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It gets better or does it? Peer victimization and internalizing problems in the transition to young adulthood

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2014

Bonnie J. Leadbeater ,
Kara Thompson  and
Paweena Sukhawathanakul
Bonnie J. Leadbeater*
Affiliation:
University of Victoria
Kara Thompson
Affiliation:
University of Victoria
Paweena Sukhawathanakul
Affiliation:
University of Victoria
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Bonnie J. Leadbeater, Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC 68W 2Y2, Canada; E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

Consistent research shows that peer victimization predicts internalizing symptoms in childhood and adolescence, but the extent to which peer victimization and its harmful effects on mental health persists into young adulthood is unclear. The current study describes patterns of physical and relational victimization during and after high school, and examines concurrent and prospective associations between internalizing symptoms (depressive and anxious symptoms) and peer victimization (physical and relational) from adolescence to young adulthood (ages 12–27). Data were collected from the Victoria Healthy Youth Survey, a five-wave multicohort study conducted biennially between 2003 and 2011 (N = 662). Physical victimization was consistently low and stable over time. Relational victimization increased for males after high school. Both types of victimization were associated concurrently with internalizing symptoms across young adulthood for males and for females. Although sex differences were important, victimization in high school also predicted increases in internalizing problems over time.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 26 , Special Issue 3: The Legacy of Nicki R. Crick's Contributions to Developmental Psychopathology , August 2014 , pp. 675 - 688
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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