Revisiting the intricate interplay between aggression and preadolescents' school functioning: Longitudinal predictions and multilevel latent profiles

This work refined the complex associations between aggression (aggressive behavior and victimization) and school functioning in terms of school liking, interest, achievement, and social class climate. First, using longitudinal multilevel structural equation modeling, it was shown that aggressive behavior and victimization preceded lower school liking, achievement, and social class climate at the individual student level over 1 year (Sample 1: 665 Austrian preadolescents, 46.62% girls, first wave: Mage = 11.68 years, SD = 0.84). Second, the results from multilevel latent profile analysis revealed relations between aggression and school functioning profiles and allowed identifying distinct latent classes at the classroom level based on the relative frequency of these profiles (Sample 2: 1,639 Austrian preadolescents, 47.59% girls, Mage = 11.70 years, SD = 0.86). Aligned with cumulative risk perspectives, aggressor-victims belonged significantly more often to the least adaptive school functioning profile and the less adaptive latent class at the classroom level than uninvolved youth.