This study aimed to understand constructs related to classroom social dynamics in a sample (n = 1863) of rural middle school students. First, it used latent profile analysis to classify classrooms based on classroom norm salience. Next, the study used the Hierarchical Linear Model to study the influence of classroom norm salience on the social roles and reputations, social network centrality, bullying involvement, and school belonging of students with disabilities. There were four major findings. First, classrooms were classified into two distinct categories based on students’ social reputations, which were positively associated with peer-nominated popularity: High Aggression Norm Salience Classrooms and High Academic/Prosocial Norm Salience Classrooms. Second, there were significant differences by class type in two specific social characteristics: students with disabilities were more likely to get their way and be nominated as leaders in classrooms classified as High Aggression Norm Salience Classrooms. Third, there was no difference in either social network centrality or bullying involvement of students with disabilities by class type. Fourth, students with disabilities were more likely to feel school belonging in classrooms that were identified as High Academic/Prosocial Norm Salience Classrooms. The implications for practice and policy are discussed.

abstract: The associations among teacher-student relationships (e.g., close, conflictual, and dependent), peer victimization, internalizing (e.g., sadness, loneliness, and anxiety), and school attitudes (e.g., avoidance, liking) were investigated in a sample of 153 (76 boys and 77 girls) racially diverse (42% Latino and 46% White) third grade students and their teachers (N = 30: 15 T1; 15 T2). Specifically, a two year longitudinal design was used in which data were gathered using self and teacher questionnaires which were administered during the spring of third grade and then a year later when children were in fourth grade. Findings showed that conflictual and overly dependent teacher-student relationships were positively correlated with peer victimization; however, closeness as a quality of teacher-student relationships was not associated with peer victimization, internalizing, school liking, or school avoidance. Support for the hypothesis that teacher-student relationships moderated the relations between peer victimization and internalizing was mixed. Specifically, conflictual teacher-student relationships were found to exacerbate the effects of victimization on internalizing problems whereas no such relationships were found for close or dependent relationships. Taken together, findings from this study offer further evidence that the relationships students form with their teachers, especially conflictual and overly dependent teacher-student relationships, contribute to their psychological development, and may be especially influential for children who are victimized by classmates. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Psychology 2010

The study of ethnicity in bullying research has yielded inconsistent findings regarding the involvement and prevalence rates among ethnic majority and minority groups. On one hand, individual studies using ethnic group membership as a demographic variable indicate that ethnic minority groups are at times more or less likely to experience or perpetrate bullying compared to White students. On the other hand, contextual factors such as ethnic diversity have yielded more consistent findings showing that increased ethnic diversity is associated with lower bullying victimization among ethnic minority students. The role of ethnicity in bullying and peer victimization was examined in this dissertation by investigating both individual and contextual variables. Studies 1 and 2 consisted of two meta-analyses that systematically addressed comparisons between ethnic majority (i.e., White) and minority students (i.e., Black, Asian, Hispanic) on bullying perpetration and peer victimization. Results indicated small and non-significant overall effect sizes; however, methodological moderators suggested that ethnic groups differ on bullying and peer victimization across countries, measurements, and age groups. Study 3 examined school ethnic composition and bullying involvement in a population-based, ethnically diverse Canadian sample. Results indicated that ethnic minority students experienced less bullying victimization in schools with a higher proportion of ethnic minority peers. School ethnic composition was not associated with bullying victimization for White students or bullying perpetration across both ethnic groups. Taken together, these studies suggest that ethnicity as a demographic variable is not sufficient to account for differences in bullying involvement and that contextual variables are more adequate at explaining patterns of bullying across ethnic groups within the larger school and societal contexts.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF SARA J. W. BIEBL, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Child Clinical Psychology, presented on June 14th, 2010 Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: A DIATHESIS-STRESS MODEL OF VICTIMIZATION: RELATIONS AMONG TEMPERAMENT, PEER VICTIMIZATION, PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND HEALTH PROBLEMS MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Lisabeth F. DiLalla, Ph.D. Youth who are victimized by their peers are more likely to develop symptoms of psychopathology and health problems in adolescence and adulthood. Also, temperamental traits of behavioral inhibition and emotional reactivity have been found to be significant risk factors for the development of mental and physical health problems. Diathesis-stress models of psychopathology indicate that the interaction between temperament and experiences of trauma may lead an individual to develop psychopathology. Most studies using a biosocial model of psychopathology, however, have focused more on experiences of physical and sexual abuse rather than experiences of peer abuse. No studies to date have examined how experiences of peer victimization moderate the relationship between temperament and later experiences of psychopathology and health problems, which was the primary focus of the present study. A second aim of the present study was to examine how the stability of victimization throughout childhood related to health problems in adolescence. Seventy 12- to 20-year-old youth participated in the present longitudinal study. This longitudinal study included three specific time points. At time 1, when participants were five years of age, they engaged in a 20-minute peer play interaction and their parents completed temperament measures. Tapes of the peer play interaction were rated by trained coders for instances of peer victimization. During time 2, these same youth were between the ages of 10 and 18 and were contacted again and asked to complete measures related to peer victimization. Finally, at time 3, which was the present study, participants were between the ages of 12 and 20 and completed a 1-hour telephone interview which was used to obtain information about experiences of peer victimization as well as mental and physical health outcomes. Results from the present study indicated that youth with specific early temperamental traits (behaviorally inhibited and difficult) and who experienced peer victimization that is impairing appeared to be at multiplicatively greater risk for developing mental and physical health problems in adolescence compared to youth who did not have these same biological vulnerabilities and environmental experiences. Additionally, youth who chronically experienced peer victimization had significantly more mental and physical health problems than youth who experienced less stable victimization. This study adds to the current research on peer victimization by using a diathesis- stress model to examine the interactive effects of peer victimization and temperament on negative mental health and physical health outcomes. Moreover, findings from this study will provide researchers and professionals with information that can aide in the development of interventions for children who experience peer victimization and who suffer from different types of health problems and symptoms of psychopathology. More specifically, by understanding how innate factors such as temperament interact with a child's experience of peer victimization, researchers and clinicians may be able to design more specialized interventions for children based on the patterns of their victimization experiences and temperamental traits.

Objective: This study examined whether overt and relational peer victimization were associated with the severity of Social Phobia (SoP) symptoms and whether frequent victimization was more common among youth with SoP as compared to youth with other anxiety disorders. In addition, the study examined whether self-esteem, peer beliefs, and emotional lability were linked to internalizing symptoms above and beyond overt and relational victimization severity. Method: Participants were 90 youth (47 boys, 43 girls; M age = 11.06 years; SD = 3.09) and their parents. Youth had been referred to an outpatient child and adolescent anxiety disorders clinic. Measures included (a) a semi-structured diagnostic interview, (b) youth self-report forms assessing peer victimization, anxiety, depressive symptoms, loneliness, and global self-worth, and (c) parent-report forms assessing anxiety and emotion regulation. Results: Results showed a concurrent positive association between peer victimization and self-reported social anxiety, with relational victimization providing unique information above and beyond overt victimization. Peer victimization was not associated with a specific diagnosis, but was related to multiple internalizing problems (negative beliefs about the peer group accounted for some of this relation). Conclusions: Peer victimization is important to assess for and consider in the treatment of childhood and adolescent anxiety disorders. Peer victimization is associated with social anxiety symptoms, and relational victimization, in particular, is associated with internalizing problems among youth with anxiety disorders. Victimization appears to be associated with symptomatology rather than diagnosis. / Psychology

The present study aimed to: (1) Characterize markers of reward sensitivity during periods of social stress using a well validated social feedback paradigm; (2) Evaluate clinical relations between reward markers and anhedonia; and (3) Investigate if elevated levels of baseline prior exposure to stress (i.e., peer victimization) are associated with the degree of ventral striatum suppression and anhedonia symptoms in a social stress context. A total of 29 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 years old (Mage = 15.31; SD = 1.51; 55.2% cisgender girls) participated in the present study. Participants were asked to complete a semi-structured interview; fill out self-report questionnaires regarding social anxiety, stress, depression, and anhedonia; and complete a magnetic resonance imaging scan while playing the Island Getaway task. Ventral striatum (VS) BOLD signal activation estimates were then extracted during discrete phases of the game (e.g., anticipation of social feedback and outcome of social feedback) and statistically compared within-subjects via paired samples t-tests and correlated to social anxiety measures. Additionally, regression analyses assessed the effect of VS activation on anhedonia as well as the associative effect of peer victimization on VS activation and anhedonia. Results revealed that when in the presence of social stress (defined as the potential for negative feedback), socially anxious adolescents demonstrated significantly suppressed VS activation relative to baseline when anticipating feedback. Additionally, results indicated that the degree of reduced VS activation during anticipation was correlated to total changes in anhedonia severity across the task. Lastly, results demonstrated that overt peer victimization is a significant predictor of suppressed VS activation during anticipation of social feedback, but not during social outcomes. Taken together, these results identify potentially novel mechanisms associated with anhedonia and blunted reward processing in socially anxious youth that could be improved via interventions that target positive-valence systems. / Doctor of Philosophy / Socially anxious teens may be at a heightened risk for developing anhedonia – which means that they are showing a significant lack of interest in things they used to find interesting or rewarding. This is problematic, because the presence of anhedonia is associated with not doing as well in therapy and even with higher rates of suicide attempt. One area that may be linked to the development of anhedonia in socially anxious teens is social stress induced disrupted reward processing in certain regions of the brain that generally activate when people anticipate a reward. Despite this, there is very little research on the development of anhedonia is socially anxious teens and even less that focuses on biological and behavioral experiences of reward processing when under social stress. This study examines this potential stress-to-anhedonia pipeline by looking at a key region of the brain, called the ventral striatum, to see if social stress does disrupt reward processing in socially anxious teens, and, if so, if this disrupted reward processing is related to anhedonia. Through evaluating a total of 29 socially anxious teens who underwent a social stress task while completing brain scanning, the present study demonstrated evidence for diminished brain activation in the ventral striatum when anticipating rewards. Additionally, the present study showed that reduced brain activation in the ventral striatum was associated with changes in anhedonia severity. Lastly, results from this study indicated that peer victimization (or bullying) was a significant predictor of diminished brain activation in the ventral striatum. Taken together, these results identify potentially new markers associated with anhedonia and blunted reward processing in socially anxious youth that could be improved via interventions.

Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by an increase in risk taking. However, this is not always adverse, as risks can be classified as both positive and negative. Adolescence is also a period of time in which social relationships, particularly among peers, become increasingly salient, and as such, peer-related factors are often connected to risk-taking in adolescence. While peer relationships can provide adolescents with social support, they can also be harmful when they manifest in peer victimization. Thus, this study sought to understand the associations between positive and negative risk taking and relational and physical victimization in adolescence and young adulthood. Data were collected from 167 adolescents across five time points, approximately one year apart. Adolescents completed questionnaires that assessed their risk-taking perceptions and likelihood as well as peer victimization experiences. Results demonstrated that there were no significant cross-construct associations between positive and negative risk-taking perception and relational and physical peer victimization across adolescence. However, additional analyses examining positive and negative socially-related risk taking revealed a significant association between positive socially-related risk perception and relational victimization such that higher initial levels of positive socially-related risk perception predicted a slower decline in relational victimization across adolescence. Results also showed that overall, higher levels of risk-taking perception in adolescence predicted decreased levels of risk-taking likelihood in young adulthood, and that higher initial levels of physical and relational victimization in adolescence predicted higher levels of positive and negative risk-taking likelihood in young adulthood, respectively. Findings highlight the connection between peer victimization and positive and negative risk perception in adolescence, the potential risk-taking outcomes in young adulthood resulting from peer victimization experiences and risk-taking perception in adolescence, and most importantly, the differential roles of positive and negative risk taking in adolescence and young adulthood. / M.S. / Adolescence is a time in development where risk taking increases. However, this is not always adverse, as risks can be classified as both positive and negative. Adolescence is also a time in which peer relationships become especially important, and as such, peer-related factors are often connected to risk-taking in adolescence. While peer relationships can provide adolescents with social support, they can also be harmful when they result in peer victimization. Thus, this study sought to understand the associations between positive and negative risk taking and relational and physical victimization in adolescence and young adulthood. Data were collected from 167 adolescents across five time points, approximately one year apart. Adolescents completed questionnaires that assessed their risk-taking perceptions and likelihood as well as peer victimization experiences. Results demonstrated that there were no significant associations between positive and negative risk-taking perception and relational and physical peer victimization across adolescence. However, additional analyses examining positive and negative socially-related risk taking revealed a significant association between positive socially- related risk perception and relational victimization such that higher initial levels of positive socially-related risk perception predicted a slower decline in relational victimization across adolescence. Results also showed that overall, higher levels of risk-taking perception in adolescence predicted decreased levels of risk-taking likelihood in young adulthood, and that higher initial levels of physical and relational victimization in adolescence predicted higher levels of positive and negative risk-taking likelihood in young adulthood, respectively.

The primary purpose of this research was to examine the long-term relations between peer victimization and internalizing symptoms (anxiety and depression) in middle school children. Furthermore, this study intended to determine the potential roles of self-worth, self-acceptance, and social supports in moderating or mediating these proposed relations. At time one, 280 sixth grade students participated and at follow up, 77 eighth grade children were participants. All children were from the same public middle school and completed self-report measures representing the constructs previously described. Reported levels of peer victimization were found to be similar to those reported in previous studies. Significant concurrent correlations were found between the sixth grade predictor variables (victimization, self-worth, social acceptance, social supports). Sixth grade reported peer victimization was also significantly associated with eighth grade depression for boys and eighth grade social anxiety for girls. Tests of mediation supported the role of global self-worth for boys and social acceptance for girls. Teacher support served a significant moderating role for boys' peer victimization-internalizing symptom (depression and social anxiety) relation. In both cases, boys reported fewer internalizing symptoms when peer victimization was low and teacher support was high. Findings are integrated into the literature regarding peer victimization and internalizing difficulties. / Ph. D.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationships between physical and emotional peer victimization, parental and peer support and depressive symptoms. The moderating role of parental and peer support and gender differences in such moderation were the focus of the study in examining the association between peer victimization forms and depressive symptoms. Two hundred and sixty one youths (ages 10-14) completed self report measures of parental and peer support and depressive symptoms and were interviewed about their victimization experiences. Physical victimization rates were higher for boys whereas girls reported higher emotional victimization experiences and higher peer support than boys did. Correlations indicated that the experience of physical and emotional victimization by peer is linked to depressive symptoms. For boys, but not for girls, a significant moderation effect indicated that physical victimization was significantly related to depressive symptoms among youths with low peer support whereas physical victimization was not related to depressive symptoms among youths with high peer support. There were significant main effects of parental and peer support for both genders suggesting the importance of such support against depressive symptoms. The study's findings contribute to the literature regarding peer victimization's effects on mental health by illustrating the beneficial effect of parent and peer support during adolescence. / Master of Science

The primary purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationships among peer victimization, global self-worth, social support, and internalizing behaviors (e.g., anxiety, social anxiety, and depression). Of particular interest were the potential mediating and moderating roles of global self-worth and social support in the anticipated relationships between peer victimization and internalizing symptoms. All sixth grade children from a public middle school completed self-report measures representing the constructs previously described. Reported levels of peer victimization were found to be similar to those reported in previous studies. In addition, significant associations were found among all variables of interest, with the exception of social support and total anxiety. Global self-worth was found to partially mediate the peer victimization-social anxiety and peer victimization-depression relationships. These findings suggest that victimization experiences may negatively influence children's views of themselves and help explain the elevated levels of depression and social anxiety also reported by them. Furthermore, global self-worth moderated the peer victimization-total anxiety relationship, such that children with higher global self-worth reported fewer total anxiety symptoms than children with lower global self-worth. However, analyses failed to support the role of social support as either a mediator or moderator in the relationships examined. Findings are integrated into the literature regarding peer victimization and internalizing symptomology. / Master of Science