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Bullying norms have been shown to affect adolescents' decisions on different behaviors in bullying situations, but little is known about the differential contribution of perceived and actual bullying norms as well as their agreement. The present study investigated the effects of perceived and actual norms, along with norm misperceptions in participant roles in bullying. A sample of 890 students (337 fourth-, 223 fifth-, and 320 sixth-graders; Female 48%; Mage = 11.98, SDage = 0.82) from 34 classrooms in South Korean elementary schools was assessed at two time points: at the beginning (Wave 1) and at the end of the semester (Wave 2). Multilevel modeling results indicated that empathy as well as perceived and actual anti-bullying norms had unique effects on different participant roles in bullying. The agreement between perceived and actual norms also varied across classes, and bullying, victimization, and bystanding were found to be higher in classes where individuals misperceived the actual anti-bullying norms. Adolescents were more likely to defend in response to their empathy in classes with higher anti-bullying norms, while they were less likely to bystand in response to their empathy in classes where individuals accurately perceived the actual anti-bullying norms. These findings underscore that intervention programs can focus on correcting adolescents' erroneous perceptions and convictions about peers' anti-bullying attitudes to alleviate bullying and its negative consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School transitions provide contexts for adolescents to reconstruct peer relationships and re-establish social positions. Scarce research has captured the transition of aggressor and victim roles during this period and examined associated factors. To investigate the stability and shifts of aggressor and victim roles following the transition to middle school, this study conducted latent transition analysis with 1261 Chinese adolescents (32.6% female, Mage in Grade 6 = 12.1 years, SD = 0.7). Three subgroups were identified across Grades 5 to 8: aggressive–victims, victims and uninvolved. Adolescents were more likely to transition from aggressive–victim and victim roles to the uninvolved group during the transition to middle school compared to the transitions within the same educational phase. Males and those with insecure parental attachment were at higher risk of being and remaining in the involved groups. The findings underscore the dynamic nature of adolescent aggression and victimization and highlight the transition to middle school as a critical window for interventions aimed at helping adolescents disengage from aggression and victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescents use various strategies to help their victimized peers during bullying episodes. However, prior research has primarily adopted a variable-centered approach that examines the effect of each defending strategies separately and does not address whether there were different types of defenders who exhibit specific combinations of defending strategies and how these profiles related to youth's adjustment outcomes. Using latent profile analysis, this study identified defending profiles among a sample of Chinese adolescents (N = 1618, Mage = 13.81, SDage = 0.94, 42% girls) and examined whether these profiles differ on victimization experiences and depressive symptoms. The results yielded four defending profiles: nonaggressive defenders (15%), aggressive defenders (7%), average defenders (54%), and infrequent defenders (24%). Aggressive defenders and infrequent defenders exhibited the highest levels of self-reported victimization and depressive symptoms, whereas nonaggressive defenders demonstrated the lowest. There were no statistical profile differences in peer-reported victimization. Findings suggest that investigating the heterogeneity of youth using defending strategies is important for understanding whether defending actually puts youth at increased risk for negative adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive and negative leadership styles may influence classroom norms and be related to the school and psychological adjustment of children in general, and victims in particular. This study tested the relation between leadership styles and children's adjustment, and the moderating effects of leadership on the association between self-reported victimization and school and psychological adjustment (self-esteem, social anxiety, and depressive symptoms); and it tested for potential gender differences. Classrooms were classified into those with only positive leaders, only negative leaders, both positive and negative leaders, and without leaders. The sample contained 8748 children (Mage = 10.05, SD = 1.22; 51.2% girls) from 392 classrooms, in grades three to six, in 98 Dutch schools. Multilevel analysis revealed that, in general, children in negative leader classrooms experienced lower school well-being than children in other classrooms. In positive leader classrooms, male and female victims had lower school well-being. For psychological well-being, female victims had lower self-esteem and more depressive symptoms in positive leader classrooms. Male and female victims in negative leader classrooms did not suffer from additional maladjustment. These results demonstrate that negative leadership styles are related to lower school well-being of all children, whereas victimization in classrooms with positive leaders is negatively related to male and female victims' school well-being and girls' psychological adjustment (depressive symptoms); this is in line with the 'healthy context paradox'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research reveals that social anxiety may be predictive of bullying victimization, but it is not clear whether this relation stands for different groups of youth. The present study examines this association by employing a longitudinal design over 1 year and including the moderating role of developmental period (childhood vs. early adolescence) and students' immigrant status (native vs. non-native). T1 sample included 506 children (46.44% girls, mean age M = 8.55 years, SD = 0.55) and 310 early adolescents (50% girls, mean age = 12.54 years, SD = 0.59) recruited in schools in Northern Italy. Due to missing cases and drop-outs from T1 to T2, the final sample comprised 443 and 203 students from primary and middle school, respectively. Social anxiety and peer victimization were assessed through self-reported questionnaires. Results indicated that victimization at T2 was predicted by a 3-way interaction between T1 social anxiety, immigrant status, and developmental period. In particular, socially anxious early adolescents with an immigrant background were the most victimized. The results are discussed in terms of group dynamics and intergroup processes. The findings highlight the importance of personal variables in the cumulation of risks: social anxiety is more predictive of bullying victimization for immigrant early adolescents than for children or native early adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are traumatic childhood events that can undermine youth development, and are linked to chronic health problems, mental illness, and risk-taking behaviors in adulthood. ACEs are preventable, yet effective response strategies require comprehensive conceptualization and measurement of adversity. Although typically measured as individual experiences in the family and home (e.g., abuse, neglect), adversity also exists outside the home, in the many contexts in which youth development unfolds (e.g., communities, neighborhoods). Yet, such contexts and experiences are often absent in ACEs research. Using data from a nationally representative youth sample, this study addresses that gap, advancing a measure that contextualizes individual-level ACEs within social and structural domains of community-level adversity. Among 13,267 youth (mean age = 15.25 [range 12–18]; 51% female; 71% White; 13% Black; 10% Hispanic; 3% Asian; 2% American Indian/Multiracial), 61% and 73% were exposed to at least one individual and community ACE, respectively, while 15% of youth reported severe individual ACE exposure (≥3 ACEs) and 20% were exposed to severe (≥3) community ACEs. All ACE exposures were associated with problem behaviors later in adolescence, but youth reporting both severe individual and community ACEs were especially at high risk for later violence, delinquency, and other health-risk behaviors. These findings highlight that community adversity exacerbates the damaging effects of individual/family adversity and thus should be addressed in efforts to prevent ACEs and reduce their long-term harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Victimization can harm youth in various ways and negatively affect their friendships with peers. Nevertheless, not all victimized youth are impacted similarly, and the literature is unclear regarding why some victims are more likely than others to experience friendship-based consequences. Using five waves of data on 901 adolescents (6th grade at wave 1; 47% male; 88% White) and a subsample of 492 victimized youth, this study assessed (1) whether victimization leads to decreases in perceived friend support, and (2) the factors that explain which victimized youth are most likely to experience decreases in perceived friend support. Explanatory factors included subsequent victimization, victims' social network status (self-reported number of friends, number of friendship nominations received), and victims' risky behaviors (affiliating with deviant friends, delinquency, aggression, binge drinking). Random effects regressions revealed that, among the full sample, victimization was linked to decreases in friend support. Among victimized youth, subsequent victimization and deviant friends decreased friend support. Having more friends was associated with increased friend support among victims, though this association weakened as the number of friends increased. The results emphasize that victimized youth are a heterogeneous group with varying risks of experiencing friendship-based consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is unclear whether peer victimization in college interacts with genetic vulnerabilities or social support in predicting cortisol secretion. This issue was addressed using a sample of 162 Monozygotic and 237 Dizygotic twin pairs (54% females; 86% Whites, 6% Blacks, 6% Asians, 0.3% Native North Americans). At age 19, participants provided hair for cortisol extraction and reported about victimization in college and support by the mother, father, and best friend. Biometric modeling revealed that environmental influences on cortisol secretion were reduced and genetic influences exacerbated when victimization was high. Moderate to high maternal support mitigated the association between victimization and high cortisol secretion. The findings suggest that victimization in college contributes to physical "wear‐and‐tear", which may be counteracted by social support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pubertal development is associated with many psychosocial and interpersonal changes, including a dramatic rise in appearance-related victimization. Yet, it is unclear what aspects of pubertal development provoke victimization along with which, and when, youth are at heightened risk. The present study seeks to address this gap by examining the effect of pubertal asynchrony (i.e., temporal variation in an individual’s pubertal milestones) on appearance-related victimization and by determining whether associations between asynchrony and victimization differ by sex and pubertal status. In follow-up analyses, associations between pubertal asynchrony and different typologies of victimization were also assessed. Participants included 373 youth (Mage = 13.51 [1.62]; 40% girls, 60% boys; 61% White) drawn from an online sample. The results showed that more pubertal asynchrony was associated with more appearance-related victimization, especially for girls, but associations did not differ across pubertal status. Latent profile analyses of appearance-related victimization further suggested that asynchronous youth were more likely to be in profiles characterized by high appearance-related victimization as well as those characterized by high height-based victimization (boys only). The findings suggest that pubertal asynchrony contributes to appearance-related victimization in adolescence and highlights the need for targeted intervention efforts related to pubertal development and specific typologies of victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Awareness that high-status adolescents can be targets of aggression has grown in recent years. However, questions remain about the associations of the confluence of victimization and popularity with adjustment. The current study fills this gap by examining the joint and unique effects of victimization and popularity on aggression and alcohol use. Participants were 804 Dutch adolescents (50.2% boys, Mage = 13.65) who were followed for one year. High-status victims were more aggressive and drank more alcohol than lower-status victims. High-status victims were also more proactively and indirectly aggressive and self-reported more bullying than high-status non-victims. Thus, the findings demonstrated a conjoined risk of victimization and popularity for some types of aggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is cultural variability in how individuals make attributions for their own and others' behaviors, cultural variation in youth's attributions about peer victimization and their relation with internalizing problems has gone unexamined. To address this issue, adolescents from the U.S. (n = 292, 60% female, 79.5% White, Mage = 13.6, SD = 0.65) and Korea (n = 462, 50.2% female, Mage = 13.7, SD = 0.58) reported on their peer victimization, depressive symptoms, social anxiety, self-worth, and rated their attributions to vignettes about peer victimization. Multigroup confirmatory analyses found that Korean and American youth conceptualized characterological self-blame, behavioral self-blame, and externalization of blame similarly. However, Korean youth differentially endorsed each of the three types of attributions, while U.S. adolescents endorsed characterological self-blame and behavioral self-blame at similar levels. Attributions had unique relations with internalizing problems (depression, social anxiety, global self-worth) in each culture. In multigroup SEM analyses, characterological self-blame predicted all internalizing problems for U.S. adolescents, while behavioral self-blame was not uniquely related to internalizing problems. For Korean adolescents, behavioral self-blame significantly predicted all internalizing problems, whereas characterological self-blame predicted global self-worth only. The results suggest that attributions about victimization have different adjustment implications in Korea than in the U.S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a common form of negative interpersonal interaction in childhood, school bullying is closely related to individual negative cognition. Few studies have assessed whether there is an interaction between different kinds of school bullying roles and negative cognition. The present study administered four questionnaire follow-up tests among Chinese children over two years to explore the bidirectional relation and underlying mechanisms between bullying/victimization and negative automatic thoughts (about self/others). A total of 993 children with MT1age = 9.66 ± 0.72 participated in the study, including 647(65.16%) boys and 346(34.84%) girls. Results indicated a bidirectional relation between victimization and negative automatic thoughts (about self/others); negative automatic thoughts (about self/others) predicting bullying; negative automatic thoughts (about self/others) form two vicious cycles with victimization separately, in which victimization plays a mediating role. The findings suggest that considering improving children’s negative cognition of self and others is an important pathway to reduce the occurrence of bullying and victimization in children and to stop children from falling into the cycle of victimization, which is crucial for children to have healthy relationships later in adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual minority youth experience disproportionate rates of mental health symptomatology relative to their heterosexual peers. Less is known about why these disparities have persisted despite growing public awareness of sexual diversity. The developmental collision hypothesis states that increased cultural visibility of sexual diversity has accelerated the developmental timing of sexual minority identity formation processes such that they collide with early adolescence, a uniquely sensitive period for experiencing identity-based stigma and associated mental health vulnerability. To test this hypothesis, levels and relations between ages of sexual minority identity development milestones, frequency of LGBT-related victimization, and depressive symptoms were examined across three age-matched but cohort-distinct samples of sexual minority adolescents. Data come from three secondary datasets of sexual minority youth who were adolescents in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, respectively: the Challenges and Coping Study, the Victimization and Mental Health among High Risk Youths Study, and the Risk and Protective Factors for Suicide among Sexual Minority Youth Study (n = 1312; Mage = 17.34, SD = 1.30; 52% female). Adolescents from more recent cohorts reported earlier mean ages of several milestones but similar frequencies of LGBT-related victimization relative to those from less recent cohorts. Path analysis models showed that earlier milestones were associated indirectly with more depressive symptoms through LGBT-related victimization. Notably, earlier ages of self-identification and disclosure of a sexual minority identity were also directly related to less depressive symptoms. Few generational differences in relations between constructs emerged. Findings garner initial support for the developmental collision hypothesis and suggest that LGBT-related victimization, rather than earlier milestones themselves, increases mental health vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have called attention to the fact that popular youth are not immune to peer victimization, suggesting there is heterogeneity in the popularity of victims. Yet, no study to date has determined whether victims with different levels of popularity status can be identified using person-oriented analysis. Such analysis is critically needed to confirm the existence of popular victims. Further, there remains a paucity of research on internalizing indices of such popular victims, especially compared to other victim and non-victim groups. To address this gap in the research literature, the current study used latent profile analysis to identify subgroups of victims based on victimization (self- and peer-report) and popularity (peer-report). This study sought to verify the existence of popular victims and to compare victim subgroups on loneliness and self-esteem. Participants were 804 Dutch adolescents (50.2% boys, Mage = 13.65 years, ranging from 11.29 to 16.75 years). The results revealed six subgroups, including a group of popular self-identified victims. Popular self-identified victims were generally less lonely than other victims, but had higher loneliness and lower self-esteem than non-victims. Implications are discussed for understanding the victimization experiences of high-status youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most adolescents and young adults navigate seamlessly between offline and online social environments, and interactions in each environment brings with it opportunities for appearance concerns and preoccupation, as well as victimization and teasing about appearance. Yet, research has concentrated primarily on face-to-face victimization and its role in offline appearance anxiety symptoms in adolescents and young adults. To extend this to include cyber-victimization and online behaviors indicative of appearance anxiety, the present longitudinal study investigated the risk of face-to-face and cyber-victimization for offline appearance anxiety and online appearance preoccupation. Participants were 650 adolescents age 15 to 19 years (Mage = 17.3 years, 59% female) who completed two surveys over one-year. Correlations identified both forms of victimization as associated with offline appearance anxiety and online appearance preoccupation. Yet, in a structural equation model, face-to-face peer victimization, but not cyber-victimization, was uniquely associated with increased offline appearance anxiety and online appearance preoccupation from T1 to T2. Offline appearance anxiety and online appearance preoccupation strongly covaried and were bidirectionally associated over time. Female gender and age were associated with more anxiety and preoccupation. When gender moderation was tested, only the stability in appearance anxiety was moderated, with greater stability in females than males. Overall, offline and online appearance anxieties are highly interrelated and share a common risk factor in face-to-face appearance-related victimization by peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While perceptions of the legitimacy of formal authority have been found to influence offending, little is known about the extent to which such perceptions influence the related outcome of victimization. This study addressed this gap by examining how changes in legitimacy affected victimization both within- and between-individuals. This study used 7 waves of the Pathways to Desistance data (n = 1310; 13.85% female; age range 14–22). Youth who have committed serious offenses were surveyed at 6-month intervals during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. In the full sample, the effects of legitimacy on both victimization and offending remained largely stable over time within individuals. Sensitivity analyses revealed that more positive perceptions of legitimacy significantly reduce offending for boys and reduce victimization for girls during the developmental period under study. Consistent with prior research, between-individual differences appear to be more important than within-individual change for explaining both offending and victimization. The implications of the results for theory, future research, and early intervention for high-risk youth are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the characteristics and context of adolescent relationship abuse victimization across youth of different sexual and gender minority identities. This study sought to examine this in a national sample of 14–15-year-old youth. The sample comprised 3296 youth who reported having been in a relationship, of which 36% (n = 1197) were exclusively cisgender heterosexual; 41% (n = 1, 349) cisgender sexual minority; and 23% (n = 750) gender minority, the majority of whom were also sexual minority. More than half of all youth who had been in a relationship, dated or hooked up with someone had experienced some form of adolescent relationship abuse victimization. Gender minority youth, in particular transgender boys and non-binary youth assigned female at birth, were more likely to be victims of multiple types of adolescent relationship abuse compared to cisgender youth. Perpetrator gender varied for sexual and gender minorities and was more homogenous for cisgender heterosexual youth. Several factors were associated with adolescent relationship abuse for all youth, although alcohol use, and parental trust and communication emerged as particularly important for sexual and gender minority youth. Overall, findings address multiple gaps in the literature and contribute to the understanding of adolescent relationship abuse across different sexual and gender identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although prior research has indicated that peer norms for aggression enhance the spread of aggression in classrooms, it is unclear to date how these norms relate to students' classroom climate perceptions and school adjustment. Aggressive descriptive norms reflect the average aggression of all students in classrooms, whereas aggressive popularity norms represent the extent to which aggressive behavior relates to popularity among peers. This study examined the role of aggressive descriptive and popularity norms in the classroom climate perceptions (cooperation, conflict, cohesion, isolation) and school adjustment (feelings of belonging; social, academic, and general self-esteem) of popular, well-liked, and victimized children. Self-reported and peer-nominated data were obtained from 1511 children (Mage = 10.60 years, SD = 0.50; 47.2% girls) from 58 fifth-grade classrooms. The results indicated that aggressive descriptive and popularity norms both matter in elementary school, but in diverging ways. Specifically, aggressive descriptive norms—rather than popularity norms—contributed to negative classroom climate perceptions irrespective of students' social position. In addition, whereas descriptive norms contributed to between-classroom variations in some aspects of school adjustment, aggressive popularity norms related to increased school maladjustment for popular and victimized children specifically. Thus, aggressive descriptive norms and popularity norms matter in complementary ways for children's classroom climate perceptions and adjustment in elementary education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bullying experiences in adolescents could cause maladjusted developments like low self-esteem, which in turn could increase the likelihood of having bullying experiences. Examining these longitudinal reciprocal relationships by considering the co-occurrence of bullying experience is critical, but under-examined. The current study clarifies the longitudinal reciprocal relationship between adolescents' bullying perpetration, victimization, and low self-esteem. An autoregressive cross-lagged model was analyzed with data collected from 3658 Korean secondary students (47.2% were females, Mean age = 12.07, standard deviation = 0.27, range = 11–14) from the Seoul Education Longitudinal study in three waves (seventh to ninth grades). After controlling prior bullying perpetration, victimization, and low self-esteem, low self-esteem positively predicted subsequent victimization, and victimization also positively predicted subsequent low self-esteem longitudinally. However, low self-esteem failed to predict subsequent bullying perpetration, which in turn, failed to predict subsequent low self-esteem. After the prior bullying experiences and low self-esteem are controlled, their longitudinal association becomes clearly distinct. Victims of bullying may fall into a vicious circle, where after being victimized, they themselves feel unlovable or incompetent, and their increased low self-esteem is linked to subsequent victimization. To break out of this vicious circle and temporal stability of victimization, interventions focusing on victims' self-esteem would be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Country-level structural stigma, defined as prejudiced population attitudes and discriminatory legislation and policies, has been suggested to compromise the wellbeing of sexual minority adults. This study explores whether and how structural stigma might be associated with sexual minorities' school-based and adulthood experiences of victimization and adulthood life satisfaction. Using a sample of 55,263 sexual minority individuals (22% female; 53% 18–29 years old; 85% lesbian/gay, 15% bisexual) living across 28 European countries and a country-level index of structural stigma, results show that sexual minorities, especially men, reported school bullying in both higher- and lower-stigma countries. Higher rates of school bullying were found among sexual minorities living in higher-stigma countries when open about their identity at school. Past exposure to school bullying was associated with lower adulthood life satisfaction, an association partially explained by an increased risk of adulthood victimization. These findings suggest that sexual minorities living in higher-stigma countries might benefit from not being open about their sexual identity at school, despite previously established mental health costs of identity concealment, because of the reduced risk of school bullying and adverse adulthood experiences. These results provide one of the first indications that structural stigma is associated with sexual minority adults' wellbeing through both contemporaneous and historical experiences of victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While general criminological theories, including low self-control, social bonds, routine activities, and risky lifestyles are increasingly used to explain criminal victimization, there is some evidence these theories may omit important sex differences. To date, the empirical evidence remains mixed, which may be an artifact of methodological differences. This study used three-level meta-analytic methods to assess the use of various predictors derived from criminological theory on a variety of criminal victimization types, sample characteristics, and differences in research design. In a total sample of 166,650 females and 129,988 males in 115 studies using 95 unique datasets of adolescents (average age = 10–19), the meta-analysis revealed that elements of risky lifestyles are largely sex-neutral, while some sex-specific effects of bonds, routine activities, and prior victimization are observed. Implications for criminological theory, developmental and life course research on adolescent victimization, and avenues for prevention are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The healthy context paradox—an unexpected pattern in which victims' psychological adjustment worsens as the overall level of victimization in a classroom or school declines—implies that reducing the frequency of bullying or victimization incidents does not do enough to help victims of bullying. In light of this finding, it is imperative to identify protective factors that alleviate victimization-related distress in the peer ecology. The current study examines classroom-level peer victimization and peer-defending behaviors as moderators of the association between individual-level victimization and psychological adjustment. These classroom-level moderators were tested with a sample of 1373 adolescents (40% girls, Mage: 14 years) from 54 classrooms in South Korean middle schools. Consistent with past findings documenting the healthy context paradox, the results of multilevel modeling indicated that victimized youth experienced a lower level of depressive symptoms in classrooms where victimization was more common. Most importantly, bullied students reported fewer depressive symptoms, on average, in classrooms with relatively high levels of bully-oriented (i.e., confronting the bully), rather than victim-oriented (i.e., comforting the victim), defending behavior. These findings provide a more nuanced understanding of the role of peers' defending behaviors toward bullied adolescents and have significant implications for anti-bullying interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is empirical evidence supporting associations between exposure to violence and engaging in physically aggressive behavior during adolescence, there is limited longitudinal research to determine the extent to which exposure to violence is a cause or a consequence of physical aggression, and most studies have not addressed the influence of other negative life events experienced by adolescents. This study examined bidirectional relations between physical aggression, two forms of exposure to violence—witnessing violence and victimization, and other negative life events. Participants were a sample of 2568 adolescents attending three urban public middle schools who completed measures of each construct every 3 months during middle school. Their mean age was 12.76 (SD = 0.98); 52% were female. The majority were African American (89%); 17% were Hispanic or Latino/a. Cross-lagged regression analyses across four waves of data collected within the same grade revealed bidirectional relations between witnessing violence and physical aggression, and between witnessing violence and negative life events. Although physical aggression predicted subsequent changes in victimization, victimization predicted changes in physical aggression only when witnessing violence was not taken into account. Findings were consistent across sex and grades. Overall, these findings highlight the need for interventions that break the connection between exposure to violence and aggression during adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teen dating violence is a serious health concern in the United States. The goal of this study was to synthesize the current knowledge of risk markers for physical teen dating violence victimization through the use of a meta-analysis. A total of 50 studies, yielding 221 unique effect sizes, met the inclusion criteria for the analysis. Using Dutton's nested ecological model as a framework, a total of 29 risk markers for physical teen dating violence victimization were examined. There were enough effect sizes found to be able to examine 18 risk markers in the ontogenetic system, nine risk markers in the microsystem, and two risk markers in the exosystem. The results indicated that the strongest risk markers located in the ontogenetic system were substance use, risky sexual behaviors, having carried a weapon, suicide attempts, and disordered eating. The strongest risk markers found in the adolescents' microsystem were related to other forms of teen dating violence perpetration and victimization (i.e., physical dating violence perpetration, sexual dating violence victimization, emotional dating violence victimization). The two risk markers found in the exosystem (neighborhood disorganization and low socioeconomic status) were significant but small in magnitude. This study also compared the strength of 10 risk markers for teen dating violence victimization between male and female adolescents and did not find any significant differences related to gender. Examining which risk markers for physical teen dating violence are the strongest in magnitude can highlight various markers that might help identify adolescents who are being victimized in their romantic relationships and need additional resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely accepted that adolescents exposed to violence are more likely to become perpetrators of dating aggression. However, it remains unclear whether the effects of exposure to violence on later perpetration of dating aggression vary based on the nature of the violence exposure (e.g., witnessing versus being a victim) and the contexts of exposure to violence. Thus, the relationships between two types of exposure to violence (witnessing and victimization) in early adolescence and perpetrating dating aggression in late adolescence were compared within and across three social contexts: the home, the community, and the school. Participants included 484 youth (51% females; 81% African–Americans, 18% European–Americans, 1% Hispanic or Other). Information on exposure to violence were collected at Waves 1 and 2 during early adolescence (Wave 1: M = 11.8 years old; Wave 2: M = 13.2 years old) and dating aggression data were collected during late adolescence (Wave 3: M = 18.0 years old). The results showed that across all contexts witnessing violence was a more consistent predictor of later dating aggression relative to victimization. Being exposed to violence in the home either via observation or victimization was a stronger predictor of physical dating aggression and threatening behaviors compared to being exposed to violence in the school. These findings provide a deeper understanding of the roles of various forms of exposure to violence during early adolescence in perpetrating dating aggression later in the life course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bullying and victimization are manifest in the peer social world, but have origins in the home. Uncertainty surrounds the mechanisms that convey problems between these settings. The present study describes the indirect transmission of hostility and coercion from parents to adolescent children through emotional dysregulation. In this model, derisive parenting—behaviors that demean or belittle children—fosters dysregulated anger, which precipitates peer difficulties. A total of 1409 participants (48% female; Mage = 13.4 years at the outset) were followed across secondary school (Grades 7–9) for three consecutive years. The results indicated that derisive parenting in Grade 7 was associated with increases in adolescent dysregulated anger from Grade 7 to 8, which, in turn, was associated with increases in bullying and victimization from Grade 8 to 9. The findings suggest that parents who are derisive, have children who struggle with emotional regulation and, ultimately, with constructive peer relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are at heightened risk for bullying and other forms of in-school victimization. Anti-bullying laws are a potential policy mechanism for addressing this issue, yet there has been little investigation of the impact of such policies for this population using generalizable samples or quasi-experimental designs. The current study explores whether the presence of state anti-bullying laws predicts lower likelihood of bullying victimization, fear-based absenteeism, in-school threats or injury with a weapon, and suicidality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning high school students in the United States. Based on Youth Risk Behavior Survey data across 22 states from 2005-2015, coupled with data about the presence of general and enumerated anti-bullying laws that include sexual orientation as a protected class, this study analyzes this topic using a quasi-experimental design (linear difference-in-difference models). The results indicate that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning youth (particularly boys aged 15 or younger) experienced less bullying victimization in states with general or enumerated anti-bullying laws. There was modest evidence of a reduction in fear-based absenteeism among boys in states with such laws. However, there was little evidence of a relationship between such policies and in-school threats or injuries or suicidality. Further, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning girls’ likelihood of victimization, absenteeism, or suicidality was generally not related to the presence of anti-bullying laws. The results suggest that general and enumerated anti-bullying laws may help reduce bullying victimization for gay, bisexual, and questioning boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Victimization theories suggest parents can serve as guardians to protect adolescents from victimization, yet findings from studies examining the main effects of parenting variables on adolescent victimization are mixed. Prior research suggests that it is the combination of parental warmth and monitoring that produces the best results across a range of other outcomes. The current study used data collected from a sample of serious adolescent offenders as part of the Pathways to Desistance study (N = 888; 16.1% female; mean age = 15.92). Using the first two waves (baseline and 6-month time points) of data, we estimated a series of negative binomial regression models to observe the main and interactive effects of parental warmth and monitoring on adolescent victimization and the potential moderating influence of neighborhood disorder. The results indicate that the combination of warmth and monitoring reduces adolescent victimization, and that parental warmth may be particularly important for protecting adolescents in neighborhoods with moderate-high levels of disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth in early adolescence are highly concerned with being popular in the peer group, but the desire to be popular can have maladaptive consequences for individuals. In fact, qualitative work suggests that youth with high popularity goals who are nonetheless unpopular have negative experiences with their peers. However, little quantitative work has examined this possibility. The purpose of the current study was to examine if popularity goals were linked with physical (e.g., being hit) and relational (e.g., being excluded) victimization and peer rejection, particularly for individuals who strived for popularity but were viewed by their peers as unpopular. Late elementary and early middle school participants (N = 205; 54% female) completed self-reports of popularity goals and peer nominations of popularity and peer rejection. Teachers reported on students’ experiences of relational and physical victimization. Peer nominated popularity and gender were moderators of the association between popularity goals and negative peer experiences. Consistent with hypotheses, girls who were unpopular but wanted to be popular were more likely to experience peer rejection and relational victimization. Unexpectedly, boys who were unpopular but did not desire to be popular were more likely to be rejected and relationally victimized. The findings suggest that intervention and prevention programs may benefit from addressing the social status goals of low status youth in a gender-specific manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnitude of gender identity-related disparities in school-based outcomes is unknown because of a lack of representative studies that include measures of gender identity. By utilizing a representative sample generalizable to a broader population, this study elucidates the size of gender identity-related disparities, independent of sexual orientation, in school experiences associated with school connectedness and perceptions of school climate. Additionally, the inclusion of and comparison to results of a large non-representative sample allows for more direct comparisons to previous studies of the school experiences of transgender youth. The analyses in this study primarily draw on a sample of 31,896 youth representative of the middle and high school population in California who participated in the 2013-2015 California Student Survey (a subsample of the California Healthy Kids Survey, which includes the largest known sample of transgender youth). Over half the sample identified their sex as female (51.3%), and 398 identified as transgender (1.0%). The sample was racially and ethnically diverse: 30.7% identified as multiracial, 33.0% as White, 11.1% as Asian, 7.4% as Black, and 52.9% as Hispanic. Findings from multilevel analyses show that relative to non-transgender youth, transgender youth were more likely to be truant from school, to experience victimization and bias-based bullying, and to report more negative perceptions of school climate, though did not differ in self-reported grades. The findings have implications for improving school policies and practices to create safer and more supportive school climates for all youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although school security measures have become a common fixture in public schools across the United States, research on the relationship between security and adolescent victimization is mixed, with very few studies examining trends in adolescent victimization across time. Using two waves of data from the Educational Longitudinal Study 2002 (N = 7659; 50.6% female; 56.7% White, 13.3% Black, 13.5% Hispanic, 11.3% Asian American, 5.4% other race), results from a series of multi-level models demonstrate that adolescents in schools with more security measures report higher odds of being threatened with harm, and no difference in odds of being in a physical altercation or having something stolen over time. Although prior research has established racial disparities in using school security measures, results demonstrate inconsistent patterns in the extent to which adolescents’ race conditions the relationship between security and victimization. The findings are discussed in light of existing theoretical and empirical work, and implications for both research and practice are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minority stress, or the unique stressors encountered by sexual minorities, has a significant impact on the mental health and well-being of this population. One minority stressor, internalized heterosexism, refers to incorporating stigma against sexual minorities into one’s self-concept as a product of social bias. This minority stressor has been consistently related to worse mental health in sexual minorities. We evaluated experiences of internalized heterosexism longitudinally, over 24 months, in a sample of 450 young men who have sex with men (YMSM; age range = 16-20 years old at baseline). Latent class growth analyses revealed three classes: individuals with low-decreasing internalized heterosexism (57.1%), medium-stable internalized heterosexism (37.3%), and high-stable internalized heterosexism (5.6%). Multinomial logistic regression analyses revealed that some racial/ethnic minorities, non-gay identified individuals (i.e., bisexual/other), and individuals with less femininity and greater masculinity were significantly more likely to be in the medium- and high-stable internalized heterosexism classes. Higher victimization, as well as lower gay/bisexual community involvement, peer support, and outness predicted membership in the medium-stable internalized heterosexism class (relative to the low-decreasing class). Further, higher past 6-month victimization and lower outness were also predictive of high-stable internalized heterosexism class membership (relative to the low-decreasing class). These findings reveal that there is not a single trajectory of internalized heterosexism—the degree to which it changes differs across men and depends on demographic characteristics and interpersonal experiences. Furthermore, the results indicate interpersonal targets for future work aimed at promoting positive identity development and decreased internalized heterosexism for sexual minority youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a commonly accepted threshold of 2 to 3 times per month as a marker of bullying-involvement from noninvolvement, approximately 30% of U.S. students report being a bully, victim, or both. Although variation in the frequency of involvement exists, infrequent engagement (less than 2 to 3 times a month) is generally considered noninvolved. However, the question remains: Do these differences have implications for behavioral health patterns, including substance use, depression and school connectedness? The present study used a district-wide random cluster sample of 66 middle and high schools in a mid-size city. The study population consisted of 3,221 middle school (53.4%) and high school (45.6%) students, with 48.7% females, 44.6 males, and 6.7% youth identifying with another gender category. These youth were racially diverse, with the modal category being Black (36.0%). Based on student survey response, we report, (a) the frequency and intensity of bullying behaviors, (b) common patterns of involvement, and (c) demographic and individual-level risk factors associated with these patterns. Analyses resulted in nine bully types, with substantial differences in bullying-involvement intensity based on gender, race, school connectedness, and mental health. Perhaps most striking, the majority of youth (70.9%) were involved in some level of bullying perpetration, victimization, or both, when accounting for the accumulation of low frequency involvement (e.g., once, twice, or a few times) across multiple bullying behaviors. Implications for adolescent development and prevention are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To tackle adolescent bullying and identify students most vulnerable to being bullied, it is essential to examine both occurrences of bullying behaviors and students’ own likelihoods of reporting bullying. This study examines ethnic and gender differences in students’ odds of reporting bullying using the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, a nationally representative study of United States high school sophomores (N = 15,362; ages 15–19; 50.2% female). Compared to White and female students, minority (particularly Black and Hispanic) and male students report comparable or greater experiences of bullying behaviors (such as being threatened, hit, put down by peers, or having belongings forced from them, stolen or damaged), but are less likely to report that they have been “bullied.” These findings point to racialized and gendered differences in reporting bullying experiences such that indicators of “weakness” in peer relations may carry a greater stigma for minority and male students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the prevalence of intimate partner violence in emerging adulthood, literature focused on this life stage among Latinos remains limited. This longitudinal study examined acculturation; traditional gender role attitudes; use of alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco; and depressive symptoms in 10th grade as predictors of intimate partner violence perpetration and victimization among Latino emerging adults (N = 823; 58% female). Average age of participants was 15.5 years in 10th grade and 22.7 years in emerging adulthood. The results indicate important gender differences in intimate partner violence outcomes for Latino emerging adults. Higher U.S. acculturation predicted physical intimate partner violence perpetration among young men. More traditional gender role attitudes were significantly associated with psychological and physical intimate partner violence perpetration among male Latino emerging adults. Among Latinas, alcohol use in 10th grade predicted psychological perpetration and victimization in emerging adulthood. The findings have implications for developing gender- and ethnic-relevant prevention interventions focused on intimate partner violence among Latino adolescents and emerging adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patterns of adjustment for youth victimized by peers vary depending on whether youth are identified as victims through self-reports, peer-reports, or both. In order to provide more targeted strategies that may help mitigate negative consequences associated with specific victimization groups, more information is needed about how these youth perceive their school ecology (bullying and academic ecology), their feelings of school belonging, and their valuing of school. Based on the convergence of self- and peer-reports of victimization, we identified four victim groups from a sample of students in 5th grade classrooms ( N = 1360; 52.8% girls, 53.1% White, 34.6% Black or Hispanic, 12.2% Native American, Asian, or other) using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA): convergent victims (high self- and peer-reports), self-identified victims (high self-, low peer-reports), peer-identified victims (low self-, high peer-reports), and nonvictims (low self- and peer-reports). Convergent victims' perceptions were similar to nonvictims with key differences being convergent victims' greater willingness to protect peers being bullied but lower feelings of school belonging compared to nonvictims. Peer-identified and self-identified victims perceived differences in the bullying and academic ecology including peer-identified victims' greater willingness to protect peers and expectations for more peers to encourage bulling against them compared to self-identified victims. However, both peer- and self-identified victims perceived greater emotional risk of participating in class and had lower feelings of school belonging compared to nonvictims. Implications for supporting youth with divergent self- and peer-reported victimization status as they transition to middle school are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although research on dating violence has increased in the last decades, little is known about the role of romantic attachment and conflict resolution in understanding victimization by an intimate partner among adolescents. This study examined the relationships between insecure attachment styles, destructive conflict resolution strategies, self-reported and perceived in the partner, and psychological and physical victimization by a dating partner in 1298 adolescents (49% girls). Anxious attachment was related to both forms of victimization via self-reported conflict engagement and conflict engagement attributed to the partner among boys and girls. Moreover, both insecure attachment styles were also indirectly linked to victimization via self-reported withdrawal and conflict engagement perceived in the partner, but only among boys. The implications of the findings for promoting constructive communication patterns among adolescents for handling their relationship conflicts are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing immigration and school ethnic segregation have raised concerns about the social integration of minority students. We examined the role of immigrant status in social exclusion and the moderating effect of classroom immigrant density among Swedish 14-15-year olds ( n = 4795, 51 % females), extending conventional models of exclusion by studying multiple outcomes: victimization, isolation, and rejection. Students with immigrant backgrounds were rejected more than majority youth and first generation non-European immigrants were more isolated. Immigrants generally experienced more social exclusion in immigrant sparse than immigrant dense classrooms, and victimization increased with higher immigrant density for majority youth. The findings demonstrate that, in addition to victimization, subtle forms of exclusion may impede the social integration of immigrant youth but that time in the host country alleviates some risks for exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Native American youth are at an elevated risk of violent victimization. And because of their vulnerable position in society, they may also be at risk of experiencing a host of adverse consequences as a result of being victimized. Accordingly, using a subsample of 558 Native American youth and two waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (49.8 % female; 12-19 years at Wave I; 19-26 years at Wave III), we examined the effects of violent victimization during adolescence on a range of outcomes in early adulthood (poor health, depressive symptoms, suicidality, financial hardship, violent and property offending, alcohol problems, hard drug use, and marijuana use). We also assessed whether youth's attachments to family and to school moderate the effects of victimization on these outcomes. The results showed that adolescent victimization is linked to a small number of outcomes-poor health, depressive symptoms, and violent offending-and that the protective effects of social attachments are not widespread. Specifically, family attachments moderated the effects of victimization on poor health and depressive symptoms, and school attachments moderated the effects of victimization on property offending. These findings suggest that the consequences of victimization and the protective effects of social attachments may differ for Native American youth, and that further quantitative and qualitative research is necessary to understand these patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Associations between urban adolescents' victimization experiences and biological stress responses were examined, as well as emotion regulation as a moderator of these associations. Data from a 4-wave longitudinal study with a low-income, community-based sample ( n = 242; 91 % African American; 57 % female; M = 11.98, SD = 1.56 years at baseline) revealed that victimization, assessed over 3 study waves, was associated with an attenuated cortisol response to a stress interview at the final study wave, indicating that responses of the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis were dysregulated. Cortisol responses were moderated by caregiver-reported adolescent emotion regulation, suggesting that this modifiable protective factor that is taught in many school-based prevention programs could help reduce harm associated with HPA axis dysregulation linked to victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although studies on peer relations acknowledge that having friends constitutes a protective factor against being victimized by peers at school, it is not enough for this factor to operate. The quality of these friendships does play a role too. The present study explored the moderating role of friendship-quality dimensions (closeness, support, disclosure, and affection) on peer victimization and wellbeing. 614 young adolescents (4th to 6th graders, 50.1 % girls) were assessed three times over 1 year. Analyses were conducted to determine moderation effects, differentiated by gender. Results showed that only disclosure and support interact with victimization and affect wellbeing, especially for girls. Implications for studying peer relations, acknowledging gender differences, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Are early adolescent victims of peer-directed aggression youth who hold prominent positions in the social hierarchy or those who are socially marginalized? The present study tackles this question by testing for linear and curvilinear relationships between social network prestige and physical and relational forms of peer victimization for boys and girls. Participants were 952 middle schoolers (age range = 10-14 years; 49.9 % girls; 44 % Latino). Participants nominated victims and friends; friendship nominations were used to calculate social network prestige. Both hypotheses received support, with variation by gender. Girls high in social network prestige were highly victimized. For boys, those both high and low in social network prestige were highly victimized, whereas those at mid-levels of social network prestige were low in victimization. The findings are discussed in relation to a social dominance model of peer-directed aggression, and the practical implications are discussed in relation to protecting youth who are frequent targets of peer victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violence within romantic relationships is a significant public health concern. Previous research largely explores partner violence at one or two time points, and often examines a limited set of risk factors. The present study explored both individual and relationship-level risk factors and their associations with physical victimization and perpetration across more than 10 years using a community sample of 200 participants (50 % female; M age Wave 1 = 15.8). Additionally, we explored the effects of previous partner violence on the likelihood of future partner violence. Survival analysis indicated that externalizing symptoms and negative interactions (e.g., relationship conflict) were associated with both perpetration and victimization. Reporting an experience of partner violence did not significantly alter an individual's risk of future partner violence. Overall, men were significantly more likely to report victimization; perpetration rates did not vary by gender. The results highlight the importance of examining multiple levels of risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Victimization is linked to externalizing outcomes in adolescents and recent theorizing suggests that sleep plays a role in this relationship; however, there is little evidence examining sleep as a mediator. This study examines associations between victimization experiences and changes in aggression, delinquency, and drug use. Data were obtained from three waves of a school-based study with middle-school youth ( n = 785; 55 % female; 20 % African American; M = 12.32, SD = .51 years at T1), and path analyses were used to test the key hypotheses. Analyses controlling for major life events, demographic factors, and school site revealed that victimization indirectly affected delinquency and drug use, but not aggression, through its relationship with sleep problems. Further, the effects of sleep problems on drug use were specific to females. These data suggest that intervening to address sleep problems resulting from victimization may serve to reduce some forms of externalizing behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gay-straight alliances (GSAs) are school-based organizations for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth and their allies that often attempt to improve school climate for sexual and gender minority youth. This meta-analysis evaluates the association between school GSA presence and youth's self-reports of school-based victimization by quantitatively synthesizing 15 primary studies with 62,923 participants. Findings indicate GSA presence is associated with significantly lower levels of youth's self-reports of homophobic victimization, fear for safety, and hearing homophobic remarks, and these results are robust, controlling for a variety of study-level factors. The findings of this meta-analysis provide evidence to support GSAs as a means of protecting LGTBQ+ youth from school-based victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decades of research supports the presence of significant genetic influences on children's internalizing (emotional), externalizing (acting out), and social difficulties, including victimization. Additionally, being victimized has been shown to relate to further behavioral problems. The current study assessed the nature of the gene-environment relationships between the DRD4 gene, peer victimization, and externalizing and internalizing difficulties in 6- to 10-year-old children. 174 children (56 % girls; 88.6 % Caucasian, 3.4 % African American, 8 % mixed race or Mayan) and their parents were administered victimization and problem behavior questionnaires, and DRD4 was genotyped for the children. An interaction between genes (DRD4) and environment (victimization) was significant and supported the differential susceptibility model for verbal victimization and child-reported externalizing behaviors. Children with the DRD4 7-repeat allele were differentially responsive to the verbal victimization environment, such that those experiencing little to no victimization reported significantly lower levels of externalizing behaviors, but if they experienced high amounts of victimization, they reported the highest levels of externalizing behaviors. Thus, consideration of how genes and environment affect children's experiences of victimization prior to adolescence is essential for understanding the trajectory of both externalizing and internalizing behaviors during adolescent development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has revealed significant heterogeneity in the group-level peer outcomes associated with anxious-withdrawal, but little is known about possible sources of this heterogeneity during early adolescence. This study of 271 young adolescents (49 % female; M age = 11.54 years) examined whether the concurrent and short-term longitudinal (3 month period) associations between peer-nominated anxious-withdrawn behaviors and three group-level peer outcomes (overt victimization, peer acceptance, popularity) varied as a function of peer-valued characteristics (humor, prosocial behavior, physical attractiveness, athletic ability) and gender, after accounting for the effects of involvement in mutual friendships. Regression analyses revealed that the associations between anxious-withdrawal and peer outcomes were moderated by peer-valued characteristics and, in many cases, gender. For example, anxious-withdrawal was related positively to overt victimization for all adolescents who were high in prosocial behavior. But, anxious-withdrawal was related negatively to popularity for adolescent boys who were high in prosocial behavior and adolescent girls who were low in prosocial behavior. Anxious-withdrawal also predicted increases in acceptance for adolescent girls who were high in humor, but decreases in acceptance for adolescent boys who were high in humor. Several additional moderator effects were found for boys only. The findings highlight the importance of considering the unique constellation of characteristics displayed by anxious-withdrawn young adolescents in studies on peer experiences at the group-level of social complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has demonstrated that exposure to violence can result in many negative consequences for youth, but the degree to which neighborhood conditions may foster resiliency among victims is not well understood. This study tests the hypothesis that neighborhood collective efficacy attenuates the relationship between adolescent exposure to violence, substance use, and violence. Data were collected from 1,661 to 1,718 adolescents participating in the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, who were diverse in terms of sex (51 % male, 49 % female), race/ethnicity (48 % Hispanic, 34 % African American, 14 % Caucasian, and 4 % other race/ethnicity), and age (mean age 12 years; range 8-16). Information on neighborhood collective efficacy was obtained from adult residents, and data from the 1990 US. Census were used to control for neighborhood disadvantage. Based on hierarchical modeling techniques to adjust for the clustered data, Bernoulli models indicated that more exposure to violence was associated with a greater likelihood of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use and perpetration of violence. Poisson models suggested that victimization was also related to a greater variety of substance use and violent behaviors. A moderating effect of collective efficacy was found in models assessing the variety of substance use; the relationship between victimization and substance use was weaker for youth in neighborhoods with higher versus lower levels of collective efficacy. These findings are consistent with literature indicating that social support can ameliorate the negative impact of victimization. This investigation extends this research to show that neighborhood social support can also help to promote resiliency among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advancements in technology (e.g., social networking, texting) have created new ways for dating youth to relate to one another, including in abusive ways via 'cyber dating abuse.' Cyber dating abuse is a form of teen dating violence that overlaps with other types of abuse (e.g., psychological) but also has several unique characteristics. Given the phenomenon's limited presence in dating violence literature, we focus on identifying how experiencing cyber dating abuse relates to youths' individual behaviors and experiences (e.g., substance use, sexual activity), psychosocial adjustment, school connection, family relationships, and partner relationships. A total of 3,745 youth (52 % female, 74 % White) in three northeastern states participated in the survey and reported currently being in a dating relationship or having been in one during the prior year. We found that experiences of cyber dating abuse were most significantly correlated with being female, committing a greater variety of delinquent behaviors, having had sexual activity in one's lifetime, having higher levels of depressive symptoms, and having higher levels of anger/hostility. Further, cyber dating abuse appeared somewhat more strongly related to depressive symptoms and delinquency than did other forms of teen dating violence and abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many heterosexual youth report homophobic victimization but there is little longitudinal research to examine its mental health consequences for them. In a 7-month study across an academic school year among 572 heterosexual high school students (55 % females), we tested the short-term effects of homophobic victimization on anxiety and depressive symptoms with attention to gender differences. Homophobic victimization at the beginning of the school year predicted higher levels of concurrent anxiety over and above levels attributable to general victimization. Further, when controlling for initial anxiety and general victimization, homophobic victimization at the beginning of the school year predicted increased anxiety at the end of the school year for males, but not for females. Homophobic victimization across time points was more strongly associated for males than females, and this accounted for why initial homophobic victimization predicted increased anxiety for males but not females (i.e., it was indicative of mediated moderation). In contrast, homophobic victimization at the beginning of the school year did not predict concurrent depressive symptoms over and above general victimization. Similarly, although it predicted increased depressive symptoms at the end of the school year for males but not for females, the effect was weaker than for anxiety. These findings underscore that the effects of homophobic victimization are not temporary, particularly as they pertain to anxiety, and underscore the need to consider the nature of the victimization that youth experience, including for heterosexual youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]