The relation between social rejection and growth in antisocial behavior was investigated. In Study 1, 259 boys and girls (34% African American) were followed from Grades 1 to 3 (ages 6-8 years) to Grades 5 to 7 (ages 10-12 years). Early peer rejection predicted growth in aggression. In Study 2, 585 boys and girls (16% African American) were followed from kindergarten to Grade 3 (ages 5-8 years), and findings were replicated. Furthermore, early aggression moderated the effect of rejection, such that rejection exacerbated antisocial development only among children initially disposed toward aggression. In Study 3, social information- processing patterns measured in Study 1 were found to mediate partially the effect of early rejection on later aggression. In Study 4, processing patterns measured in Study 2 replicated the mediation effect. Findings are integrated into a recursive model of antisocial development.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/virginia_salzer/3/
This article was published in Child development, Volume 74, Issue 2, Pages 374-393.
The published version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.7402004 .Copyright © 2003 Wiley.