Peer Status as a Potential Risk or Protective Factor: A Latent Profile Analysis on Peer Status and Its Association with Internalizing Symptoms in Adolescents with and without Parental Physical Abuse Experience

Abstract

Research has well established that parental physical abuse experiences can lead to devastating consequences for adolescents, with peer relationships acting as both protective and risk factors. With the person-centered latent profile analysis (LPA), we analyzed questionnaire data from a cross-sectional study in 2020 composed of a sample of 1959 seventh-grade high school students from Switzerland. This study investigated and compared peer-status profiles combining peer acceptance and peer popularity for adolescents with and without parental physical abuse experiences. We conducted a multinomial logistic regression analysis to investigate further depression, anxiety, and dissociation as predictors of profile membership. With LPA, we identified three distinct profiles for adolescents within the subgroup with experiences of parental physical abuse (n = 344), namely liked, liked-popular, and rejected-unpopular. Within the subgroup of adolescents without parental physical abuse experiences (n = 1565), LPA revealed four profiles, namely liked, liked-popular, rejected-unpopular, and average. For adolescents with parental physical abuse experiences, higher levels of dissociation significantly indicated they were more likely to belong to the rejected-unpopular group than belong to the liked group. Anxious students without experiences of parental physical abuse were more likely to belong to the rejected-unpopular and liked profiles than belong to the liked-popular and average profiles. These findings clearly argue for a deeper understanding of the role of parental physical abuse when analyzing the relationship between dissociation and anxiety and peer status. Operationalizing peer status with the four individual dimensions of likeability, rejection, popularity, and unpopularity was valuable in that the role of peer rejection with respect to different internalizing symptoms became apparent.

Exposure to Intimate-Partner Violence and Resilience Trajectories of Adolescents: A Two-Wave Longitudinal Latent Transition Analysis

“…To protect adolescents from the consequences of IPV exposure, the present article addresses several issues: First, the prevalence of IPV exposure should be researched more thoroughly, and society should be sensitized to the strong consequences of IPV exposure. As a further step, prevention efforts in schools should focus on promoting self-esteem, self-efficacy, and social skills, because they significantly increase the chances of being in the resilient class, and they can also be promoted in the school system [100].…”

On the complex relationship between resilience and hair cortisol levels in adolescence despite parental physical abuse: a fourth wave of resilience research

“…Defining the criteria for resilience can pose a challenge because it encompasses multiple indicators, which must be selected according to a specific adversity, a domain (such as school) and a developmental phase ( 29 ). As studies with the first two survey-waves of our project have shown ( 30 , 31 ), family violence experiences may lead not only to neurodevelopmental disorders such as depression and dissociation, but also to significantly higher cortisol levels ( 25 , 32 , 33 ), which can impair adolescents’ personal, social, and academic development ( 31 ). Based on our previous work on resilience pathways in adolescence despite family physical abuse ( 15 ), we expanded the data scope to four survey waves of data over three years and specifically related resilience pathways to HPA levels.…”

Understanding Family Risk and Protective Factors That Shape Child Development

“…This Special Issue features 18 articles that examine family risk and resilience among children and adolescents across developmental stages, ranging from early childhood to late adolescence/young adulthood. A wide range of child outcomes are examined in these studies, including children’s use of electronic devices [ 1 , 2 ], maltreatment experiences [ 3 ], mental health [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ], school readiness and academic functioning [ 8 ], suicidal thoughts and behaviors [ 9 ], socioemotional development [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ], and resilient/adaptive functioning [ 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”

“…Focusing on child physical abuse as a risk factor, Favre et al identified distinct profiles of peer status among adolescents with and without physical abuse experiences. They found that higher levels of dissociation predicted membership in the rejected–unpopular group for adolescents with physical abuse experiences [ 13 ]. Interestingly, many unique family risk factors were found in studies that focused on problematic electronic use by children.…”

“…Notably, this Special Issue includes studies that represent diverse regions, cultures, and contexts. The international studies featured in this Special Issue involve study participants from South Africa and Canada [ 6 ], China [ 7 ], Switzerland [ 13 , 14 ], Malaysia [ 2 ], and South Korea [ 1 ]. Findings from these studies offer valuable insights that enrich our understanding of cultural differences and nuances related to the influence of family risk and protective factors on child development.…”