Abstract
Background
Peer aggression is defined as acts intended or perceived as intended to cause harm. Most research has focused on either micro or macro-level associations, however, less attention has been given to the collective contributions of both micro and macro levels.
Objective
The present study focuses on verbal, physical, and cyber aggression, and addresses two research questions. First, controlling for individual-level variables, how are school-level and school district-level variables associated with peer aggression? Second, what are the shared and unique characteristics of face-to-face aggression and cyber aggression?
Method
The study used hierarchical linear modeling and a single cross-section of data consisting of 41,098 students, nested across 681 schools, and 62 school districts.
Results
The majority of the individual-level variables were found to be related to peer aggression. However, little to no impact was found at the school and school district-level. Despite the lack of significant findings at the contextual level, the study found notable differences between verbal, physical, and cyber aggression.
Conclusions
The limited significant findings at the contextual level suggest that future examinations need to consider different contextual variables or ecological environments. The limited findings related to cyber aggression also indicates that it may be associated with factors that are not commonly connected with face-to-face aggression. The unique and shared characteristics between the different types of aggression highlight the considerations that should be given to family, school, and demographic characteristics when creating prevention and intervention programs, and the caveat that one-size-fits-all approaches may not be the appropriate response for peer aggression.