Unpacking the misfit effect: Exploring the influence of gender and social norms on the association between aggression and peer victimization

Abstract

Social norms are vital for the functioning of adolescent peer groups; they can protect the well-being of groups and individual members, often by deterring harmful behaviors, such as aggression, through enforcement mechanisms like peer victimization; in adolescent peer groups, those who violate aggression norms are often subject to victimization. However, adolescents are nested within several levels of peer group contexts, ranging from small proximal groups, to larger distal groups, and social norms operate within each. This study assessed whether there are differences in the enforcement of aggression norms at different levels. Self-report and peer-nomination data were collected four times over the course of a school year from 1,454 early adolescents ( M age = 10.27; 53.9% boys) from Bogota, Colombia. Multilevel modeling provided support for social regulation of both physical aggression and relational aggression via peer victimization, as a function of gender, grade-level, proximal (friend) or distal (class) injunctive norms of aggression (perceptions of group-level attitudes), and descriptive norms of aggression. Overall, violation of proximal norms appears to be more powerfully enforced by adolescent peer groups. The findings are framed within an ecological systems theory of adolescent peer relationships.

On the microfoundations of the link between classroom social norms and behavioral development

“…For that reason, most students conform to the pro-bullying norm (Arrow 3). Alternatively, nonconformity creates a so-called misfit effect , leading to external detriments, such as social sanctioning (e.g., becoming a victim oneself), exclusion, and rejection (see also Bass et al, 2022). When students observe that bullying results in external benefits, and not-bullying (or keeping others from bullying) results in external detriments, this will lead to conformity and result in less defending at the classroom level (Arrow 4).…”

“…Future studies may also wish to examine whether gender moderates the likelihood of adhering to specific social norms. For instance, some research suggests that gender may affect the likelihood of following certain classroom norms (Correia et al, 2022; Garandeau et al, 2022), whereas other research found no gender differences (Bass et al, 2022). Thus, gender may play a role both in who sets and who follows the norms.…”

Introduction to the special section on social norms and behavioral development

“…More research is also needed on the significance of gender-specific or common classroom norms as well as on proximal and distal norms. A study in this special section provides evidence that proximal peer group norms, based on the norms of friends, were more powerful than distal peer group norms, based on the norms of classmates (Bass et al, 2022). The closing essay also points to the importance of examining competing norms, developmental effects, the impact of teachers on social norms, and the impact of personal norms (Veenstra & Lodder, 2022).…”

“…The aim of a longitudinal study among Colombian adolescents was to examine whether aggression results in subsequent victimization (Bass et al, 2022). This multilevel study expanded upon the person-group dissimilarity or social "misfit" model (Wright et al, 1986), and addressed the effects of different types of peer group norms on the group sanction when individuals deviated from the norm.…”

Contextual variations in associations between measures of aggression and withdrawal and functioning with peers: A replication study.

“…The central claim of the concept of normative fit is that the association between a particular behavior and acceptance and rejection will vary to the degree that the behavior is consistent or inconsistent with a descriptive group norm. Support for this approach is found in studies of aggression, prosocial behavior, and academic achievement (e.g., Bass et al, 2021;Boivin et al, 1995;Chang, 2004;Stormshak et al, 1999). It is important to recognize that the essential feature of this approach is that liking derives from the intersection between behaviors at the level of the person and norms at the level of the group.…”