1-047 - Social-Emotional and Cognitive Correlates of the Developmental Course of Peer Victimization from Childhood to Adolescence

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

The correlates of peer victimization vary across childhood and adolescence. However, as the time span covered by most previous studies has been limited, they were unable to chart the development of victimization from childhood to adolescence. Therefore, this symposium examines the long-term developmental course of peer victimization, and how trajectories of victimization are interrelated to social-emotional, social-cognitive, and family functioning variables. This interdisciplinary perspective identifies which variables are related to chronic victimization. The symposium brings together international papers from the U.S., Canada, and The Netherlands.

Study 1 was an 8-year longitudinal study showing that chronic high levels of victimization from ages 9 to 13 were predicted from high levels of externalizing behaviors and ego-resiliency at age 5. Study 2 found that ethnically diverse children with co-occurring victimization and aggression across an accelerated time-span from 4.5 to 10.5 evidence the greatest maladjustment, whereas ethnically diverse children primarily vulnerable to ongoing victimization showed more selective adjustment problems. Study 3 revealed that high chronic victimization across grades K-12 and movement into victimization were related to low scores on academic indicators, whereas movement out of victimization was related to high/increasing academic scores. Study 4 showed that children were more likely to become chronically victimized rather than to show intervention-initiated reduced victimization when they had more internalizing problems and lower-quality parent-child relationships.

Together, these long-term studies showed that trajectories of chronic victimization are inter-related with social-emotional, social-cognitive, academic, and parent-child relationship problems. The findings may help researchers and practitioners to develop tailored prevention and intervention.

Sub Unit

• Social Relationships

Chair

• J. Loes Pouwels, Radboud University

Individual Presentations

• Predicting Trajectories of Victimization across Childhood from Early Childhood Internalizing, Externalizing, and Ego-Resiliency - Presenting Author: J. Loes Pouwels, Radboud University; Laura Hanish, Arizona State University; Sanny Smeekens, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Yvonne Hendrika Maria van den Berg, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Antonius H. N. Cillessen, Developmental Psychology, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University

• Early Co-Occurrence of Peer Victimization and Aggression - Presenting Author: Wendy L. G. Hoglund, University of Alberta; Phillip Hau, University of Alberta

• Peer Victimization Trajectories from Kindergarten to High School: Differential Pathways for School Engagement and Achievement? - Presenting Author: Gary W Ladd, Arizona State University; Idean Ettekal, Research Institution on Addictions, University at Buffalo; Becky Kochenderfer-Ladd, Arizona State University

• Why are some children still victimized after an anti-bullying intervention? Explaining victimization by child and social factors - Presenting Author: Tessa Magdalena Lisa Kaufman, University of Groningen, the Netherlands; Tina Kretschmer, University of Groningen; Gijs Huitsing, University of Groningen; Rene Veenstra, University of Groningen