Correlations Between Students' Popularity and Levels of Overt and Relational Aggression

This study is examining the correlations between students' popularity and levels of overt and relational aggression using a secondary data analysis of research conducted by Mayeux, L., and Cillessen, A. in 2008 titled, "It's not just being popular, it's knowing it, too: The role of self-perceptions of status in the associations between peer status and aggression". Mayeux and Cillessen's study consisted of 845 participants, grades 7th-9th, who completed surveys that examined correlations between popularity and aggression. The purpose of this study is to examine the variables and possible correlations in samples from Mayeux and Cillessen's data. Variables examined include sex, most popular, least popular, overt aggression and relational aggression, aggression1 (Ignores others), and aggression2 (Keeps others from being in their group). The hypothesis of this research is that high levels of popularity will be highly associated with frequent incidences of aggression and within that association, male participants will exhibit more overt aggression and female participants will display more relational aggression. The researchers predict that the study will concur with their hypothesis and show a positive correlation between high levels of popularity and more frequent aggression.