Aggression, peer relationships, and depression in Chinese children: a multiwave longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND Largely due to methodological problems in existing studies, issues concerning causal directions and confounding factors, such as the stability effect, remain to be clarified in the relations among aggression, peer relationships, and psychological adjustment. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine (a) reciprocal direct and indirect effects among aggression, peer relationships, and depression based on a full cross-lagged model with the stability effect controlled, and (b) moderating effects of initial status on the growth of the variables. METHOD A sample of Chinese children (N = 1,162) participated in the study. Four waves of longitudinal panel data were collected from the participants in ages 9-12 years from multiple sources including peer assessments, teacher ratings, sociometric nominations, and self-reports. RESULTS Aggression negatively contributed, in both direct and indirect manners, to later peer relationships, and positively contributed to depression in late childhood. Peer relationships had negative direct and indirect effects on later aggression and depression. In addition, the initial level of aggression moderated the growth pattern of peer relationships. CONCLUSIONS Early social and behavioral problems have proximal as well as long-term cross-domain effects on individual development. Moreover, children's early behavioral characteristics may serve to facilitate the development of social competence and exacerbate the development of social problems. The study provided valuable information about how the important aspects of socioemotional functioning were associated with each other in Chinese children from a developmental perspective.