The Joint Developmental Profiles of Overt and Relational Aggression among Early Adolescents: Antecedents, School Life Adjustment and Delinquency

This study identified the joint developmental patterns of the change in overt and relational aggression among early adolescents and investigated the relationship between such patterns, the antecedents, and outcomes. Three distinct latent classes for the above patterns emerged through a person-centered latent profile analysis: a) Moderate aggression (41.4%), b) Low aggression (43.3%) c) High aggression (15.3%). Impulsiveness, mother's rejection and punishment, and parental supervision were found to be antecedents of the joint developmental profile. When early adolescents were in the 5SUPth/SUP grade, the higher the impulsiveness and mother's rejection and punishment, the more likely they were to belong to the high aggression class, while the higher the parental supervision, the more likely they were to belong to the low aggression class. School life adjustment and delinquency were revealed as outcomes of the joint developmental profile. Each early adolescent in the low aggression class showed the highest school life adjustment and the lowest delinquency among the three classes when in the 6SUPth/SUP grade. The findings suggest the necessity for an intervention to prevent aggression and delinquency and promote school life adjustment in the field of adolescent welfare practice.