Testing the Direction of Longitudinal Paths Between Victimization, Peer Rejection, and Different Types of Internalizing Problems in Adolescence

Overview

Journal J Abnorm Child Psychol

Publisher Springer

Date 2016 Oct 28

PMID 27785655

Citations 32

Authors

Miranda Sentse

Peter Prinzie

Christina Salmivalli

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The transition to secondary school is accompanied by the fragmentation of peer groups, while adolescents are also confronted with heightened incidents of bullying and increased levels of internalizing problems. Victimization, peer rejection, and internalizing problems are known to be interrelated, but how they influence each other over time remains unclear. We tested the direction of these associations by applying a cross-lagged path model among a large sample of Finnish adolescents (N = 5645; 49.1 % boys; M age at T1 = 14.0 years) after they transitioned to secondary school (grades 7-9). Self-reported depression, anxiety, and victimization and peer-reported rejection were measured 3 times over the course of 1 year. Results showed that depression was predictive of subsequent victimization for both boys and girls, in line with a symptoms-driven model; for girls, anxiety was reciprocally related to victimization, in line with a transactional model; for boys, victimization was related to subsequent anxiety, in line with an interpersonal risk model. Peer rejection was not directly related to depression or anxiety, but among girls peer rejection was bi-directionally related to victimization. Overall, our results suggest that associations between internalizing problems and peer relations differ between depression and anxiety and between genders. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.

Citing Articles

Longitudinal Relationships Across Bullying Victimization, Friendship and Social Support, and Internalizing Symptoms in Early-to-Middle Adolescence: A Developmental Cascades Investigation.

Cheng Q, Mills-Webb K, Marquez J, Humphrey N J Youth Adolesc. 2025; .

PMID: 39825988 DOI: 10.1007/s10964-024-02131-2.

How Do Victimized Youth Emotionally and Socially Appraise Common Ways Third-Party Peers Intervene?.

Strong Z, Frey K, McMain E, Pearson C, Chiu Y J Child Fam Stud. 2025; 31(11):3152-3166.

PMID: 39823060 PMC: 11737377. DOI: 10.1007/s10826-022-02285-2.

Cumulative Interpersonal Risk, Non-Suicidal Self-Injury, and Suicide Attempts in Early Adolescence: Between-Person Differences and within-Person Effects.

Wang D, Zhao J, Wang Y J Youth Adolesc. 2024; .

PMID: 39581895 DOI: 10.1007/s10964-024-02101-8.

What Happens to Children's Mental Health and Peer Relationships During Periods of Restricted and Unrestricted Social Interactions? Results From the Co-SPACE Study in Primary School-Aged Children.

Guzman Holst C, Oncioiu S, Creswell C, Bowes L JAACAP Open. 2024; 1(2):128-140.

PMID: 39555049 PMC: 11562425. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaacop.2023.05.003.

Adolescent Developmental Pathways Among Depression, Conduct Problems, and Rejection: Integrative Data Analysis Across Three Samples.

McClaine R, Connell A, Magee K, Ha T, Westling E, Brown-Iannuzzi J J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2024; :1-13.

PMID: 38869881 PMC: 11638407. DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2024.2359063.

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