Journal Article

Parents as Moderators of the Impact of School Norms and Peer Influences on Aggression in Middle School Students

Schoeny, Michael E., Mays, Sally A., Farrell, Albert D., Henry, David B.

2011

Overview

This study examined parenting variables as protective factors to reduce the influence of school and peer risk factors on adolescents' aggression. Five waves of data spanning 3 years were collected from 5,581 students at 37 schools who began the 6th grade in 2001 or 2002. Class-level and perceived school norms supporting aggression, delinquent peer associations, parental support for fighting and support for nonviolence, and parental involvement were each associated with physical aggression across all waves. Each parenting variable moderated 1 or more risk factors, with the magnitude of many effects varying by gender and decreasing over time. Implications for the role parents may play in reducing the impact of school and peer risk factors for aggression are discussed.

• Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Ltd,Wiley-Blackwell,Oxford University Press
• Subject: Adolescents / Aggression / Aggression - psychology / Aggressiveness / At Risk Persons / Child / Child Behavior Disorders - psychology / Child Rearing / Cohort Studies / Communication / Delinquency / Delinquents / Early Adolescents / Elementary school students / Family support / Gender Differences / HOW FAMILIES INFLUENCE CHILDREN'S HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT / Human aggression / Humans / Influence / Juvenile delinquency / Juvenile Delinquency - prevention & control / Juvenile Delinquency - psychology / Learning outcomes / Middle School Students / Middle schools / Moderators / Nonviolence / Parent Participation / Parent Role / Parent School Relationship / Parenting / Parenting - psychology / Parents / Parents & parenting / Peer Group / Peer groups / Peer Influence / Peer pressure / Peers / Personality Assessment / Predisposing factors / Protective factors / Risk Factors / Risk reduction / School Culture / School violence / Schools / Secondary education / Secondary schools / Social Attitudes / Social Environment / Social Facilitation / Social norms / Social Values / Socialization / Students / Studies / Teenagers / Teeth / United States / Violence - prevention & control / Violence - psychology / Waves