Abstract: Approximately 33% of American youth report serious instances of peer victimization. Peer victimization is linked to internalizing problems, specifically anxiety and depression. The goal of the current study was to evaluate hostile attributional bias (HAB) and self-esteem as mechanisms linking earlier peer victimization and later internalizing problems. The study leveraged longitudinal data to assess whether HAB and self-esteem at age 13 mediate the relations between peer victimization at age 10 and depressive and anxious symptoms at age 15.
Participants were 143 adolescents (mean age = 15.1 years; 52% female). At age 10, participants reported on their victimization using the Comprehensive Scales of Peer Victimization (Morrow et al., 2014). At age 13, participants completed a task assessing HAB (Kupersmidt, Stelter, & Dodge, 2011) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1989). At age 15, participants reported on their depressive and anxious symptoms using the Children’s Depression Inventory 2 (Kovacs, 2011) and the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (March, 1997).
Data were analyzed using path analysis in Mplus Version 8 (Muthén & Muthén, 1998-2017). Victimization at age 10 positively predicts internalizing symptoms at age 15. Self-esteem at age 13 mediated relations between victimization at age 10 and both internalizing symptoms at age 15. However, HAB did not serve as a mediator in the relations between victimization and the internalizing symptoms.
