A longitudinal investigation was conducted to explicate how the confluence of early behavioral dispositions, relational histories, and cognitive representations of the self and others contributes to internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and loneliness. One-hundred and ninety three girls, and 206 boys were assessed annually from age 5 (kindergarten) to age 10 (Grade 4). Early aggressive behavior was related to Grade 4 maladjustment directly and indirectly through subsequent relational stressors. Significant associations emerged between chronic friendlessness and rejection and later adaptation not accounted for by concurrent relational difficulties. Self- and peer beliefs partially mediated the relation between peer difficulties and internalizing problems and loneliness. The results highlight the utility of child-by-environment models as a guide for the investigation of processes that antecede psychosocial maladjustment.

Evidence indicates that peer victimization is predictive of later maladjustment, but the mechanisms by which harassment impairs development have yet to be identified. The objectives of this study were (a) to discern normative trends in peer victimization experiences and self- and peer perceptions during preadolescence and (b) to investigate associations between individual differences in these trajectories and changes in psychosocial adjustment. A sample of 381 children (196 girls; 185 boys) was followed longitudinally between the ages of 9 and 11 years. Latent growth curve analyses revealed that, although children's self-appraisals became increasingly positive during preadolescence, their appraisals of peers became more negative. Moreover, analyses supported the contention that self- and peer beliefs act as mechanisms through which victimization is related to psychological dysfunction.

Although teachers are often called upon to reduce children's bullying and aggression, little is known regarding teachers' responses to students' harassment of peers or the beliefs which may inform their response strategies. To address this limitation, data were collected from 170 6th- and 7th-grade teachers (33 men; 137 women) and 2,938 (1,413 girls; 1,525 boys) of their students. Teachers beliefs regarding peer victimization were predictive of their efforts to advice victims how to cope with peer harassment. In particular, teachers who held more normative views of peer victimization were less likely to report reprimanding aggressive students and were more likely to utilize passive response strategies. Specific links emerged between teachers' beliefs and strategies and classroom-levels of aggression and peer victimization in the fall and in the spring, as well as changes in students' aggressive behavior and victimization over the course of the school year. Implications for intervention are discussed.

Since Dan Olweus's seminal work on bullying in the 1970's (Olweus, 1978), there has been a concerted effort by investigators to identify the confluence of factors that contribute to peer victimization and its role in psychosocial development. Although the cause and consequences of peer victimization may include underlying, age-invariant processes, the manifestation of these factors is, in part, driven by the developmental stage being studied. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of peer victimization requires an explicit developmental perspective. This paper examines how peer victimization in adolescence is unique from other developmental periods. Changes in the nature of peer victimization, associated risk factors, the contexts in which victimization is experienced, and the psychosocial outcomes affected are addressed. A primary focus is how maturational processes and interpersonal contexts characteristic of adolescence contribute to changes in victimization, with the objective of informing future research directions and the development of effective interventions.

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Peer victimization has been implicated as a traumatic stressor that compromises children's longterm mental health, yet a dearth of prospective research specifically demonstrates lasting effects of early victimization. This research examined whether early (2 nd grade) victimization and increasing (2 nd -5 th grade) victimization independently predicted depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior (overt and relational) in 5 th grade. Participants included 433 children (238 girls, 195 boys). Children reported on peer victimization and depressive symptoms; teachers reported on peer victimization and aggressive behavior. Latent growth curve analysis revealed that both early and increasing victimization made unique contributions to subsequent depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior. Relational aggression was particularly likely to follow victimization in girls.Over the past two decades, developmental scientists have increasingly implicated peer victimization as a major public health concern (Graham, 2006;Hawker & Boulton, 2000), sparking the emergence of a large number of prevention programs aimed at containing bullying and its negative effects. In large part, this concern stems from the idea that peer victimization exerts a lasting influence on mental health. Although some short-term prospective research links peer victimization with subsequent mental health problems, few studies systematically examine the relative contributions of early versus increasing victimization to mental health across a significant developmental period. Consequently, it is difficult to determine whether early exposure to peer victimization has long-term consequences beyond children's recent social experiences. The present study used a dualinformant longitudinal design to examine whether both early victimization and changes in victimization across the elementary school years predicted subsequent mental health difficulties, specifically depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior. Mental Health Consequences of Peer VictimizationChildren exposed to victimization at the hands of their peers may react in diverse ways. They may feel a sense of helplessness and attribute this maltreatment to their own deficiencies, potentially compromising their self-worth and precipitating depressive NIH Public Access (Graham & Juvonen, 1998;Troop-Gordon & Ladd, 2005). Alternatively, they may feel a sense of injustice and attribute this maltreatment to the hostility of their peers, potentially inciting anger and efforts to retaliate or to re-establish their status in the peer group through aggressive behavior (Mahady Wilton & Craig, 2000;Salmivalli, Karhunen, & Lagerspetz, 1996;Troop-Gordon & Ladd, 2005). Consistent with these ideas, prospective longitudinal research reveals that victimization contributes to subsequent depressive symptoms (Nylund, Bellmore, Nishina, & Graham, 2007;Prinstein, Boergers, & Vernberg, 2001;Sweeting, Young, West, & Der, 2006), as well as aggression (Hanish & Guerra, 2002;Lamarche et al., 2007;Ladd & Troop-Gordon, 2003;Rusby...

It is well-established that superior cognitive control abilities are associated with lower levels of anger and aggression. However, the precise emotion regulation operations underlying this relationship have been underspecified and underexplored in previous research. Drawing on neuropsychological models of cognitive control, the authors propose that limited capacity resources can be recruited within a hostile situation to promote a process of forgiveness. The results of 2 studies supported this proposal. Across studies, individual differences in hostility-primed cognitive control were assessed implicitly. In Study 1, hostility-primed cognitive control predicted less aggressive behavior in response to a laboratory provocation. Moreover, forgiveness mediated these effects. In Study 2, hostility-primed cognitive control predicted forgiveness of provocations in participants' daily lives and subsequent reductions in anger. In sum, the results contribute to a systematic understanding of how cognitive control leads to lower levels of anger and aggression.

This research examined whether variations in salivary measures of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (cortisol) and autonomic nervous system (alpha amylase [sAA]) contribute to individual differences in the association between peer victimization and aggression. Children (N = 132; M age = 9.46 years, SD = .33) completed a measure of peer victimization, teachers rated children’s aggression, and children’s saliva was collected prior to, and following, participation in a laboratory-based peer-oriented social challenge task. Children rated their level of frustration at the end of the task. Results revealed that victimization interacted with cortisol and sAA measured in anticipation of the task to predict aggression; the victimization × cortisol contribution to aggression was partly mediated by children’s self-reported frustration level. Victimization also was associated with heightened frustration in girls with high task-related sAA reactivity. Task-related sAA reactivity was associated with heightened aggression, but only for girls. These findings suggest that associations between peer victimization and aggression are moderated by variation in the activity of the major components of the psychobiology of stress; results are discussed in relation to theoretical models of individual differences in biological sensitivity to context.