School structure and experiences of aggression: school transitions and middle school

Social dominance theory, which argues that dominance in social hierarchies is established and maintained through the use of aggression, has been used to explain increases in aggression, bullying, and positive attitudes towards aggression following school transitions. School transitions are marked by a disruption in youths’ social networks, and they are thus faced with the task of establishing new social hierarchies. However, school transitions and age/grade level have typically been confounded in previous research, and thus it was unclear if the findings reflected a reaction to school transition, which can be explained by social dominance theory, or whether this pattern reflected naturally occurring developmental changes related to social functioning. The current study considered the relationship between school transition and reciprocated aggression (fighting), peer victimization (physical, verbal, and relational), and perceived attitudes of peers regarding aggression, while controlling for grade level. Other aspects of school structure, such as type of school (e.g., elementary, middle, secondary), school size, and the number of grade levels contained within a school, were also considered. The present study made use of the British Columbia Adolescent Health Survey of 2003. A subsample of 22,596 students, from Grades 7 through 12, attending 351 different schools, were selected for consideration in the present study. Youth in the same grade level – both those who were in a transition year, and those who were not – were found to report similar rates of reciprocated aggression and peer victimization, but youth in a transition year perceived their peers to be more accepting of aggression. Youth in smaller schools were more likely to have experienced peer victimization and to perceive their peers to be accepting of aggression. Although school type was not associated with reciprocated aggression or peer victimization, youth in elementary school perceived their peers to be more accepting of aggression than their same age peers in middle or secondary school. The number of grade levels within a school was not associated with reciprocated aggression, peer victimization, or perceived attitudes of peers regarding aggression. Findings were discussed in relation to social dominance theory and social development.