Longitudinal Relationships Between Social Anxiety, Peer Victimisation, and Perceived Support Among Children

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Social anxiety, peer victimization, and social support are critical during mid-childhood, influencing adolescent development.
• Limited longitudinal research exists on these factors' interplay during mid-childhood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To longitudinally examine the relationships between social anxiety, peer victimization, and social support in mid-childhood.
• To investigate potential gender moderation in these relationships.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study with 7846 third and fourth graders (mean age 9.01).
• Self-report measures of social anxiety, peer victimization, and close friend support collected over two years (three time points).
• Path analyses used to assess mediating, moderating, and gender effects.

Main Results:

• Social anxiety positively predicted subsequent peer victimization more strongly than vice versa.
• Social anxiety negatively predicted later social support.
• Social support did not consistently predict social anxiety, and no significant buffering effect on victimization was found.
• Gender showed minimal moderation across the studied relationships.

Conclusions:

• A cyclical relationship exists between social anxiety and peer victimization.
• Social anxiety is a unidirectional predictor of social support from close friends in middle childhood.
• Early interventions targeting social anxiety may have positive downstream effects on peer victimization and social support.