Childhood peer rejection and aggression as predictors of adolescent girls' externalizing and health risk behaviors: A 6-year longitudinal study

This 6-year longitudinal study examined girls ’ peer-nominated social preference and aggression in childhood as predictors of self- and parent-reported externalizing symptoms, substance use (i.e., cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use), and sexual risk behavior in adolescence. Participants were 148 girls from diverse ethnic backgrounds, who were initially assessed in Grades 4–6 and again in Grades 10–12. Results supported a moderator model, indicating that social preference changed the nature of the association between childhood aggression and adolescent outcomes. When accompanied by peer rejec-tion, aggressive behavior was moderately stable over time and significantly associated with adolescent girls ’ substance use and sexual risk behavior. However, under conditions of peer acceptance, no significant association between childhood aggression and adolescent outcomes emerged. Since the publication of Parker and Asher’s (1987) seminal review of longitudinal findings on childhood peer relations and later clinical outcomes, investigators have sought to elucidate the role of peer acceptance and rejection in predicting adolescent externalizing behavior. This line of inquiry addresses a question that is fundamental to developmental psychopathology research