Do relational risks and protective factors moderate the linkages between childhood aggression and early psychological and school adjustment?

This investigation addressed the question of how relational stressors and s upports interface with a known behavioral risk (aggression) to influence ea rly emerging adjustment trajectories. Children's risk for aggression, as we ll as multiple relational risk and protective factors (i.e., stressful and supportive features of peer and teacher relationships), were assessed in a sample of 396 children and used to predict changes in psychological functio ning and school adjustment from the fall of their kindergarten year to the spring of their first-grade year. Results were largely consistent with addi tive risk-maladjustment models; with few exceptions, relational experiences predicted adjustment beyond children's aggressive risk status. For some ad justment criteria, however, there was evidence to suggest that relational s tressors or supports exacerbated or compensated for dysfunctions that were linked with aggressive behavior. Moreover, compared with early onset, the c hronicity of children's aggressive risk status and relational stressors and supports bore a stronger association with changes in maladjustment. Analys es conducted by ethnic groups suggested that African American children, who were typically a minority among their European American classmates, were m ore likely to experience particular stressors (e.g., chronic peer rejection ), and were less likely to be afforded some form of support (e.g., stable t eacher-child closeness). However, the nature of the predictive linkages fou nd between the relational risk and protective factors and later maladjustme nt did not differ substantially by SES or ethnicity The importance of inves tigating behavioral risks in conjunction with the relational features of ch ildren's interpersonal environments is discussed.