Introduction
In the early lifespan, children’s socio-emotional development is largely influenced by their parents or guardians (Halle and Darling-Churchill, 2016). New social relationships are established when children are at school, which is why the school peer group is of particular importance in this developmental phase of adolescence, as relationships with peers at school become increasingly important as a source of influence and support (Bukowski et al., 2015; Oshri et al., 2017). In contrast to the positive and supportive effects that a peer group can have on adolescents, developmental researchers have also studied problematic peer dynamics, particularly the impact of rejection on socio-emotional development of adolescent students (Coie et al., 1982; Berger et al., 2011). Previous findings suggest that rejection at high-school age can have long-lasting negative effects on development and thus predicts socio-emotional adjustment in young adulthood (Nelson and Dishion, 2004). Rejection by peers in the sensitive phase of early adolescence can lead to violent behavior, which in turn leads to increased rejection within the peer group (Coie, 1990). Dishion et al. (2008) describe the principle that peer rejection reinforces deviant behaviors and attitudes in the formation of social relationships. This indicates that adolescents with violent behavior toward their peers are at high risk of experiencing very few positive interactions with their peer group compared to adolescents who have high social competence and are prosocial toward their peers.
A deeper understanding of negative peer dynamics in school classroom contexts is therefore particularly important, also with regard to appropriate intervention and prevention programs related to adolescents’ socio-emotional development. Despite the importance attributed to this issue, the association between violence at school and peer rejection networks within school classes is largely understudied. The present study aims to examine three different dimensions of violence and their connection to peer rejection in order to shed more light on negative dynamics within the peer group in secondary schools, and, thus provide a basis for more targeted interventions and prevention strategies.
Effects of Peer Rejection on Socio-emotional Development in Adolescence
Numerous studies have shown that experiencing peer rejection in childhood and adolescence is associated with poor socio-emotional outcomes later in life and, thus, can have severe consequences for rejected youth (Coie et al., 1982; Prinstein and Aikins, 2004; Lev-Wiesel et al., 2006; Masten, 2001). This finding was first highlighted by Hartup (1992) who identified that children who were rejected and isolated by their peer group in school were more likely to experience difficulties in emotion regulation in adolescence and adulthood. Peer rejection is further associated with difficulties in interpersonal relationships and increases the risk of developing aggression and other psychopathological behavior problems (Parker and Asher, 1987; Ladd and Troop-Gordon, 2003; Prinstein and Aikins, 2004; Platt et al., 2013). Dishion et al. (2010) and Kornienko et al. (2019) emphasize the connection between early antisocial behavior, school failure and school marginalization as well as the long-term transition from mild forms of antisocial behavior to dangerous forms of violence. The confluence model explains the dynamic interactions between peer rejection and membership of deviant peer groups and how these interactions contribute to the reinforcement of antisocial behavior in the school context during adolescence. It assumes that there is a common interplay between rejection and antisocial behavior that leads to self-organization in deviant groups in which peer influence affects problematic behavior (Kornienko et al., 2019). Additionally, peer rejection in adolescence has been found to be predictive of persistent aggression several years later in early adulthood (Dodge et al., 2003). This is consistent with the finding that peer rejection is particularly stable over time (Hardy et al., 2002; Jiang and Cillessen, 2005) and is evident across different social contexts (Katzer et al., 2009). Moreover, a chronic state of rejection has been potentially associated with particularly negative outcomes at school, including poor academic performance (DeRosier et al., 1994) and high rates of externalizing behavior problems (Sturaro et al., 2011). Peer rejection is therefore a complex dynamic that can have potentially devastating effects on adolescents’ socio-emotional development, with long-lasting consequences into adulthood.
The social capital theory perspective provides causes for peer rejection, whereas the motivation to achieve a higher status within the peer group is often linked to the pursuit of aggression in adolescents (e.g., Evans and Smokowski, 2015). Sijtsema et al. (2009) showed in their network study that adolescents who are aggressive toward their peers have a stronger desire to achieve a higher status than adolescents who are victims of this aggression. The theory states that individuals targeted by perpetrators have limited social capital, which makes it difficult for them to achieve higher social status within a group. A high social status can contribute to successful socio-emotional development because these adolescents experience more positive and less negative emotions (Dougherty, 2006). Aggressive perpetrators and adolescents who reject others can build up their social capital by undermining peers with low social status. Adolescents further conform to peer pressure by rejecting classmates who are socially stigmatized (Pál et al., 2016). Expressing a negative opinion toward classmates can be an attempt by adolescents to uphold their own social standing in a peer group (Bond et al., 2014). Therefore, rejecting peers is one way of dissociating oneself from peers of lower status (Card and Hodges, 2007).
Peer Rejection and the Cycle of Violence
Concerning the relationship between peer rejection and aggressive behavior, several theories provide explanations. The transactional model theory suggests that peer rejection and aggressive behavior toward peers are part of an ongoing cycle of interactions between peers (Ladd, 1989). This vicious cycle involves peers expressing their dislike and the rejected adolescents’ reactions to that dislike (Coie, 1990). Furthermore, as Poulin and Boivin (2000) found, directly aggressive adolescents are more likely to select each other than be influenced in their own aggressive behavior by the aggressive behavior of others. In other words, peers who display direct aggression select other aggressive friends rather than be influenced by others’ aggression. For example, Kim and Cicchetti (2010) showed that higher externalizing behavior, such as aggression toward peers, contributed to later peer rejection, which in turn was related to more aggressive behavior. Regarding selection effects in terms of gender, several studies have shown that male students are at greater risk of being rejected by their peers for aggressive behavior, even though they often enjoyed popular status within their class (Coie and Kupersmidt, 1983; Dishion and Tipsord, 2011). Thus, these findings suggest that aggressive behavior is partially reinforced by increased peer attention, which can lead to increased peer rejection as a side effect. It is therefore important to include gender in studies on peer networks.