Poster #232 - The Interactive Effects of Coping Strategies and Emotion Dysregulation on Peer Victimization During Middle Childhood

• In Event: 3-159 - Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: PS 12 Section - Social Relationships

Integrative Statement

Introduction: Although a growing body of research suggests that the strategies youth use to cope with experiences of victimization may influence their risk for subsequent adjustment difficulties, it is not yet clear what responses lead to increases or decreases in peer victimization over time. Further, relatively little is currently known regarding individual differences in the effects of coping. It has been suggested that the effectiveness of a particular response may depend on youth’s ability to regulate their emotions. The central aim of this study was therefore to examine the interactive influence of six common coping strategies (i.e., adult support seeking, friend support seeking, problem solving, humor, passive coping, and cognitive distancing), emotion (i.e., anger and sadness) dysregulation, and gender on concurrent levels and subsequent trajectories of peer victimization over a 2-year period during middle childhood. We hypothesized that poorly modulated emotional reactions would undermine children’s attempts to cope with interpersonal conflict, regardless of the strategy employed.

Methods: Participants included 287 children (53.7% boys) who were enrolled in the second and third grades at an elementary school located in a rural Midwestern community in the United States. School records indicated that the racial composition of students at the school was predominantly Caucasian (> 90%), and approximately 40% of all children were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Coping strategies and emotion dysregulation were assessed at Time 1 using self-reports. Children also provided ratings of peer victimization at Time 1, approximately 1 year later (Time 2), and again approximately 2 years later (Time 3).

Results: Overall, results indicated that the effectiveness of particular coping strategies may depend on children’s overt, undercontrolled displays of anger and sadness (see Tables 1 and 2). Whereas problem solving predicted lesser decreases in peer victimization at high levels of anger dysregulation, it predicted greater decreases at low levels. Humor predicted lesser decreases in peer victimization at high levels of both anger and sadness dysregulation. Passive coping predicted higher concurrent victimization in boys at high levels of anger dysregulation, in girls at low levels of anger dysregulation, and in boys and girls at low levels of sadness dysregulation. Adult support seeking predicted greater decreases in peer victimization at high levels of anger dysregulation in boys only. Emotion dysregulation did not interact with friend support seeking nor cognitive distancing to influence children’s experiences of peer victimization.

Conclusions: The present study provides additional support for the utility of assessing for anger and sadness dysregulation in order to identify elementary school-age children who may be at risk for experiencing higher concurrent levels of peer victimization in addition to more stable patterns over time. It also appears that educators, caregivers, and clinicians should exercise some caution when universally recommending coping strategies to victimized youth, as individual-level characteristics may impact their ability to implement them effectively. Consistent with recent recommendations, the current findings suggest that some children may require interventions that focus on both enhancing emotion regulation skills and teaching strategies for responding to peer victimization in a more adaptive manner.

Authors

• John L. Cooley, University of Colorado Denver
  Presenting Author

• Paula Fite, University of Kansas
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lesa Hoffman, Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies, University of Kansas
  Non-Presenting Author