title: Mixed-grade rejection and its association with overt aggression, relational aggression, anxious-withdrawal, and psychological maladjustment.
abstract: The authors examined the associations between mixed-grade rejection (rejection by peers in a different school grade), anxious-withdrawal, aggression, and psychological adjustment in a middle school setting. Participants were 181 seventh-grade and 180 eighth-grade students (M age = 13.20 years, SD = 0.68 years) who completed peer nomination and self-report measures in their classes. Analyses indicated that in general, same- and mixed-grade rejection were related to overt and relational aggression, but neither type was related to anxious-withdrawal. Mixed-grade rejection was associated uniquely and negatively with self-esteem for seventh-grade boys, while increasing the loneliness associated with anxious-withdrawal. The results suggest that school-wide models of peer relations may be promising for understanding the ways in which different peer contexts contribute to adjustment in middle school settings.
authors.forename: Julie C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Bowker
authors.forename: Rebecca G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Etkin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012059:Rejection, Psychology; D012574:Schools; D012737:Sex Factors; D012917:Social Adjustment; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*