Longitudinal Effects of Peer Rejection on Reactive/Proactive Aggression: Risk Accumulation or Cognitive Dissonance?

Although peer rejection has been associated with increased reactive and proactive aggression, previous studies have predominantly used cross-sectional designs, which limits causal inferences. Moreover, current research on the specific mechanisms of different aggression subtypes remains in adequate. This longitudinal study aimed to (1) Examine whether peer rejection differentially predicts reactive and proactive aggression, (2) Test whether rejection sensitivity mediates these pathways and (3) Compare the Cumulative Risk Theory and Cognitive Dissonance Theory by exploring how hostile attribution bias moderates the effect of rejection sensitivity on reactive/proactive aggression. A total of 967 students from 13 primary and secondary schools in China, completed questionnaires at two time points within 1 year. Measurement indicators included peer rejection, rejection sensitivity, hostile attribution bias and reactive/proactive aggression. Results showed that: (1) T1 Peer rejection predicted T2 reactive and proactive aggression; (2) T2 Rejection sensitivity mediated the relationship between T1 peer rejection and T2 reactive aggression, but did not mediate T2 proactive aggression; (3) T2 Hostile attribution bias negatively moderated the link between T2 rejection sensitivity and T2 reactive aggression. These findings support Cognitive Dissonance Theory, suggesting that adolescents who experience emotional-cognitive conflict may be more prone to reactive aggression after encountering peer rejection.