Differences in the Relations Between Antisocial Behavior and Peer Acceptance Across Contexts and Across Adolescence Jeff Kiesner Universita ` di Padova Massimiliano Pastore Universita ` di Cagliari This study tests the hypothesis that, during adolescence, antisocial behavior becomes positively associated with peer acceptance. This hypothesis was tested considering both classroom and out-of-class peer relations. Data from a previously published study, with a cross-sectional sample of 577 Italian 11- to 13-year-olds, were used. Analyses showed that in the 6th grade antisocial behavior was negatively related to classroom peer preference, but not significantly related to out-of-class peer inclusion. By the 8th grade, antisocial behavior was positively related to out-of-class peer inclusion, but not significantly related to classroom peer preference. Similar results were found for males and females. The higher level of peer acceptance among the 8th grade antisocial indi- viduals was primarily due to nominations received by other antisocial individuals. Moffitt’s (1993) theory of adolescent-limited and life- course-persistent antisocial behavior predicts that, during adolescence, antisocial behavior comes to be viewed as desirable because it represents adult status and access to adult opportunities. If this is true, it could be argued that antisocial behavior will not consistently be related to low peer acceptance throughout adolescence. Instead, the relation be- tween antisocial behavior and peer acceptance should become positive as antisocial behavior comes to be viewed more positively by peers. Although past research has shown that antisocial and aggres- sive youth tend to be rejected by their peers (Brendgen, Vitaro, Turgeon, & Poulin, 2002; Kiesner, 2002; Kiesner, Cadinu, Poulin, & Bucci, 2002; New- comb, Bukowski, & Pattee, 1993), little is known about the age-related differences in these relations that are predicted by Moffitt’s theory. This study was conducted to test for changes in the relation between antisocial behavior and peer acceptance, considering peer relations across two different contexts, with a sample of Italian middle school students. Changes in the Relation Between Peer Acceptance and Antisocial Behavior Few studies have tested for age-related differ- ences in the relation between antisocial behavior and peer acceptance, and the few studies that have tested for such differences primarily have focused on ag- gressive behaviors. For example, Haselager, Cilless- en, Van Lieshout, Riksen-Walraven, and Hartup (2002) followed 274 children 6 – 11 years old, and found that the relation between aggressive behavior and peer rejection remained nearly unchanged across this age range (r 5 .50 at 6 years, and r 5 .44 at 11 years). Similarly, in a cross-sectional study, La- Fontana and Cillessen (2002) found stable relations between aggressive behavior and peer acceptance from the fourth grade to the eighth grade: Across all age groups (except the sixth grade) physical ag- gression was moderately and negatively associated with social preference. Whereas the above studies suggest that the rela- tion between aggressive behavior and peer accept- ance is stable (at least through the eighth grade), other research has come to a different conclusion. For example, Cillessen and Mayeux (2004) found that, from the fifth grade to the ninth grade, the relation between physical aggression and social preference dropped from b 5  .280 to  .068, controlling for gender, perceived popularity, and relational aggres- sion. Importantly, although the negative relation be- tween physical aggression and social preference decreased over time, there was no evidence that ag- gressive youth actually became liked by their peers. Bukowski, Sippola, and Newcomb (2000), on the other hand, found that the transition from elemen- tary school to middle school was associated with an increase in attraction to aggressive peers. This find- ing was true for girls’ attraction to aggressive boys, r 2005 by the Society for Research in Child Development, Inc. All rights reserved. 0009-3920/2005/7606-0011 Data used for this study come from a larger project from which data have previously been published. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jeff Kiesner, Dipartimento di Psicologia DPSS, Universita ` di Pad- ova, via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy. Electronic mail may be sent to jeff.kiesner@unipd.it. Child Development, November/December 2005, Volume 76, Number 6, Pages 1278 – 1293