Validation of the Social Information Processing Application (SIP-AP) across genders, socioeconomic levels, and forms of aggression.

Abstract

The goals of the current study were to (a) replicate the factor structure of the Social Information Processing Application (SIP-AP), (b) evaluate the measurement invariance of the SIP-AP across genders, socioeconomic (SES) levels, and forms of aggression, and (c) assess the convergent validity of the SIP-AP through associations with aggression, social competence, and rule-breaking behavior. Participants were 189 racially/ ethnically diverse children (53% male; M age = 8.50 years) who completed the SIP-AP. Parents reported on children's aggression and social competence, children reported on their aggression, and we observed children's rule-breaking behavior. A five-factor model including Hostile Cue Interpretations, Aggressive Goals, Aggressive Responses, Aggressive Response Evaluations, and Prosocial SIP replicated in this sample. The model was invariant across genders, SES levels, and forms of aggression (physical, relational, covert, property destruction). Girls reported more Aggressive Goals than boys. Children from more economically disadvantaged families reported higher levels of Hostile Cue Interpretations, Aggressive Goals, and Aggressive Response Evaluations. Aggression was related to all SIP constructs in expected directions, social competence was negatively associated with Hostile Cue Interpretations, and rule-breaking behavior was positively linked to Aggressive Goals, Aggressive Responses, and Aggressive Response Evaluations. Results are discussed in terms of the psychometric strengths of the SIP-AP. Public Significance StatementThis study demonstrated that the Social Information Processing Application provides a rigorous assessment of how children make decisions in social interaction.

How a defensive mindset develops from early adverse experiences and guides antisocial outcomes

“…They also found that children who generated a high proportion of reactive aggressive responses to hypothetical peer provocations were more likely to react aggressively when actually provoked in a later laboratory setting. Bookhout et al (2021) has recently replicated and extended these findings by showing that the number of aggressive responses a child generated to hypothetical peer provocations was positively correlated with the rate of aggressive rule-breaking behaviors observers recorded on the playground.…”

Children’s social information processing predicts both their own and peers’ conversational remarks.

“…Bookhout and colleagues (2021) validated the factor structure, measurement invariance, and convergent validity of the SIP-AP on the same sample used here. A five-factor model including the five constructs described above best fit the data.…”

Early Adolescents’ Social Goals in Peer Conflict Situations: A Mixed Methods Study

“…Social information processing theory highlights the relevance of contextual influences on cognitions, such that violence exposure leads to the development of scripts that favor aggression (Huesmann, 1988). Indeed, studies have found that children exposed to economic disadvantage and community violence are more likely to support social goals favoring aggression or avoidance (Bookhout et al, 2021; Sypher et al, 2019). This suggests that different social contexts for diverse adolescents, including youth of color and those from different settings (e.g., urban and rural), may lead them to develop unique social goals.…”