Poster #223 - Individual x Context Victimization Effects on Associations Between Entity Theory of Personality and Depressive Symptoms

• In Event: 1-005 - Poster Session 01
  In Poster Session: PS 01 Section - Social Relationships

Integrative Statement

Implicit theories of personality, or beliefs about the potential to change personal characteristics, are a relevant target for social-cognitive interventions. Such interventions aim to change adolescents’ entity theory of personality, which posits that human characteristics are fixed and unchangeable, into a more incremental theory of personality that posits that such characteristics are more malleable. Although these interventions can improve adolescents’ mental health in general, attempts to change implicit theories may be particularly relevant under socially stressful circumstances; because youth will mostly rely on implicit theories when they experience threat. To target interventions more specifically, it is thus important to first understand the risk factors that contribute to the impact of implicit theories on mental health.
One particularly relevant type of ego threat, of which the effects are also embedded in the social context, is peer victimization. Bullying is a detrimental peer phenomenon that exacts high costs on victims’ wellbeing. Although previous research has shown that an entity theory of personality interacts with victimization of bullying in associations with maladjustment (Yeager et al., 2011; Yeager et al., 2014), these were small-sample studies. Hence, larger scale research is needed to draw conclusions. Moreover, previous studies conflated individual and contextual victimization. Therefore, we separate these two levels, and test for a novel hypothesis: that personal victimization is less impactful in contexts where victimization is less frequent.
Survey data was collected among all of the 9th grade students at 25 U.S. public schools who previously participated in a study of growth mindsets (N = 6.756). Estimating two-level models, we examined effects of individual-level victimization on associations between entity theory and depressive symptoms, and their potential cross-level interactions with school-average victimization levels, while controlling for gender on the individual level and school achievement on the school-average victimization level (see Table 1). Standard random-intercept models showed a significant effect of entity theory of personality on depressive symptoms on depressive symptoms (Model 1), and an interaction with individual victimization, showing a stronger entity theory-depressive symptoms link among individuals higher on victimization than among those lower in victimization (Model 2). Further, despite mean-level differences pointing in the direction of contextual effects on these associations (Figure 1), results from standard random-intercept and random-slope mixed effects models showed no significant cross-level entity theory x school-average victimization interaction (Model 3), nor an entity theory x school-average x individual victimization interaction (Model 4). The latter model did show a two-way interaction between school-average victimization and individual victimization; the effect of being in a school with higher average levels of victimization on depressive symptoms was higher among individuals higher in individual victimization as compared to individuals lower in victimization.
Our findings show evidence in the largest sample so far that adolescents’ individual ego threat in the form of peer victimization can contribute to associations between implicit theories of personality and mental health. Further, while we found evidence in the direction of contextual influences, the three-way interaction was not significant; we can therefore not say definitively whether our novel hypothesis is supported.

Authors

• Tessa Magdalena Lisa Kaufman, University of Groningen
  Non-Presenting Author

• Hae Yeon Lee, University of Texas at Austin
  Presenting Author

• Aprile D. Benner, University of Texas at Austin
  Non-Presenting Author

• David S. Yeager, University of Texas at Austin
  Non-Presenting Author