Poster #231 - The Need to Belong: Explaining the Association between Victimization and Adjustment

• In Event: 1-169 - Poster Session 04
  In Poster Session: PS 04 Section - Social Relationships

Integrative Statement

Being the victim of aggression is associated with a number of health and adjustment problems. Adolescents who are victimized by their peers are at greater risk for depression than those not victimized by their peers (Crick & Grotpeter, 1996; Prinstein et al., 2001). Similarly, youth who are victimized also report feeling lonelier, being more socially anxious (Storch, Brassard, & Masia-Warner, 2003; Storch & Masia-Warner, 2004), and having lower self-esteem than non-victimized youth (Paquette & Underwood, 1999; Prinstein, Boergers, & Vernberg, 2001). Peer victimization has also been associated with suicidal thoughts and suicidal attempts (Brunstein Klomek, Marrocco, Kleinman, Schonfeld, & Gould, 2007). Less research has examined the association between victimization and externalizing problems, but findings suggest that peer victimization also increases the risk for externalizing problems. According to adolescent self-reports, victimization predicts aggression, delinquency, and substance use (Sullivan, Farrell, Kliewer, 2006).
Even though a theoretical framework for understanding victimization has not yet emerged, peer victimization is logically associated with the need to belong and have ongoing positive interactions with others as sources of companionship and caring (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Belongingness needs may be especially high in adolescence (Buhrmester, 1996; Gottman & Mettetal, 1986; Sullivan, 1953). The need to belong may also be more pronounced for girls whose self-construals are heavily dependent on relationships (Cross & Madson, 1997) and who greatly desire intimacy in close relationships (Rose & Rudolph, 2006).
Researchers in the current study sought to examine if the fundamental need to belong may explain why peer victimization is so distressing, and related to negative adjustment outcomes. The sample included 225 early adolescents recruited from middle schools in North Texas. Participants completed a series of measures, including the Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale (Mynard & Joseph, 2000) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD; Radloff, 1977). The Need to Belong was assessed using the Sense of Peer Group Belonging (Newman, Lohman, & Newman, 2007), and higher scores indicated a greater sense of peer group belonging.
Sense of peer group belonging was examined as a mediator of the relation between peer victimization and depression using Hayes’ (2017) Process macro for SPSS. Results indicated that higher levels of victimization were associated with lower sense of belonging, which was in turn, associated with greater symptoms of depression (see Figure 1). The indirect effect was tested using a bootstrap estimation approach with 5000 samples. The indirect coefficient was significant, b = .16, SE = .05, 95% CI = .09, .29.
Findings suggest that sense of peer group belonging partially mediates the relation between peer victimization and depression. Experiencing peer victimization leads to lower perceived belonging, which is a fundamental human need (Baumeister & Leary, 1995) and likely helps to explain why victimization is so distressing. Implications for this research and future research directions will be discussed.

Authors

• Lisa Rosen, Texas Woman's University
  Presenting Author

• Linda Rubin, Texas Woman's University
  Non-Presenting Author