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Updated: Jul 28, 2026

Telomere Length and Telomerase Activity; A Yin and Yang of Cell Senescence
Published on: May 22, 2013
It's more than skin-deep: The relationship between social victimization and telomere length in adolescence
Maria E Guarneri-White1, Allyson A Arana2, Erin Q Boyd1
1University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas.
Abstract:
This study examined the relationship between peer victimization and telomere length (TL), an indicator of biological aging that is associated with stressors (Epel, 2009). It was predicted that social victimization would have a greater impact upon TL, as well as the frequency and severity of health complaints than physical victimization. Adolescents (Mage = 15.91 years, SDage = 1.65) and their parents completed measures of peer victimization and physical health problems; adolescents also submitted a DNA sample for telomere analysis. Greater instances of being socially, but not physically, victimized were associated with shorter telomeres, as well as more frequent and severe health complaints. TL was also negatively related to both the frequency and severity of health problems, even after controlling for BMI, age, and sex of participant. The relationship between social victimization and health complaints via TL held only at higher levels of social victimization. These findings are the first to find an association between peer victimization and shortened telomeres.
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