Xu, "Identifying aggressive victims in Chinese children's peer groups," 2001

Yiyuan Xu, M.A.

Abstract (Summary)
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of aggressive victims as being emotionally dysregulated and reactively aggressive, they were also less submissive/withdrawn than were passive victims.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.

Advisor: Farver, JoAnn M.