Protecting Youth Against the Adverse Effects of Peer Victimization: Why Do Parents Matter?

Family adversity and co-occurring pain, psychological, and somatic symptom trajectories from late childhood through early adolescence

This study examined the relative impact of earlier versus proximal childhood exposures to family adversities (parental health problems, family conflict, financial hardship, abuse, violence) and supportive caregiving (warm and supportive parenting behaviors) on youths' symptom trajectories across early adolescence. We used parent-reported survey data to differentiate co-occurring Pain, Psychological, and Somatic Symptom (Pain-PSS) trajectories among youth in the longitudinal Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study® (2016-2022). Family adversities and supportive caregiving were derived from youth and parent surveys and coded as occurring earlier (by age 9-11yrs; baseline) or proximally (occurring during study follow-up years 1-4; by age 11-15yrs). Sequential modeling determined whether proximal exposures mediated the effects of earlier exposures on youths' Pain-PSS trajectories (data reflect adjusted relative risk ratios (adj. RRR [95% confidence interval]). Four Pain-PSS trajectories were differentiated among 7,546 youth, 14.3% of whom were classified with High Pain/High PSS. Earlier exposure to any family adversity increased the risk for higher Pain-PSS relative to the lowest symptom trajectory (e.g., parental mental health or somatic problems increased the relative risk for a High Pain/High PSS trajectory to 3.85 [2.84, 5.22] and 5.75 [4.36, 7.58], respectively). Most proximal exposures increased the risk for higher symptom trajectories, fully or partially mediating effects of earlier exposures. Higher proximal supportive caregiving lowered the risk for the High Pain/High PSS trajectory by 80%, fully mediating the impact of earlier caregiving. Findings suggest that family adversities and supportive caregiving may be important interventional targets to lower the risk for co-occurring symptom persistence across early adolescence.

Maternal disapproval of friends in response to child conduct problems damages the peer status of pre- and early adolescents

BACKGROUND

Herein, we consider the hypothesis that mothers harm peer relations when they respond to child conduct problems by expressing disapproval of friends, which exacerbates the behavior problems they were presumably attempting to deter.

METHODS

A community sample of Lithuanian adolescents (292 boys and 270 girls, aged 9-14 years) completed surveys three times during an academic year. Classmate nominations indexed peer status (acceptance and rejection), self-reports described perceived maternal disapproval of friends, and peer nominations and self-reports separately gauged conduct problems.

RESULTS

Over the course of a school year: (a) conduct problems were associated with subsequent increases in perceived maternal friend disapproval; (b) perceived maternal friend disapproval was associated with subsequent decreases in peer status; and (c) low peer status was associated with subsequent increases in conduct problems. Full longitudinal, random-intercept cross-lagged panel mediation models confirmed that mothers who disapproved of friends were sources of peer difficulties that culminated in conduct problems and intermediaries whose response to child conduct problems damaged peer relations. Findings were stronger for peer rejection than for peer acceptance, suggesting that peers actively dislike those with mothers who intervene in peer relationships.

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal disapproval of friends in response to child conduct problems damages the child's standing among peers, which then exacerbates behavior problems. This consequential cascade underscores the need for parent education about the potential deleterious consequences of well-intentioned interference in peer relations. Practitioners should be prepared to offer constructive, alternative solutions when youth present behavior problems.

Profiles of Peer-Rejected Individuals: Their Attitudes toward the Intellectual Disability Population and the Mediating Role of Resilience

Literature shows that public perceptions toward people with intellectual disability (ID) tend to be negative, perhaps more so than toward any other population with disabilities, causing severe consequences on the quality of life of these people. Understanding factors associated with these attitudes may contribute to better integration of the ID population into society. This study focuses on the predictive role of school-age peer rejection and contemporaneous familial support on attitudes toward people with ID. Specifically, it aims to identify distinct profiles of people who experienced peer rejection during their school years and who experienced various levels of familial support during the rejection period, and to examine the disparities between these profiles regarding attitudes toward people with ID. An additional goal is to examine whether resilience can mediate the association between profiles of peer-rejected individuals and their attitudes toward individuals with ID. The research sample comprised 1063 Israeli adults reporting various levels of peer rejection during school years. Cluster analysis revealed two profiles of peer-rejected individuals that significantly differ in the level of familial support provided in the face of peer rejection. In accordance with the hypotheses, attitudes of peer-rejected individuals with poor familial support were more negative than those with high familial support and the mediating effect of resilience was significant. Findings emphasize the protective role of familial support in the face of peer rejection, contributing to the emerging literature that deals with the long-term effects of peer rejection and poor resiliency resources on negative attitudes toward out-groups.

Longitudinal study of peer victimization, social support, and mental health during early adolescence

BACKGROUND

Peer victimization predicts the development of mental health symptoms in the transition to adolescence, but it is unclear whether and how parents and school environments can buffer this link.

METHODS

We analyzed two-year longitudinal data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, involving a diverse sample of 11 844 children across the United States (average at baseline = 9.91 years; standard deviation = 0.63; range = 8.92-11.08; complete case sample = 8385). Longitudinal associations between peer victimization and two-year changes in mental health symptoms of major depression disorder (MDD), separation anxiety (SA), prodromal psychosis (PP), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were examined including a wide range of covariates. Mixed linear models were used to test for the moderating effects of parental warmth and prosocial school environment.

RESULTS

20% of children experienced peer victimization. Higher exposure to peer victimization was associated with increases in MDD, SA, and ADHD symptoms. Parental warmth was associated with decreases in MDD symptoms but did not robustly buffer the link between peer victimization and mental health symptoms. Prosocial school environment predicted decreases in PP symptoms and buffered the link between peer victimization and MDD symptoms but amplified the link between peer victimization and SA and ADHD symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Peer victimization is associated with increases in mental health symptoms during the transition to adolescence. Parental warmth and prosocial school environments might not be enough to counter the negative consequences of peer victimization on all mental health outcomes.

Childhood adversity is associated with reduced BOLD response in inhibitory control regions amongst preadolescents from the ABCD study

Adolescence is characterized by dynamic neurodevelopment, which poses opportunities for risk and resilience. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) confer additional risk to the developing brain, where ACEs have been associated with alterations in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) BOLD signaling in brain regions underlying inhibitory control. Socioenvironmental factors like the family environment may amplify or buffer against the neurodevelopmental risks associated with ACEs. Using baseline to Year 2 follow-up data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, the current study examined how ACEs relate to fMRI BOLD signaling during successful inhibition on the Stop Signal Task in regions associated with inhibitory control and examined whether family conflict levels moderated that relationship. Results showed that greater ACEs were associated with reduced BOLD response in the right opercular region of the inferior frontal gyrus and bilaterally in the pre-supplementary motor area, which are key regions underlying inhibitory control. Further, greater BOLD response was correlated with less impulsivity behaviorally, suggesting reduced activation may not be behaviorally adaptive at this age. No significant two or three-way interactions with family conflict levels or time were found. Findings highlight the continued utility of examining the relationship between ACEs and neurodevelopmental outcomes and the importance of intervention/prevention of ACES.

Bullying Victimization and Comorbid Patterns of PTSD and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents: Random Intercept Latent Transition Analysis

Many studies have examined post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depressive symptoms in adolescents under the background of school bullying, but not their comorbidities and changes over time. This study used random intercept latent transition analysis (RI-LTA) to examine the transitions in comorbid patterns of PTSD and depressive symptoms among 815 adolescents (45.0% boys; Mage-baseline = 13.69, SD = 1.60), who reported their symptoms in a 3-year longitudinal study. Three comorbid patterns were found: low symptoms, predominantly PTSD symptoms, and symptoms of comorbidity. Among these patterns, five trends were found through 3 years: stable low symptoms, stable PTSD symptoms, improving symptoms, worsening symptoms, and an inverted-U pattern. Age, time that parents spend with their child, being an only child, family income and experiencing relational bullying were predictors of these transitions. These suggest that patterns of PTSD and depressive symptoms are heterogeneous and may change over time since trauma events. Developing targeted interventions based on underlying factors through distinct patterns and transitions may help us better optimize and utilize intervention resources to alleviate symptoms from bullying victims.

Peer victimization and children's internet addiction in China: a moderated mediation model

Background

Peer victimization used to be considered as a crucial risk factor for children addicted to the internet. Whereas some victimized ones are function better than would be expected. Variability across individuals indicates that it is necessary to understand how children cope with being bullied and why they do not exhibit maladaptive outcomes.

Objective

We explored the underlying mechanisms by testing whether subjective well-being was a mediator between peer victimization and Internet addiction and whether the mediation effects conditioned on the levels of parent-child relationship (PCR).

Methods

Data were collected from 65, 868 elementary school students in China (Mage = 9.56 years, SD = 0.62, 54.0% male) using four questionnaires.

Results

We found that: (1) subjective well-being can partially mediate the relationship of the two variables; and (2) PCR can moderate direct path and second half of the intermediary process. These moderating effects were stronger for children with higher PCR vs. lower PCR, as a strong PCR can help children to deal with intense emotions and to access effective resources to obtain support.

Conclusion

This study deepens our understanding of how peer victimization leads to internet addiction, identifies a supportive PCR as a crucial factor that strengthens the resilience of child victims, and highlights the value of focusing on improving the relationship between parents and children in intervening internet addiction related to peer victimization.

Personality-specific pathways from bullying victimization to adolescent alcohol use: a multilevel longitudinal moderated mediation analysis

Bullying victimization is common in adolescence and has been associated with a broad variety of psychopathology and alcohol use. The present study assessed time-varying associations between bullying victimization and alcohol use through internalizing and externalizing symptoms and whether this indirect association throughout time is moderated by personality. This 5-year longitudinal study (3,800 grade 7 adolescents) used Bayesian multilevel moderated mediation models: independent variable was bullying victimization; moderators were four personality dimensions (anxiety sensitivity, hopelessness, impulsivity, and sensation seeking); internalizing symptoms (anxiety, depressive symptoms) and externalizing symptoms (conduct, hyperactivity problems) were the mediators; and alcohol use, the outcome. Results indicated significant between, within, and lagged effects on alcohol use through internalizing and externalizing symptoms. There were significant between and within effects on alcohol use through internalizing symptoms for adolescents with high anxiety sensitivity and hopelessness, and significant between, within, and lagged effects on alcohol use through externalizing symptoms for adolescents with high impulsivity and sensation seeking. These findings implicate two risk pathways that account for how bullying victimization enhances alcohol use risk and emphasize the importance of personality profiles that can shape the immediate and long-term consequences of victimization.

Peer facilitation of emotion regulation in adolescence

Emotion regulation is particularly important for adolescents as they undergo normative developmental changes in affective systems and experience heightened risk for psychopathology. Despite a high need for emotion regulation during adolescence, commonly studied emotion regulation strategies like cognitive reappraisal are less beneficial for adolescents than adults because they rely on neural regions that are still developing during this period (i.e., lateral prefrontal cortex). However, adolescence is also marked by increased valuation of peer relationships and sensitivity to social information and cues. In the present review, we synthesize research examining emotion regulation and peer influence across development to suggest that sensitivity to peers during adolescence could be leveraged to improve emotion regulation for this population. We first discuss developmental trends related to emotion regulation at the level of behavior and brain in adolescents, using cognitive reappraisal as an exemplar emotion regulation strategy. Next, we discuss social influences on adolescent brain development, describing caregiver influence and increasing susceptibility to peer influence, to describe how adolescent sensitivity to social inputs represents both a window of vulnerability and opportunity. Finally, we conclude by describing the promise of social (i.e., peer-based) interventions for enhancing emotion regulation in adolescence.

The relationship between parent-child relationship and peer victimization: a multiple mediation model through peer relationship and depression

Introduction

Peer victimization is a highly prevalent worldwide issue with cross-cultural characteristics. Parent-child relationship and peer victimization is known to be interrelated, but how they influence each other remains unclear. This study explored the mechanisms of peer victimization related to parent-child relationship.

Methods

A total of 58,756 fourth grade students aged 10-12 years (10.83 ± 0.83, 54.4% males) from China completed four questionnaires. A multiple mediator model was tested, in which the two variables influenced each other through the mediating factors of peer relationship and depression.

Results

Peer victimization was indirectly negatively impacted by parent-child relationship through two chain mediating factors of peer relationship and depression: (1) the mediational path through peer relationship with an effect size of 44.66%; (2) the mediational path through depression with an effect size of 21.64%; and (3) the mediational path through peer relationship and depression with an effect size of 18.08%. The total mediational effect size was 84.11%.

Conclusion

The effect size through peer relationship is the strongest among the three mediation paths, suggesting that peer relationship is the key determinant in breaking the link between parent-child relationship and victimization. Poor parent-child and peer relationships may be risk factors eliciting peer victimization. Compared to internalizing behaviors (e.g., depression), low-quality interpersonal relationships maybe the root cause of the formation and maintenance of victimization. Thus, intervention programs against bullying should pay more attention on children's contextual factors, especially their relationships with their families and peers, among children at an early age.

The Effect of Parents and Peers on the Neural Correlates of Risk Taking and Antisocial Behavior During Adolescence

Social and neurobiological factors independently associate with the development of antisocial behavior during adolescence, yet it is unclear how these factors contribute to antisocial behavior in girls. Using a longitudinal sample of 45 adolescent girls (age in years at scan: M = 15.38, SD = 0.33), this study examined the contributions of parent-adolescent relationship quality and deviant peer affiliation from 6th-8th grades along with the neural correlates of risk taking in 9th grade to later antisocial behavior. High parent-adolescent closeness in early adolescence predicted lower antisocial behavior for girls in later adolescence via lower affiliation with deviant peer groups and less activation of the medial prefrontal cortex during risk taking. Findings highlight the enduring role of parents and peers during adolescence, and the importance of investigating social relationships alongside the brain to identify a holistic understanding of the development of antisocial behavior in girls.

The role of perceived threats on mental health, social, and neurocognitive youth outcomes: A multicontextual, person-centered approach

Perceived threat in youth's environments can elevate risk for mental health, social, and neurocognitive difficulties throughout the lifespan. However, few studies examine variability in youth's perceptions of threat across multiple contexts or evaluate outcomes across multiple domains, ultimately limiting our understanding of specific risks associated with perceived threats in different contexts. This study examined associations between perceived threat in youth's neighborhood, school, and family contexts at ages 9-10 and mental health, social, and neurocognitive outcomes at ages 11-12 within a large US cohort (N = 5525) enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM Study (ABCD Study®). Latent profile analysis revealed four distinct profiles: Low Threat in all contexts, Elevated Family Threat, Elevated Neighborhood Threat, and Elevated Threat in all contexts. Mixed-effect models and post hoc pairwise comparisons showed that youth in Elevated Threat profile had poorer mental health and social outcomes 2 years later. Youth in the Elevated Family Threat profile uniquely showed increased disruptive behavior symptoms, whereas youth in the Elevated Neighborhood Threat profile predominantly displayed increased sleep problems and worse neurocognitive outcomes 2 years later. Together, findings highlight the importance of considering perceptions of threat across multiple contexts to achieve a more nuanced developmental picture.

Advances in stress and depression research

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Stress plays a central role in the onset and course of depression. However, only a subset of people who encounter stressful life events go on to experience a depressive episode. The current review highlights recent advances in understanding when, why, and for whom the stress-depression link occurs, and we identify avenues for future research.

RECENT FINDINGS

In the last 18 months, researchers have taken a more nuanced perspective on the biopsychosocial mechanisms critical to the stress-depression link. For example, examination of specific facets of emotion regulation, including emotion regulation flexibility and interpersonal emotion regulation, has been critical to understanding its role in depression. Similarly, refined investigations of social support allowed researchers to identify distinct - and occasionally opposite - outcomes depending on the context or manner in which the support was provided. Researchers also documented that the stress-depression link was enhanced by dysregulation of several stress-sensitive biological systems, such as the immune system, microbiome, endocrine system, and neuroanatomical substrates.

SUMMARY

Recent studies highlight the importance of adopting a nuanced understanding of mechanisms and moderators that explain the stress-depression link. We also encourage continued engagement in collaborative, open science that uses multiple methods to study the full breadth of human diversity.

Perceptions of Positive Parenting Predict Increases in Resilience for Low Neurotic and High Agreeable Adolescents

This study examines whether adolescent personality moderates longitudinal associations between perceived parenting practices and changes in adolescent resilience. A community sample of 442 (224 boys, 218 girls) Lithuanian adolescents completed surveys twice, one year apart, beginning in Grade 11 (M=17.1 years old). Adolescent self-reports described resilience, personality (neuroticism and agreeableness), and perceptions of positive parenting (support and monitoring). Adolescent personality moderated associations between initial perceptions of parenting and changes in resilience. Monitoring and support anticipated greater resilience for adolescents low but not high on neuroticism. Monitoring also anticipated greater resilience for adolescents high but not low on agreeableness. Consistent with the vantage-resistance hypothesis, the results suggest that neuroticism and disagreeableness interfere with the child's ability to profit from positive environmental experiences.

Neurobiological correlates of the social and emotional impact of peer victimization: A review

Peer victimization is very common during late childhood and adolescence. Despite the relatively reduced number of studies, the neurobiological underpinnings of the negative impact of peer victimization experiences have received increasing attention in recent years. The present selective review summarizes the most recent available evidence and provides a general overview of the impact of peer victimization experiences on social processing and decision-making at the neurobiological level, highlighting the most pressing areas requiring further research. Three key cognitive areas show a clear negative impact of peer victimization and bullying experiences: social valuation processing, reward and reinforcement learning and self-regulation processes. Victims show enhanced activation in key regions of the limbic system including the amygdala, rostral and dorsal anterior cingulate cortices, suggestive of enhanced sensitivity to social stimuli. They also show enhanced recruitment of lateral prefrontal regions crucially involved in cognitive and emotional regulation processes, and abnormal reward-related striatal function. The presence of psychopathology is a complex factor, increased as a consequence of peer victimization, but that also constitutes vulnerability to such experiences.

Connectedness to Family, School, and Neighborhood and Adolescents' Internalizing Symptoms

In the U.S., there is a strong national interest in social connectedness as a key determinant in promoting positive well-being in adolescents through building strong bonds and creating protective relationships that support adolescent mental health. To this end, this study examined whether, and to what extent, specific types of connectedness to family, school, and neighborhood were associated with internalizing symptoms (i.e., depression and anxiety) among a diverse sample of adolescents from disadvantaged backgrounds. The sample (n = 2590) was majority male (51%), with an average age of 15.6 years, and identified as Black (49%) and Hispanic/Latino (26%). The results revealed that adolescents who reported strong connections to their parent (β = -0.128, p < 0.001), school (β = -0.222, p < 0.001), and neighborhood (β = -0.116, p = 0.003) were more likely to report lower levels of depressive symptomology, with school connectedness exerting a greater influence. In addition, parent connectedness (β = -0.157, p < 0.001) and school connectedness (β = -0.166, p < 0.001) were significantly related to teen anxiety; however, neighborhood connectedness was not (β = -0.123, p = 0.087). The findings have important implications, which are discussed.

Stress and adolescence: vulnerability and opportunity during a sensitive window of development

Adolescence is a period of dynamic change across multiple systems. Concurrent maturation of neural, biological, and psychosocial functioning renders adolescence a time of heightened sensitivity to both negative and positive experiences. Here, we review recent literature across these domains, discuss risk and opportunity in the context of ongoing neural development, and highlight promising directions for future research. Finally, we propose that conceptualizing adolescence as a sensitive window during which plasticity across multiple systems is enhanced may support the identification of links between experience, neurodevelopment, and psychopathology.

Exposure to peer aggression and adolescent sleep problems: Moderation by parental acceptance

Many adolescents experience or witness aggression by peers at school. The purpose of the current study was to examine associations between exposure to peer aggression (i.e., peer victimization and witnessing school violence) and sleep problems and whether these associations are moderated by parental acceptance. Participants included 272 adolescents attending high school (M age = 17.27 years; 49% female; 59% White/European American, 41% Black/African American). Adolescents reported on exposure to peer aggression, parental acceptance, and two key sleep domains: sleep quality problems and daytime sleepiness. Results indicated that exposure to peer aggression was directly associated with poor sleep quality and sleepiness. Furthermore, peer victimization and witnessing school violence interacted with parental acceptance to predict sleep quality. Specifically, exposure to peer aggression was associated with sleep quality problems at higher (but not lower) levels of parental acceptance. The lowest levels of sleep quality problems were apparent at low levels of peer aggression and high levels of parental acceptance, but parental acceptance did not protect adolescents with high exposure to peer aggression against sleep problems. Findings illustrate the importance of considering moderators of effects and the conjoint roles of family and peer processes when considering individual differences in adolescents' sleep. Future research should examine whether parental strategies targeted to address peer victimization are protective against the detrimental effects of exposure to peer aggression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

How does peer adversity "Get inside the Brain?" Adolescent girls' differential susceptibility to neural dysregulation of emotion following victimization

Exposure to peer victimization is a traumatic stressor, with adverse consequences for mental and physical health. This prospective, multi-method, multi-informant study investigated how victimization "gets into the brain," as reflected in neural dysregulation of emotion during adolescence. Moreover, we examined whether certain youth are particularly vulnerable to compromised neural function (i.e., a pattern of positive amygdala-right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex [rVLPFC] connectivity linked to poor emotion regulation [ER] and emotional distress) following victimization. In all, 43 adolescent girls completed an implicit ER task during a functional brain scan, and reported on rejection sensitivity. In 6th-9th grades, teachers and adolescents reported annually on victimization. Results revealed that a history of elevated victimization predicted less effective neural regulation of emotion (more positive amygdala-rVLPFC connectivity) in girls with high but not low rejection sensitivity. Consistent with a differential susceptibility model, high rejection sensitivity was associated with particularly effective neural regulation of emotion (more negative amygdala-rVLPFC connectivity) in girls with low-victimization histories. A parallel pattern emerged for a behavioral index of ER. This research provides insight into one pathway through which peer adversity undermines emotional development in ways that forecast compromised future health, and identifies youth who are at particularly high risk following peer adversity.

A Systematic Review of Associations Between Adverse Peer Experiences and Emotion Regulation in Adolescence

Adolescence is a developmental period marked by changes in cognition, emotion, and social relations. For example, sensitivity to social feedback increases as peer relationships become more important yet less stable, leaving adolescents vulnerable to experiences of peer victimization and rejection. Given that prefrontal brain regions responsible for regulatory abilities continue to mature during adolescence, the brain is especially susceptible to environmental influences. As such, exposure to adverse peer experiences may undermine emotion regulation development. Thus, the present review sought to elucidate the association between adverse peer experiences and emotion regulation in adolescence (i.e. age 12-17 years). Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a systematic review of the literature assessing adverse peer experiences (victimization and rejection) and emotion regulation (including neurobiological, behavioral, cognitive levels of analysis) was conducted (Narticles included = 27). Results demonstrate that adverse peer experiences are negatively associated with emotion regulation processes, behaviorally and neurally. Although variability in definitions and measurement of constructs make nuanced comparisons between studies difficult, the present systematic review organizes this body of literature and discusses how promising theoretical perspectives, including the cognitive control of emotion model and social information processing theory, may help to explain this association. Finally, recommendations for future work to expand our understanding of these processes, and for intervention and prevention efforts (e.g., school-based violence prevention and socio-emotional learning programs, parenting practices) that may serve to ameliorate outcomes for youths facing adverse peer experiences and emotion dysregulation, are discussed.