How Affective Relationships and Classroom Norms Shape Perceptions of Aggressor, Victim, and Defender Roles

Reputational peer nominations are a common method for measuring involvement in aggression-related behaviors, encompassing the roles of aggressor, victim, and defender, but may be influencedby students’ affective (dis)liking relationships. This social network study investigated whether dyad-and group-level (dis)liking relationships affect perceptions of classmates’ involvement in physicalaggression and explored the moderating roles of classroom moral disengagement and defendingnorms. The study employed a longitudinal design with two time points six months apart, encompassing27 classrooms and 632 early adolescents. Using multiplex stochastic actor-oriented modeling, we foundthat liking, but not disliking, significantly influenced perceptions. Liking a classmate increased thelikelihood of perceiving them as a defender. Moreover, students’ own perceptions (aggressor, victim,and defender nominations) were shaped by the perceptions of classmates they liked, while classroommoral disengagement reduced this influence for defender nominations. Results on classroomdefending norms were mixed. Our findings underscore the importance of accounting for students’liking relationships and classroom-level norms to reduce bias in peer nominations and improve theaccuracy of assessments of aggression-related behaviors.