The association between peer victimization and aggressive behavior in children and adolescents: A three-level meta-analysis

Abstract: Aggressive behavior plays an important role in social, emotional and psychological adjustment of children and adolescents. It is noted that peer victimization is an important predictor of aggressive behavior. Although several previous studies have examined the relationship between peer victimization and aggressive behavior in children and adolescents, the moderating effect on this relationship is not fully clear. Therefore, the present study employed a three-level meta-analysis to obtain reliable estimates of effect sizes and examined a range of moderators. Through the retrieval of articles published before October 2020, the current meta-analysis identified 40 studies, with 25605 participants and 333 independent effect sizes. Analysis revealed a significant positive association between peer victimization and aggressive behavior in children and adolescents. In addition, the present study found a significant moderating effect of peer victimization variable. Compared with physical victimization, the association between relational victimization and aggressive behavior in children and adolescents was stronger. Moreover, the overall association was influenced by region. Aggressive behavior was more strongly associated with peer victimization in Asia than in South America. Study design was also a significant moderator. The association between peer victimization and aggressive behavior in children and adolescents was smaller in longitudinal than in cross-sectional studies. Finally, the moderator analyses also showed that the informant of peer victimization was a significant moderator. The strength of the association between peer victimization and aggressive behavior in children and adolescents was significantly stronger when peer victimization was reported by teachers than by peers. The results of the current meta-analysis indicated that people should pay attention to the influence of peer victimization in children and adolescents when preventing and controlling their aggressive behavior.