This cross-sectional study examined whether physical reactive and proactive aggression moderated the link between peer victimization and depression symptoms in detained youth (N=229; 74.5% male), and whether these associations differed by sex.
Both reactive aggression and peer victimization independently predicted depression symptoms. Proactive (not reactive) aggression moderated the peer victimization–depression link in a sex-specific way: for girls, high proactive aggression predicted elevated depression regardless of victimization level; for boys, peer victimization only predicted elevated depression when proactive aggression was also high. However, these moderation effects were only marginally significant after Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate correction.
The full text was not available, so methodological details (e.g., measures, covariates, cross-sectional design preventing causal inference) are drawn from the abstract only. The marginally significant moderation effects after multiple-comparison correction weaken confidence in the sex-specific findings. The sample is predominantly male and confined to a detained population, limiting generalizability.
Clinicians working with detained youth should screen for both peer victimization and reactive aggression as independent contributors to depression, and consider targeting proactive aggression—especially in girls—as part of depression prevention and treatment efforts.
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