Peer Victimization and Internalizing Symptoms From Adolescence Into Young Adulthood: Building Strength Through Emotional Support

Abstract

This longitudinal study investigated how changes in peer victimization were associated with changes in internalizing symptoms among 662 adolescents across a 4-year period. The moderating effects of initial levels of father, mother, and friend emotional support on this association were also examined. Gender and age group differences (early adolescent group aged 12-15 years; late adolescent group aged 16-18 years) were tested. Increases in physical and relational victimization were related to increases in internalizing symptoms. Friend emotional support was more protective in reducing internalizing symptoms for adolescent males than adolescent females in both the early and late adolescent groups. Gender differences also moderated the effects of mother and father emotional support.Internalizing problems including depression and anxiety affect approximately 10% to 20% of youth (Brendgen, Wanner, Morin, & Vitaro, 2005;Letcher, Smart, Sanson, & Toumbourou, 2009). However, the patterns of changes in internalizing symptoms from late adolescence into early adulthood are not clear. Epidemiological research on the incidence of psychiatric disorders in the transition from adolescence to adulthood shows increases in some anxiety disorders such as panic and agoraphobia (Costello, Copeland, & Angold, 2011). Some studies also show increases in depressive symptoms and in new cases of depressive disorders from mid-to late-adolescence followed by decreases from adolescence into adulthood (Hale, Raaijmakers, Muris, van Hoof, & Meeus, 2008;Montague, Cavendish, Enders, & Dietz, 2010;Needham, 2008;Pettit, Lewinsohn, Seeley, Roberts, & Yaroslavsky, 2010). However, other research reports that rates of depressive symptoms increase from midto late-adolescence but remain stable from late adolescence into early adulthood (Hankin et al., 1998). Gender differences in these trajectories from adolescence to young adulthood have also been found showing increases in depressive symptoms across the transition to young adulthood for adolescent males, but not adolescent females (Leadbeater, Thompson, & Gruppuso, 2012).Efforts to understand the contexts that create risks for or protect against increases in internalizing symptoms or accelerate declines are needed to improve our understanding of individual differences in these patterns of change. In this study, we examine the effect of CIHR Author ManuscriptCIHR Author Manuscript CIHR Author Manuscript peer victimization on internalizing symptoms (including anxiety and depression) as well as the moderating effects of friend and parent emotional support among early and late adolescents across a 4-year period.Research consistently shows that peer victimization, the experience of being a target of a peer's bullying and aggressive behavior, is associated with increases in internalizing symptoms in children and in adolescents (Reijntjes, Kamphuis, Prinzie, & Telch, 2010;Rudolph, Troop-Gordon, Hessel, & Schmidt, 2011;Stadler, Feifel, Rohrmann, Vermeiren, & Poustka, 2010;Ttofi, Farrington, Lösel, & Lo...

Bullying in Medically Fragile Youth

“…23 Verbal victimization involves overt verbal attacks designed to cause harm to the victim (e.g., namecalling, making fun of the victim). 29 Friend support seems to protect boys from relational peer victimization and subsequent internalizing problems more so than girls, 30 perhaps because girls' greater intimate self-disclosure to friends 31 can feed friends' ability to relationally victimize each other. 25 Studies generally find that boys are more likely to experience physical 26,27 and verbal victimization, 28 whereas girls are more likely to experience relational peer victimization.…”

“…112 Perceived parental support is an especially important protective factor for healthy youth who have multiple other risks of peer victimization. 30 Studies on the link between sibling interactions and peer victimization are limited. 115 Children with strong parental emotional support are less likely to experience suicidal ideation or behavior after peer victimization.…”

Bystander Intervention, Bullying, and Victimization: A Multilevel Analysis of New Zealand High Schools

“…Both the experience and perpetration of bullying has been related to a variety of serious behavioral and health problems during adolescence, including suicidal ideation and suicide attempts (Espelage & Swearer, 2003;Stassen Berger, 2007). Furthermore, longitudinal research suggests that the effects of being chronically bullied can lead to persistent negative outcomes extending into adulthood, including increased depression and anxiety (Bond, Carlin, Thomas, Rubin, & Patton, 2001;Reijntjes, Kamphuis, Prinzie, & Telch, 2010;Yeung Thompson & Leadbeater, 2013), poorer physical and mental health (Rigby, 1999), and poorer self-esteem (Olweus, 1993b). For students who bully others, outcomes are also poor with increased rates of psychiatric disorders (Kumpulainen, Räsänen, & Puura, 2001), conduct problems and emotional dysregulation (Card, Stucky, Sawalani, & Little, 2008), and later offending (Ttofi, Farrington, Lösel, & Loeber, 2011).…”

Ervaren stigmatisering onder transgenderjongeren in Nederland

“…Dit resultaat sluit grotendeels aan op eerder onderzoek van het SCP (2012) waar moeder, broers en zussen en de beste vriend(in) werden aangeduid als de personen in de directe omgeving die volledig positief reageerden op het transgender-zijn van de ondervraagden. Uit eerder onderzoek blijkt dat vooral de steun van vrienden een afname van internaliserende problemen teweeg kan brengen bij adolescenten (Thompson & Leadbeater, 2013). Vervolgonderzoek moet uitwijzen of dit ook geldt voor transgenderjongeren en of dit een verklaring is voor het feit dat de beste vriend(in) wordt genoemd als één van de belangrijkste figuren op het gebied van ervaren steun.…”