A multi-informant, longitudinal study of overt aggression, peer rejection, and school adjustment in Italian elementary school children

Abstract

This longitudinal, multi-informant study is an examination of aggressive behaviour and peer rejection as predictors of children's school adjustment over time. 524 children between the ages of seven and eight (272 boys, 252 girls) in greater Florence, Italy and their mathematics/science and language arts/social studies teachers participated in the investigation, which spanned 18 months. Following a review of the relation among children's aggressive behaviour, rejection from the peer group, their adjustment to school, and the Italian cultural context, analyses of hierarchical linear models indicated that children who were rejected by their peers generally liked school less, avoided school more, and performed worse academically over time than did children who were not rejected. The onset of peer rejection predicted a decline in academic performance in some cases. Peer rejection also forecast increased aggression in boys. Children who were aggressive avoided school more than nonaggressive children did. The present findings support the claim that peer rejection might be a pivotal contributor to the development of children's academic difficulties over time with aggressive behaviour, school avoidance, and school dislike as potential mechanisms of decline.