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Adolescent Victim Types Across the Popularity Status Hierarchy: Differences in Internalizing Symptoms
Sarah T Malamut1,2, Molly Dawes3, Yvonne van den Berg4
1Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands. sarah.malamut@ru.nl.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence
|September 29, 2021
Summary
Popular youth can experience peer victimization, but this study identified distinct victim subgroups. Popular victims reported less loneliness than other victims but higher loneliness and lower self-esteem than non-victims.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Adolescent Development
- Social Dynamics
Background:
- Peer victimization is prevalent among adolescents.
- Heterogeneity exists in victim popularity, with some popular youth experiencing victimization.
- Limited research explores the characteristics of popular victims, particularly their internalizing symptoms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify distinct subgroups of adolescent victims using person-oriented analysis.
- To verify the existence of popular victims within these subgroups.
- To compare internalizing symptoms (loneliness, self-esteem) across victim and non-victim groups.
Main Methods:
- Latent profile analysis was employed to classify adolescents based on self- and peer-reported victimization and peer-reported popularity.
- The study included 804 Dutch adolescents aged 11-17 years.
- Loneliness and self-esteem were assessed as internalizing indices.
Main Results:
- Six distinct adolescent subgroups were identified.
- A specific subgroup of popular self-identified victims was found.
- Popular victims exhibited lower loneliness than other victim groups but higher loneliness and lower self-esteem compared to non-victims.
Conclusions:
- The existence of popular victims is confirmed, highlighting heterogeneity in victimization experiences.
- Popular victims represent a unique group with specific internalizing profiles.
- Findings suggest tailored interventions are needed for high-status youth experiencing peer victimization.
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