Peer Victimization during Middle Childhood as a Marker of Attenuated Risk for Adult Arrest

Abstract

This longitudinal investigation examined interactions between aggression and peer victimization during middle childhood in the prediction of arrest through the adult years for 388 (198 boys, 190 girls) study participants. As part of an ongoing multisite study (i.e., Child Development Project), peer victimization and aggression were assessed via a peer nomination inventory in middle childhood, and juvenile and adult arrest histories were assessed via a self-report questionnaire as well as review of court records. Early aggression was linked to later arrest but only for those youths who were rarely victimized by peers. Although past investigators have viewed youths who are both aggressive and victimized as a high-risk subgroup, our findings suggest that the psychological and behavioral attributes of these children may mitigate trajectories toward antisocial problems.

Coping Power Universal for middle school students: The first efficacy study

“…Externalizing behavioral problems are of particular concern at middle school where they may disrupt the school routine, inhibit learning and create interpersonal problems for those involved. They are associated with short and long-term adverse academic and psychological outcomes in youths (Schwartz, Lansford, Dodge, Pettit, & Bates, 2018). Moreover, minor forms of conduct problems can become more severe (Lewis et al, 2017), and schools that do not effectively prevent this growth may create a condition in which violence is normatively acceptable (Wittmer, Sinclair, Martin, Tucker, & Lang, 2013).…”