Finding new friends or falling back on familiar faces: the peer affiliations of aggressive students during the transition to middle school

Public Deposited

Last Modified

Creator

Abstract

This study investigated the school-based peer affiliations of youth during the transition to middle school. One-hundred seventy one participants were followed over the first three semesters of middle school to examine students' affiliation patterns with previously familiar peers who attended the same elementary school. A series of univariate and repeated measures ANOVAs were used to detect changes in peer affiliations. Overall, students were more likely to affiliate with a greater proportion of previously familiar peers when they arrived at middle school, but there was a linear decline in the proportion of familiar peers within peer groups over time. Boys showed little change in affiliations with familiar peers, while girls showed a steady decline in the proportion of familiar peers within their peer groups. Students rated as physically aggressive by teachers and peers did not affiliate with a significantly different proportion of familiar peers than non-aggressive students at all time points. However, students rated as socially aggressive by peers, but not teachers, affiliated with a greater proportion of familiar peers than non-aggressive students during the first two semesters of middle school.

Date of publication

DOI

Resource type

Rights statement

Advisor

Degree granting institution

Language

Access right

Date uploaded

Relations

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Visibility	Actions
	Finding new friends or falling back on familiar faces : the peer affiliations of aggressive students during the transition to middle school	2019-04-11	Public	Download