Relational and physical forms of peer victimization in preschool

Recent studies of peer victimization have demonstrated the importance of studying relational as well as physical forms of peer maltreatment for understanding children's social-psychological adjustment problems. Studies in this area have been limited thus far by a focus on school-age children (9-12-year-olds). Given the significance of early identification of children's social difficulties for intervention and prevention efforts, this research was designed to assess relational and physical peer victimization among preschool-age children (3-5-year-olds). Results indicated that boys were significantly more physically victimized than girls whereas girls were more relationally victimized. Both relational and physical victims experienced greater adjustment problems than did their peers. Relational victimization contributed unique information about adjustment beyond that provided by physical victimization.     

Sex differences in the personal costs and benefits of relational and physical aggression in high school

While recent research using peer ratings demonstrates positive relations between youth's reputations for aggression and popularity, it is not clear whether aggressive youth themselves make these links. Using youth's self‐reports, this study assessed the associations of relational and physical aggression with indicators of both personal gains in peer relations (perceived popularity and receipt of prosocial attention) and personal costs in terms of retaliation or depressive responses (peer victimization and depressive symptoms) in a large sample (n=455) of eighth‐ to tenth‐grade students. Regression analyses reveal that more relationally aggressive youth report more prosocial attention but also more relational (but not physical) victimization. In contrast, more physically aggressive youth report more depressive symptoms and physical (but not relational) victimization. Findings suggest that some costs of aggression (victimization) are higher for boys while others (depressive symptoms) are greater for girls. Group differences were also found for aggressive, victimized, and aggressive/victimized youth compared to the typical low aggressive/low victimized youth. These data suggest that the costs of relational and physical aggression may outweigh benefits except for aggressive non‐victimized boys. Aggr. Behav. 32:409–419, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

青少年受欺负与抑郁的关系

为进一步探讨青少年受欺负与抑郁之间的关系,采用流调中心用抑郁量表(CES-D)和Olweus儿童欺负问卷(初中版)调查了城市初中生1485人(男生783人,女生702人)。结果表明:(1)受言语欺负的被试抑郁得分显著高于未受言语欺负的被试,受关系欺负的被试抑郁得分显著高于未受关系欺负的被试,受身体欺负的被试抑郁得分显著高于未受身体欺负的被试;(2)是否受关系欺负与是否受身体欺负之间存在显著的交互作用,具体来讲,对于未受关系欺负的被试组,受身体欺负和未受身体欺负的被试在抑郁得分上不存在显著差异,对于受关系欺负的被试组,受身体欺负的被试在抑郁得分上显著高于未受身体欺负的被试;(3)受欺负线性模型得到验证,即随着累积受欺负数量的增多,抑郁程度会呈现出线性函数的上升趋势。     

Children's coping strategies: moderators of the effects of peer victimization?

Coping strategies were examined as potential moderators of the effects of peer victimization on children's adjustment. Self-report data on victimization experiences, coping strategies, and loneliness were collected on ethnically diverse 9-10-year-old children (177 girls, 179 boys). Teacher ratings of children's anxious-depressed and social problems and peer nominations of social preference were also obtained. Findings revealed that strategies such as problem solving that were beneficial for nonvictimized children exacerbated difficulties for victimized children. The effects of specific forms of coping were dependent on gender: social support seeking buffered victimized girls from social problems but was associated with lower peer preference for victimized boys. Data also revealed the need to examine the effects of coping on multiple adjustment outcomes.     

童年中期身体侵害、关系侵害与儿童的情绪适应

采用整群抽样法选取2603名小学儿童（平均年龄9.05 ± 0.53岁）作为被试,考察童年中期同伴侵害现象的基本特点,以及同伴侵害与情绪适应（孤独感、社交焦虑和抑郁）的关系。结果发现：（1）在性别差异方面,男生的身体侵害与关系侵害水平均显著高于女生,与身体侵害相比,关系侵害的性别差异程度较小。在同伴侵害的类型特点方面,儿童遭受身体侵害的水平显著高于关系侵害。（2）身体侵害、关系侵害与儿童的各情绪适应指标显著正相关,身体侵害和关系侵害能同时预测儿童的情绪适应不良;并且与身体侵害相比,关系侵害对情绪适应的影响更大。（3）身体侵害与社交焦虑的关系表现出性别差异,即身体侵害能预测女生的社交焦虑,而对男生的社交焦虑不存在预测作用;但同伴侵害与孤独感、抑郁的关系不受性别的调节。总体而言,有同伴侵害经历的男生和女生具有相似的情绪适应问题。     

Friendships with Peers Who are Low or High in Aggression as Moderators of the Link between Peer Victimization and Declines in Academic Functioning

This paper reports two prospective investigations of the role of friendship in the relation between peer victimization and grade point averages (GPA). Study 1 included 199 children (105 boys, 94 girls; mean age of 9.1 years) and Study 2 included 310 children (151 boys, 159 girls; mean age of 8.5 years). These children were followed for two school years. In both projects, we assessed aggression, victimization, and friendship with a peer nomination inventory, and we obtained children's GPAs from a review of school records. Peer victimization was associated with academic declines only when children had either a high number of friends who were above the classroom mean on aggression or a low number of friends who were below the classroom mean on aggression. These results highlight the importance of aggression levels among friends for the academic adjustment of victimized children.     

On being victimized by peers in the advent of adolescence: prospective relationships to objectified body consciousness

Previous research indicates that peer victimization is tied to children's negative appearance evaluations. The current study examines whether early peer victimization is also prospectively related to objectified body consciousness. Six-hundred-and-two Swedish boys and girls answered questionnaires at age 10, and again at age 18. Main findings showed that being the target of peer victimization at age 10 was related to more habitual appearance monitoring and body shame at age 18. Gender moderated the relations between victimization and body shame, with victimized girls experiencing stronger body shame than victimized boys. Additionally, whereas boys experienced less body shame than girls, they were equally likely to monitor their appearance. In sum, this study provides preliminary support to the notion that peer victimization is involved in the processes by which young adolescents’ self-objectify. Future studies are warranted to further validate these findings.     

Transitioning Out of Peer Victimization in School Children: Gender and Behavioral Characteristics

The present study investigated the characteristics of children who remain consistently peer victimized in comparison to those who transition out of victimization status. The relationships between victimization and the victim's level of overt aggression, relational aggression, impulsivity, and prosocial behaviors were examined from one year to the next. At Time 1, 1589 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade children were administered a peer nomination instrument assessing victimization and standard sociometric variables. At Time 2 (1 year later), 1619 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade children were administered the same measure. A mixed-design repeated measures MANOVA was conducted for boys and girls separately. Results indicated that in comparison to victims transitioning out of victimization status, consistently victimized boys were lower in prosocial behavior, and consistently victimized girls were higher in impulsivity. Results for girls also indicated that a reduction in victim's own level of relational aggression was associated with cessation of victimization.     

Importance of having agreeable friends in adolescence (especially when you are not)

Using the actor–partner interdependence model, we examined whether adolescent's agreeableness, best friend's agreeableness, and the interaction between adolescent‐friend agreeableness are important for interpersonal functioning. Adolescents (N = 158) in fifth to eighth grades who were part of best friend pairs completed personality and friendship measures. Adolescents' adjustment and victimization experiences were assessed by peer nominations. For boys, best friend's agreeableness moderated the relationship between the target boy's agreeableness and overt victimization, relational victimization, and externalizing problems. For girls, best friend's agreeableness moderated the relationship between the target girl's agreeableness and internalizing problems and prosocial skills. This study provides an initial glimpse into how traits of friends can influence outcomes beyond what would be expected from adolescents' personality alone.     

Forms of Aggression,Social-Psychological Adjustment,and Peer Victimization in a Japanese Sample: The Moderating Role of Positive and Negative Friendship Quality

The purpose of these studies was to examine the frequency and stability of relational and physical aggression and their associations with social-psychological adjustment or peer victimization, and how friendships are involved in the relations between forms of aggression and peer victimization in Japanese children. The sample consisted of 452 (Study 1) and 138 (Study 2) children who were in the fourth and fifth grades. Results of Study 1 demonstrated that relational aggression was uniquely and more strongly associated with internalizing adjustment problems than physical aggression. Moreover, Study 2 revealed that relational aggression and physical aggression were stable over a 6-month period and the stability of relational aggression was reinforced by negative friendships (i.e., high levels of exclusivity and friend victimization). Further, the association between relational aggression and relative increases in relational victimization was attenuated by positive friendships (i.e., high levels of intimacy, companionship, and friendship satisfaction). Interestingly, friendships were unrelated to physical aggression and its relation to physical victimization. The age and gender of the children in the two studies were also examined. Cultural and developmental processes involving forms of aggression, friendships, social-psychological adjustment, and peer victimization were discussed.     

Overt and relational aggression in adolescents: social-psychological adjustment of aggressors and victims.

Examined the relative and combined associations among relational and overt forms of aggression and victimization and adolescents' concurrent depression symptoms, loneliness, self-esteem, and externalizing behavior. An ethnically diverse sample of 566 adolescents (55% girls) in Grades 9 to 12 participated. Results replicated prior work on relational aggression and victimization as distinct forms of peer behavior that are uniquely associated with concurrent social-psychological adjustment. Victimization was associated most closely with internalizing symptoms, and peer aggression was related to symptoms of disruptive behavior disorder. Findings also supported the hypothesis that victims of multiple forms of aggression are at greater risk for adjustment difficulties than victims of one or no form of aggression. Social support from close friends appeared to buffer the effects of victimization on adjustment.     

青少年友谊网络与受欺凌的共同变化关系：一项纵向社会网络分析研究

欺凌是一种涉及多类行为和多主体互动的群体过程, 但是已有研究很少在同伴的群体互动和关系变化过程中研究欺凌相关行为的发展。尤其是受欺凌作为一种被动承受而非主动选择的行为结果, 对其在同伴情境中的变化过程研究更为有限。本研究从青少年的友谊网络与其受欺凌的共变关系入手, 采用纵向社会网络分析法, 对来自26个班1406名学生进行为期1年的3个时间点(七年级末、八年级上学期末、八年级下学期末)的追踪研究, 结果发现：(1)受欺凌影响群体内友谊关系的建立：受欺凌水平高的青少年更难以与同伴建立朋友关系(同伴回避效应), 且更倾向于选择同样受欺凌水平高的个体作为朋友(同伴选择效应); (2)友谊关系影响受欺凌水平的变化：在群体中拥有更多朋友关系的青少年, 其受欺凌水平会逐渐降低(同伴保护效应); 但另一方面, 拥有高受欺凌水平朋友的青少年, 自己的受欺凌水平会随着时间呈增高趋势(同伴影响效应); (3)随着时间的发展, 女生的受欺凌水平比男生更容易降低(性别影响效应)。研究结果揭示了友谊网络和受欺凌的共变关系, 为校园欺凌群体干预提供启示。     

Gender Differences in Predicting Antisocial Behaviors: Developmental Consequences of Physical and Relational Aggression

This study investigated gender differences in the relationship of early physical and relational aggression to later peer rejection and overt and covert antisocial behaviors. Significant gender differences were found indicating physically aggressive boys were more likely than girls to experience later peer rejection. Early physical aggression was related to later overt antisocial behavior for boys and girls, and more strongly for girls than for boys. Early relational aggression was not associated with later forms of antisocial behavior. In the context of early physical aggression, for boys and girls peer rejection generally served to increment risk for later overt and covert antisocial behavior in an additive fashion. The data suggest some gender specificity in the social risk processes associated with the development of early overt and covert antisocial behaviors.     

Male and Female Victims of Male Bullies: Social Status Differences by Gender and Informant Source

We examine two sources of variation in victims’ social adjustment: (a) the informant who identifies a child as victim (i.e., peer, self, or both), and (b) victim gender. Peer and self nominations were provided by 508 fourth and fifth graders from the Midwest U.S. Girls were more likely than boys to be victimized, and victims were evenly distributed among informant source. Self-nominated female victims had lower social status and were involved in more antipathies than their peer-nominated counterparts. Among boys, self-and-peer reported victims had the lowest social status. Having friends was associated with positive social adjustment. Implications are discussed for at-risk victim subgroups: girls whose self-reports of victimization are not validated by others, and boys whose victimization is publicly acknowledged.     

Early adolescents' willingness to intervene: What roles do attributions,affect, coping,and self-reported victimization play?

Limited research has sought to understand early adolescents' willingness to intervene in peer victimization as a function of their own responding to being victimized. The present study examined whether early adolescents' attributions, affect, and coping responses to a victimization vignette were related to their willingness to intervene, and whether self-reported victimization moderated the aforementioned associations. Participants were 653 5th- to 8th-grade students (50.4% girls, 58.5% Caucasian, 34.5% Hispanic) who completed a self-report survey that included a vignette asking students to imagine that they were victimized in school. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted separately for boys and girls. Although attributions and affect showed no significant associations with students' willingness to intervene, seeking social support coping was associated with greater willingness to intervene for both boys and girls, and problem-focused coping was associated with willingness to intervene for girls only. Unexpectedly, self-reported victimization was associated positively with both boys' and girls' willingness to intervene. Findings also revealed two unexpected two-way interactions between peer victimization and boys' characterological self-blame and girls' wishful thinking coping. Overall, study findings highlight the need for future research and anti-bullying programs to address how victimization could either motivate or discourage a student's willingness to intervene.     

Do Friends’ Characteristics Moderate the Prospective Links between Peer Victimization and Reactive and Proactive Aggression?

This study examined (a) the predictive link between peer victimization and children’s reactive and proactive aggression, and (b) the potential moderating effect of reciprocal friends’ reactive and proactive aggression in this context. The study also examined whether these potential moderating effects of friends’ characteristics were stronger with respect to more recent friends compared to previous friends. Based on a convenience sample of 658 twin children (326 boys and 332 girls) assessed in kindergarten and first grade, the results showed that peer victimization uniquely predicted an increase in children’s teacher-rated reactive aggression, but not teacher-rated proactive aggression. The relation of peer victimization to increased reactive aggression was, however, moderated by recent ˉ not previous ˉ reciprocal friends’ similarly aggressive characteristics. These findings, however, tended to be mostly true for boys, but not for girls. The findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications for victimized children’s risk of displaying reactive and proactive aggressive behaviors. This research was made possible by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Fonds Concerté pour l’Aide à la Recherche, the Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Fonds de Recherche en Santé du Québec.     

童年中晚期同伴侵害对儿童心理社会适应影响的纵向分析

采用间隔两年的纵向设计, 通过对1767名儿童的同伴侵害以及孤独、抑郁、攻击、行为不良、同伴接纳、同伴拒绝等心理社会适应指标进行调查, 综合运用变量定向的方法和个体定向的方法考察了童年中晚期儿童心理社会适应发展的结果模式, 以及同伴侵害对儿童心理社会适应发展的影响。结果发现, (1)身体侵害、关系侵害与心理社会适应各指标存在显著的即时与纵向相关关系。(2)儿童心理社会适应结果表现为内化问题、外化问题、同伴拒绝、正常发展4种模式。(3)判别分析显示, 9岁的同伴侵害(主要为身体侵害)能预测同伴拒绝、外化问题适应结果模式, 11岁的同伴侵害(主要为关系侵害)能预测内化问题、同伴拒绝适应结果模式。这些结果表明同伴侵害与儿童心理社会适应间的联系具有异质性, 并且先前和当前的侵害经历以及不同类型的侵害与心理社会适应间的联系因适应领域的不同而存在差异。     

3～8年级学生羞怯与心理适应之关系:一个有中介的调节模型检验

以1485名3-8年级学生为研究对象,借助同伴评价和自我报告,考察性别对羞怯和心理适应关系的调节效应以及同伴关系不良在上述调节效应中的中介作用。研究结果表明:(1)羞怯、同伴关系不良、孤独和抑郁的性别差异显著。女孩的羞怯水平显著高于男孩,而同伴关系不良、孤独、抑郁水平则显著低于男孩;(2)羞怯与同伴关系不良、孤独、抑郁呈较弱的正相关,而与自尊呈较弱的负相关;(3)羞怯与孤独、抑郁、自尊的关系受性别因素的调节,羞怯男孩面临的心理适应风险高于羞怯女孩;(4)性别对羞怯和孤独、抑郁、自尊关系的调节通过同伴关系不良这一中介因素而实现,间接效应占总效应的比例在25%至47%之间。这一结果表明,羞怯的适应价值存在性别差异,而同伴关系在其中扮演着重要的中介角色。     

Victimization in South Korean children's peer groups

This study reports a cross-sectional investigation of the behavioral, academic, and psychosocial correlates of victimization in South Korean children's peer groups. The participants were 122 children (66 boys, 56 girls; from 10–12-years-old) recruited from a primary school in Seoul, South Korea. Multi-informant assessments (peer nominations, teacher ratings, and self-reports) of peer victimization, social behavior, loneliness/social dissatisfaction, and academic functioning were obtained. Multivariate analyses indicated that peer victimization was associated with poor academic adjustment, loneliness, submissive–withdrawn behavior, aggression, and low levels of assertive–prosocial behavior. These findings suggest that there is considerable similarity in the social processes underlying peer group victimization across South Korean and Western cultural settings.     

Connected and Isolated Victims of Relational Aggression: Associations with Peer Group Status and Differences between Girls and Boys

Some adolescents who are relationally victimized by gossip and ostracism have limited close connections to a peer or friendship group, but victimization also can be group-based, occurring between or within friendship groups. The purpose of this study was to test gender differences in these two forms of victimization, referred to as isolated and connected victimization, and to test associations of each form with peer status (social prominence and preference within the peer group) and aggressive behavior. We expected that associations between victimization, especially connected victimization, peer status and aggressive behavior would differ for boys and girls. Australian students (N = 335, M _age = 12.5 years) self-reported victimization, and nominated peers who were victimized, accepted, rejected, socially prominent, and unpopular. Connected and isolated forms of victimization were correlated, but differences were found in their correlations with other measures and by gender. Especially when reported by peers, adolescents higher in connected victimization were also higher in both aggression and social prominence (i.e., they were more popular and considered leaders); yet, they were also more disliked (rejected). In contrast to connected victimization, isolated victimization was associated with negative peer status only, and weakly and inconsistently associated with aggression. Finally, gender moderation was found, which showed a pattern of aggression, prominence and dislike among adolescent females who were connected victims, but this pattern was not nearly as pronounced in their male counterparts.