Social Victimization Trajectories From Middle Childhood Through Late Adolescence

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Adolescent Health

Background:

• Social victimization, involving harm to social status and relationships, includes gossip, manipulation, and exclusion.
• Understanding the developmental course of social victimization is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To longitudinally examine social victimization experiences from middle childhood through late adolescence.
• To identify distinct trajectories of social victimization.
• To investigate the roles of parent-child relationship quality and emotional dysfunction in these trajectories.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study design with 273 participants (139 females) reporting on social victimization from grades 4-11 (ages 9-16).
• Mixture (group-based) modeling was employed to identify distinct developmental trajectories of social victimization.
• Statistical analyses controlled for demographic and relational factors.

Main Results:

• Four distinct social victimization trajectories were identified: low, medium decreasing, medium increasing, and elevated.
• Higher emotional dysfunction and male gender were associated with increased odds of being in the elevated and medium increaser groups.
• Parent-child relationship quality predicted lower odds of elevated victimization but lost significance when emotional dysfunction was included.

Conclusions:

• Emotional dysfunction and male gender are significant risk factors for persistent and increasing social victimization.
• While parent-child relationships are important, emotional health appears to be a more critical factor in mitigating severe social victimization.
• Findings highlight the need for interventions addressing emotional regulation and social skills in at-risk youth.