Rumination about social stress mediates the association between peer victimization and depressive symptoms during middle childhood

Abstract

Although prior research has established a link between exposure to peer victimization and depressive symptoms, relatively little is known about the processes underlying this association. This study examined whether maladaptive responses to a novel social stressor – specifically, lower levels of problem solving or higher levels of rumination – mediate this association. Data were gathered from 130 children (64 boys, 66 girls; M age = 9.46, SD = .33) who participated in a laboratory social stressor task with an unfamiliar peer. Results indicated that prior exposure to peer victimization in the school context was associated with ruminative responses to the novel stressor, which mediated the association between victimization and depressive symptoms. These results indicate that ruminative responses to social stress outside of the victimization context may serve as one process explaining the association between victimization and heightened depressive symptoms.

Rumination as a Mediator of the Prospective Association Between Victimization and Bullying

“…Whereas the victim schema model mostly focuses on how chronic victimization can impact their responses to distress “in the moment” (Rosen et al, 2009 ), it can also help explain why victimization could lead to elevated levels of bullying over time, such that chronic victimization hinders adaptive coping and stress responses. For example, youth who are frequently victimized tend to ruminate on their distress (e.g., Monti et al, 2017 ).…”

“…Social difficulties and other life stressors predict elevated rumination over time in adolescents (McLaughlin, Hatzenbuehler, & Hilt, 2009 ; Michl, McLaughlin, Shepherd, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2013 ). Not only is victimization one stressor associated with high levels of rumination (e.g., Monti et al, 2017 ), but rumination can mediate the association between stressors and subsequent adjustment. Indeed, prior research indicates that rumination mediates the association between life stressors (including victimization) and internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety; Feinstein, Bhatia, & Davilia, 2014 ; Mathieson et al, 2014 ; Michl, McLaughlin, Shepherd, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2013 ).…”

“…Furthermore, the extant research has primarily focused on one type of social cognitive bias (i.e., hostile attribution bias) and only a handful of studies (e.g., Moon, Morash, & McCluskey, 2012 ; Walters, 2020b ; Walters & Espelage, 2018 ) have examined pathways underlying the association between victimization and bullying perpetration, which is a specific type of aggression that may be associated with worse outcomes for victims (Felix, Sharkey, Green, Furlong, & Tanigawa, 2011 ; Ybarra, Espelage, & Mitchell, 2014 ). Besides hostile attribution bias, victimization is also associated with other maladaptive socio-cognitive factors, such as rumination (e.g., Monti, Rudolph, & Miernicki, 2017 ), that may play a role in whether victimization leads to perpetration. The current study builds on past research by examining whether the prospective association between victimization and bullying is mediated by rumination about past victimization.…”

School Engagement and the Role of Peer Victimization, Depressive Symptoms, and Rumination

“…P. Johnson & Whisman, 2013; Rood, Roelofs, Bögels, Nolen-Hoeksema, & Schouten, 2009). Ample literature supports the importance of rumination in the association between cyber and traditional victimization and depression (Barchia & Bussey, 2010; Feinstein, Bhatia, & Davila, 2014; Monti, Rudolph, & Miernicki, 2017). In a sample of children (mean age = 9.46) from the Midwest, rumination mediated the association between peer victimization and depressive symptoms (Monti et al, 2017).…”

“…Ample literature supports the importance of rumination in the association between cyber and traditional victimization and depression (Barchia & Bussey, 2010; Feinstein, Bhatia, & Davila, 2014; Monti, Rudolph, & Miernicki, 2017). In a sample of children (mean age = 9.46) from the Midwest, rumination mediated the association between peer victimization and depressive symptoms (Monti et al, 2017). Similarly, in a sample of Australian adolescents, rumination had a mediating effect in the association between victimization and depression (Barchia & Bussey, 2010).…”