well as overt behaviors. We included six teacher-rating items (a =
.89), four peer nomination items (a = .90), and five self-report items (a = 77). The
principal component analysis (PCA) o f the scales (conducted within informant)
consistently yielded single-factor solutions (based on the criterion o f an eigenvalue
greater than 1.0). It should be emphasized that our measures were designed to
provide broad coverage of the phenomena of interest and were not optimized for
discriminating between subtypes o f social experience.
The correlation between the mean of the six teacher rating items, and the total
number of nominations received across the four peer nomination items (standardized
within class) was r = .46; p < .0001. We averaged the standardized teacher rating
summary score and the standardized peer nomination summary score. The means
were entered into the analyses as peer victimization ratings.
Submissive ness. Withdrawal. Eight teacher rating items from Social Behavior
Rating Scale were used to assess children's social interactional style. We had
initially conceptualized submissiveness and withdrawal as distinct, but related,
aspects of internalizing behavior (see Harrist, Zaia, Bates, Dodge, & Pettit, 1997),
and included four items to assess each construct. However, a PCA o f the eight items
failed to yield a coherent two-factor structure. Accordingly, we generated a
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submissiveness-withdrawal summary from the mean across the combined eight items
(a = .75) and then standardized it across the total sample. A peer nomination item,
“kids who like to play alone,” (i.e., kids who would rather be alone than be with
other kids) was used to index withdrawn behavior. The total number of nominations
each child received for this item was summed and standardized within each class.
The correlation between the peer nomination and the teacher rating scores was r =
.45;/? < .0001. We averaged the submissiveness- withdrawal scores for the teachers’
ratings and peer nomination scores. The mean submissiveness/withdrawal ratings
were entered into the analyses.
Assertiveness Prosociability. Six teacher rated items from the Social
Behavior Rating Scale were used to assess children’s assertive/prosocial behavior (a
= .88). A PCA conducted with the items yielded a single-factor solution (i.e., one
factor with an eigenvalue greater than 1.0), with all loadings greater than .50. We
generated an assertiveness/prosocial teacher rating from the mean across the
combined six items and standardized it. Two peer nomination items were also used
to measure children’s assertive/prosocial behavior (“can stand up for self without
hitting, fighting, or getting angry,” “is a good leader;” a = .63). The correlation
between the mean of the six teacher rating items and total nominations received
across the two peer nomination items (standardized within class) was r = 43; p <
.0001. We averaged the assertive/prosocial scores between teachers’ ratings and peer
nominations. The mean assertive/prosocial ratings were entered into the analyses.
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Hyperactivity. A subscale of Social Behavior Rating Scale (Schwartz et al.,
2001), (teacher rating of hyperactivity), was used to assess hyperactive/impulsive
behavior (“impulsive,” “easily distracted,” “difficulties with attention,” “can’t wait
for a turn,” “doesn’t remain seated,” “doesn’t play quietly,” “fidgets”; a = .89). The
summary scores were generated, standardized, and entered into the analyses as the
hyperactivity ratings.
Social Preference. The Social Behavior Rating Scale contained one item to
assess liked by peers (“this child is well liked by peers”), and one item to assess
dislike (“this child is disliked by other children”). The correlation between the two
items was r = -.76, p < .0001. A teacher rating of social preference was generated
from the difference between the liking and disliking ratings.
In addition, children were asked to nominate three peers whom they liked
most in their class, and three peers whom they liked least in their class. The total
number of nominations received by each child for these two items was calculated
and standardized within class. A peer preference score was generated from the
standardized difference between the liked most and liked least scores (Coie, Dodge,
& Coppotelli, 1982). The correlation between the peer preference score and the
teacher rating of acceptance/rejection was r = .47; p < .0001. We averaged the peer
preference score and the standardized teacher rating of acceptance/rejection. The
means were entered into the analyses as the social preference ratings.
Dyadic friendship. Children were asked to nominate their friends in their
classes. There was no limit for how many friends they could nominate (unlimited
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nomination). The number of reciprocally nominated fnends was entered into the
analyses as the dyadic friendship rating.
Academic Functioning. Children’s academic functioning was assessed using
three teacher rating items: “this child’s academic performance is excellent,” “this
child is a good student,” and “this child has difficulties with school work” -reverse
coded, (a = 91). We also obtained children’s mathematics and Chinese language
exam scores for the fall and spring semesters across three years (six exam scores
total; a = .90 for agreement across the language scores; a = .94 for agreement across
the mathematics scores). The maximum number of points on each test was 100, with
a score of 60 points considered passing. The correlation between mean mathematic
exam scores and mean Chinese language scores was r= .85; ^ < .0001. The
correlation between the teacher ratings of academic performance and the mean
mathematics and language scores was r = .70,p < .0001 and r = .65; p < .0001,
respectively. We generated the standardized mean summary scores (average of
mathematics and language) o f academic grades and standardized teacher’s academic
ratings. We averaged the scores and entered them into the analyses as the academic
functioning ratings.
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Results
Overview
Correlation analyses indicated that the variables were moderately correlated.
For all analyses, the gender term was specified as boys = 1 and girls = 0.
Identification of Aggressive Victims
First, to determine whether we could identify aggressive victims in Chinese
children’s peer groups, we applied cluster analysis to identify aggressor/victim
subgroups using composite scores (teachers’ ratings and peer nomination) of
aggression and victimization. The two behavioral variables: aggression and
victimization were entered in to a hierarchical clustering analysis. The total of 294
children for whom two measures were available became the subjects. Using Ward’s
method, individuals were grouped into clusters by minimizing the total sum of the
squared deviations of every case from the mean of the cluster to which it belonged.
Squared Euclidean distances were used to compute the deviations. The single
solution of five groups was imposed to see if we could get the similar distribution of
aggressor/victim subgroups (i.e., aggressive victim subgroup, passive victim
subgroup, non-victimized aggressor, normative comparison subgroup and
unclassified children) as in previous Western studies. The similar pattern emerged
from our cluster analysis. Compared to the previous studies conducted in Western
culture, the distribution above is much similar (for review, see Schwartz et al., 2001),
indicating that aggressive victim subgroup could be identified in our Chinese
children sample.
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Second, based on studies conducted with Western samples which showed that
peer groups couid be classified according to peer nomination scores or teachers'
ratings for aggression and victimization (Schwartz et al., 1997; Schwartz, 2000), we
formed four aggressor/victim subgroups using children’s composite ratings of
aggression and victimization (i.e., teachers’ ratings and peer nominations). Because
the number of children with extreme scores on both aggression and victimization
was small, a relatively lenient criterion of 0.8 (i.e., 0.8 SD above the mean) was
applied as the cutoff line to identify the victim/bully subgroups in Chinese children’s
peer groups (see Schwartz et al., 1997). This criterion was adopted to balance
competing concerns regarding ceil size and subgroup distinctiveness. Thus, children
whose victimization and aggression scores were each greater than 0.8 were classified
in the aggressive victim subgroup; children whose victimization scores were greater
than 0.8, but whose aggression scores were less than zero were classified in the non-
aggressive victim subgroup; children whose aggression score was than 0.8 but whose
victimization score were less than zero were classified in the non-victimized
aggressor subgroup; and the children whose victimization and aggression scores
were each less than zero were classified into the normative comparison subgroup.
This procedure resulted in identifying 14 aggressive victims (13 boys, one girl: 4.8%
of the sample); 18 non-victimized aggressors (17 boys, one girl . 6.1 % of the sample),
18 non-aggressive victims (8 boys and 10 girls: 6.1% of the sample), 155 normative
comparison children (64 boys and 91 girls: 52 .7% of the sample) and 89 unclassified
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children (57 boys and 32 girls: 30.3% of the sample). The unclassified children were
excluded from subsequent analyses.
Gender Distribution of Aggressive Victims
Consistent with the Western literature, girls were not well represented in the
aggressive victim subgroup (only one girl was identified as an aggressive victim).
Since there was only one girl in the aggressive victim subgroup, subsequent analyses
were conducted with boys only (// = 159).
The Social Behavior o f Aggressive Victims
To answer the third and fourth research questions, that is whether aggressive
victims in Chinese children’s peer groups would have social behavior and
psychosocial adjustment problems similar to those noted in the literature for Western
children, a MANOVA was conducted to compare group differences in three
behavioral variables (i.e., submissiveness/withdrawal, assertiveness/prosociabilitv.
and hyperactivity) and three adjustment variables (i.e., social preference, dyadic
friendship, and academic functioning).
Mean levels of victimization did not differ significantly across aggressive
victims (M= 1.5606; SD = 0.5821) and non-aggressive victims (M = 1.9591, SD =
0 5234) subgroups, t = -1.580, N.S. Similarly, mean levels of aggression did not
differ significantly across the aggressive victim (M = 2.1243, SD = 1.0402) and non-
victimized aggressor (A/= 1.6769, SD = 0.7104) subgroups, t = 1.400, N.S.
There was a significant main effect of aggressor/victim subgroup. Wilk’s k =
.134, multivariate F (18, 249) = 14.363, p < .001. A series of post hoc univariate
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ANOVAs was then conducted to examine subgroup differences on each individual
behavioral and adjustment variable. There were significant differences for all the
variables among aggressor/victim subgroups.
Planned contrasts were conducted following each univariate test. Because the
current study focused on aggressive victims, comparisons were made between
aggressive victims and each of the other three subgroups. In addition, the non-
victimized aggressor and non-aggressive victim subgroups were examined in
comparison to the normative comparison subgroup. Compared with the three
subgroups, aggressive victims had lowest scores for social preference and the highest
hyperactivity scores. However, when compared with the non-aggressive victims, the
aggressive victims had lower scores on withdrawn/submissive ratings. In addition,
compared with the non-victimized aggressors and the normative comparison group,
aggressive victims had fewer dyadic friends, lower academic functioning, and lower
assertive/prosocial ratings.
Comparisons between the remaining two extreme subgroups (i.e., non-
aggressive victims and non-victimized aggressors) and the normative comparison
group also produced significant effects. Compared to boys in the normative
comparison subgroup, boys in the non-victimized aggressor subgroup had higher
hyperactivity scores but lower academic functioning scores. There were no
significant differences in the number of dyadic friends between the groups. Also,
non-aggressive victims were more withdrawn-submissive, had fewer dyadic friends,
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poorer academic functioning and lower assertive-prosocial scores than did the
normative comparison children.
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Discussion
The current study examined subtypes of peer victimization in Chinese
children's peer groups. It was unclear whether these children could be identified in a
culture which has very different socialization goals, childrearing practices, and
expectations for children’s behavior. We were not certain whether the arbitrary cut
off standardized score criterion used for Western samples would also be appropriate
for identifying Chinese children's subgroups. Therefore, we first carried out a cluster
procedure in our analyses to identify the natural grouping of Chinese children based
on the similarity of their aggression and victimization ratings.
The cluster analysis showed that aggressive victims could be identified in
Chinese children’s peer groups. Accordingly, 0.8 SD cut-off criterion was then
applied to classify children into four aggressor/victim subgroups. Consistent with
prior work on aggressive victims with Western samples (Pellegrini et al., 1999;
Schwartz, 2000), the proportion of children who were identified as being both
aggressive and victimized appeared to be quite small. Less than 5% of the sample
met the criteria for classification as an aggressive victim. Thus, similar to Western
populations, aggressive victims in Chinese children’s peer groups are also relatively
rare.
Consistent with the results reported for Western children (e.g., Schwartz,
2000), only one female aggressive victim was identified using our 0.8 cut-off
criterion. As a result, the psychological functioning of female aggressive victims
could not be examined. Some researchers have argued that more female aggressive
20
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victims could be identified if the relational aggression was included (Crick, et al.,
1995). Although measures of relational aggression were included in this study, we
failed to identify more female aggressive victims. This finding is likely related to the
strong gender-typed behavior in Chinese society. In addition, because there are very
few aggressive girls in Chinese children’s peer groups, it is unlikely there will be
many aggressive victims, regardless of the measure being used.
The results also showed a behavioral pattern for Chinese aggressive victims
similar to that noted for Western children. That is, aggressive victims in the Chinese
children’s peer groups were the most hyperactive and impulsive among all o f the
aggressor/victim subgroups. The explanations for these results may be the same in
both Western and Chinese cultures. Impaired emotional regulation and impulsive
aggression may explain why aggressive victims are persistently bullied by peers. In
addition, peers may find aggressive victims’ off-task behaviors aversive and reward
them with aggressive behaviors. Peers’ aggressive behavior may, in turn, lead to
aggressive victims’ ineffectual reactive aggression. A vicious cycle begins which
serves to externalize and internalize aggressive victims’ maladaptive functioning.
Also, consistent with past research conducted in Western settings (Schwartz,
2000), aggressive victims were rarely rated as being withdrawn or submissive.
Although a strong link has been found between withdrawn/submissiveness and peer
victimization in both Western and Chinese cultural contexts (Boivin, Hymel, &
Bukowski, 1995; Schwartz et al., 1993; Schwartz et al., 2001), the peer harassment
21
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experienced by aggressive victims may be linked to their dysregulated and impulsive
aggression, and not to their seemingly withdrawn or passive behavior.
Compared with the normative comparison group, aggressive victims in
Chinese children’s peer groups were also characterized as being less assertive and
prosocial. Previous analyses based on data from the prior Chinese project, revealed
that children who were rated as low in assertive-prosocial behavior were frequently
targeted for peer victimization (Schwartz et al., 2000). Thus, due to their high scores
on peer victimization, it is not surprising to find that aggressive victims had low
composite assertive-prosocial behavior ratings.
In term of their poorly controlled off-task behaviors, aggressive victims were
also characterized by their poor academic performance. Since there is strong
emphasis placed on academic success in Chinese cultural contexts, poor academic
functioning may serve to increase peer rejection. Furthermore, it was not surprising
to find that the aggressive victims in were more highly disliked than any of the
subgroups examined. These children also had the lowest ratings on social preference,
and had fewest dyadic friends o f all the groups. This pattern lends support to prior
research linking psychosocial maladjustment and peer relationships (Kupersmidt,
Coie, & Dodge, 1990; Parker & Asher, 1987), and confirms the at-risk status of
aggressive victims across diverse cultures.
As a subgroup o f the aggressor/victim dimension, aggressive victims in
Chinese children’s peer groups had some common characteristics with the other
aggressor/victim subgroups. For example, all three aggressor/victim subgroups had
22
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impaired social skills (i.e., low levels o f assertive-prosocial behavior), and poorer
school grades than did the normative comparison children. They also tended to have
lower social preference scores (as rated by both teachers and peers), than did the
normative comparison children. These results are also fairly consistent with the
previous Western findings (Schwartz, 2000).
The results also revealed differences among three aggressor/victim
subgroups. For example, aggressive victims were more hyperactive than other
aggressor/victim subgroups, possibly due to their impaired behavioral and emotional
regulation. Accordingly, they also received lowest social preference among victims
and aggressors.
Compared to aggressive victims, non-aggressive victims also had low ratings
of assertive/ prosocial behavior, academic performance, and dyadic friends.
However, consistent with the existing Western research, non-aggressive victims were
characterized by withdrawn/submissive behavior, while aggressive victims were not
(Schwartz, 2000).
Therefore, our study replicated the dimensional associations between
victimization and withdrawn/submissive behaviors, and heterogeneity of
victimization. Although most children's victimization may be related their
withdrawn/submissive behaviors, some subgroups of victims might be victimized
due to their dysregulated emotion and hyperactive off-task behaviors.
Non-victimized aggressors also differed from aggressive victims in important
ways. Consistent with the conceptualization of “effectual aggressor” (Perry et al.,
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1992), these children received lower ratings on hyperactivity and emotional
dysregulation. Although non-victimized aggressors were also impaired on social
skills (i.e., low ratings on assertive/prosocial behavior), they were not characterized
by reactive emotion and tended to have more dyadic friends than did the aggressive
victims and non-aggressive victims. While non-victimized aggressors were disliked
by peers (i.e., had low social preference scores), their ability to use aggression as an
instrumental strategy may have enabled them to form their own dyadic friends. Thus,
they were not as highly rejected as the aggressive victims. Previous studies on
aggressive Western children found that “birds of a feather flock together.”
Aggressive children formed dyadic friendships with individuals similar to
themselves, and thus were not rejected by their peers (Farver, 1996). The same
situation may be also true in the Chinese context. “Ren Yi Qun Fen, Wu Yi Lei Ju”
(in Mandarin Chinese) is a famous traditional idiom with a similar connotation. It is
reasonable to expect that non-victimized aggressive children form dyadic
friendships, while aggressive victims have few friends because of their reactive
aggressive behavior.
The results of the current study support the theoretical distinctiveness and
significance o f the aggressive victim subgroup in the Chinese context. Although
withdrawn/submissive behaviors have been found to be highly correlated with peer
victimization in Mainland China (Schwartz et al., 2001), consistent with previous
Western studies (Schwartz, 2000), heterogeneity certainly exists in the children’s
social behavior. A small number of victimized children were not characterized by
24
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withdrawal or submissiveness, and could be classified as being dysregulated
emotionally and reactively aggressive.
For a traditional collectivistic society like China, self-control and behavioral
restraint are maintained through social norms and family pressure. It has been found
in societies that stress behavioral and emotional control, children tend to manifest
more internalizing behaviors and affect disturbances (Lambert, Weisz, & Knight,
1989; Chen et al., 1995a; Dong, Xia, Lin, & Yang, 1995). Previous studies
conducted in Mainland China also showed that Chinese parents and teachers are
relatively insensitive to children’s emotional problems (Chen, 2000). Since
emotional dysregulation is highly associated with aggressive victimization, it may be
that Chinese children who have problems both as aggressors and victims are
relatively neglected. Moreover, because aggressive victims tend to have poor
academic performance as well as hyperactivity, these children may be considered to
have “learning problems” rather than psychological problems. Consistent with
Western findings, Chinese children with emotional problems tend to be increasingly
socially maladjusted with age (Chen et al., 1995a; Chen & Li, 2000). Therefore, the
early identification of aggressive victims has both theoretical and clinical
significance.
Because Chinese society emphasizes self-control and prohibits dysregulated
behavior, it is not surprising that aggressive victims in Chinese children’s peer
groups were disliked by peers and tended to have few friends. Basically the
children’s reactive behaviors conflict with traditional Chinese social norms. The
25
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correspondence between our Chinese findings and the previous work with Western
samples suggests that the same maladjustment mechanism might underlie the
development of aggressive victims in both societies.
Some cautionary remarks should be mentioned here. The first concern is that
participants in this study are not fully representative of Mainland Chinese children.
China is a very diverse country and obtaining a sample from a large city does not
begin to cover the broad heterogeneity. Also with the recent urbanization, many
Chinese people have gradually adopted various Western cultural values. Thus, the
marked with-culture variability may have influenced children’s social development.
Therefore, research conducted in rural areas would provide additional helpful
understanding of aggressive victims.
The second concern is with the measurement we used in our study. Questions
are always raised when a measure developed in a Western context has been used in
another cultural context. It could be the case that the same question may have a
different meaning in across settings, and the answers provided by informants may be
affected by culturally appropriate (or inappropriate) values. For example, aggressive
behaviors are highly prohibited in Chinese culture. Thus, the same level of
aggression deemed as normal in Western settings may be considered extreme in the
Chinese context. In addition, identification of aggressive victims is affected by the
correlation between the aggression and victimization ratings. We found in our study,
teachers’ ratings of aggression were significantly correlated with victimization, while
26
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peers’ nomination was not. The interpretation of these results is unclear and
further study.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
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Asset Metadata

Creator Xu, Yiyuan (author)

Core Title Identifying aggressive victims in Chinese children's peer groups

School Graduate School

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Psychology

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest,Psychology, clinical,psychology, social

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Farver, JoAnn (committee chair)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c16-292921

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Rights Xu, Yiyuan

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Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

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