Developmental Pathways of Victimization From High School to Early Adulthood: The Role of Characterological Self-Blame...

Although the long-term continuity of victimization is well-documented, the mechanisms that link adolescent peer victimization to later relational harassment in other life domains (e.g., romantic relationships, workplace), and the contextual moderators that reduce the negative effects of victimization, remain unclear. The present study examined the associations between trajectories of perceived peer victimization, characterological self-blame (CSB), and internalizing problems across high school and whether these processes predict romantic relationship and workplace harassment in early adulthood. The mediating effect of CSB and the moderating effect of numerical racial/ethnic majority/minority status in high school were tested.

The study capitalized on a large racially/ethnically diverse sample of 723 adolescents (M_age = 15.2 at T1; 54% female; 53% Latinx, 17% White, 15% Black/African American, and 15% Asian).

Multivariate latent growth curve models revealed that trajectories of perceived victimization, CSB, and internalizing symptoms were interrelated over the course of high school and that changes in CSB mediated the association between victimization and internalizing symptoms. These processes predicted increased experiences of romantic relationship and workplace harassment after high school. Numerical majority status was a risk factor for greater CSB and subsequent negative mental health and later harassment outcomes.

CSB emerged as a key mechanism linking persistent peer victimization to internalizing symptoms across high school, particularly among adolescents in the numerical racial/ethnic majority. This cycle of maladaptive attributions and internalizing symptoms predicted increased risk for romantic relationship and workplace harassment in early adulthood.