Aggression, depression, and stressful life events predicting peer rejection in children

Abstract

This short-term prospective study examined the contribution of aggression and depression, stressful life events, and their interactions to the prediction of peer rejection. Subjects were 497 fifth- and sixth-grade children who completed questionnaires at two time points separated by approximately 3 months. Levels of peer rejection and aggression were assessed by peer nominations; level of depressive symptoms and number of stressful life events were measured by self-report questionnaires. Controlling for sex and baseline level of peer rejection, aggression directly predicted peer rejection. In contrast, depressive symptoms interacted with life stress to predict peer rejection. Examination of the Depression × Stress interaction revealed that depressive symptoms in children who had experienced high levels of life stress were not associated with increased levels of peer rejection, whereas depressive symptoms in children with low levels of stress were predictive of subsequent peer rejection. Several interpretations of these findings and directions for future research are suggested.