Applying Depression-Distortion Hypotheses to the Assessment of Peer Victimization in Adolescents

Testing reciprocal longitudinal relations between peer victimization and depressive symptoms in young adolescents

A 2-wave longitudinal study of young adolescents was used to test whether peer victimization predicts depressive symptoms, depressive symptoms predict peer victimization, or the 2 constructs show reciprocal relations. Participants were 598 youths in Grades 3 through 6, ages 8 to 14 (M = 10.9, SD = 1.2) at Wave 1. The sample was 50.7% female and 90.3% Caucasian. Participants completed self-reports of depressive symptoms, and self-reports and peer nomination measures of physical and relational peer victimization at 2 time points separated by 1 year. The results were as follows: (a) depressive symptoms predicted change in both physical and relational victimization, but neither type of peer victimization predicted change in depressive symptoms; (b) depressive symptoms were more predictive of physical victimization for boys than for girls; and (c) boys experienced more physical victimization, and girls experienced more relational victimization. Expression of some depressive symptoms may represent signs of vulnerability. For boys, they may also represent a violation of gender stereotypes. Both factors could be responsible for these effects. Implications for intervention include the possibility that treatment of depression in young adolescents may reduce the likelihood of peer victimization.

Elevated appraisals of the negative impact of naturally occurring life events: a risk factor for depressive and anxiety disorders

The tendency to appraise naturally occurring life events (LEs) as having high negative impact may be a predisposing factor for the development of depression and anxiety disorders. In the current study, appraisals of the negative impact of recent LEs were examined in relationship to depressive and anxiety disorders in a sample of 653 adolescents who were administered diagnostic and life stress interviews at ages 15 and 20. Participants' appraisals of the negative impact of LEs reported at age 15 were statistically adjusted using investigator-based ratings to control for objective differences across LEs. Higher appraisals of the negative impact of LEs were associated with both past and current depressive and anxiety disorders at age 15 and predicted subsequent first onsets of depressive and anxiety disorders occurring between ages 15 and 20. In addition, appraisals of the negative impact of LEs were particularly elevated among those experiencing both a depressive and anxiety disorder over the course of the study. The findings suggest that systematically elevated appraisals of the negative impact of LEs are a predisposing factor for depression and anxiety disorders and may represent a specific risk factor for co-morbid depression and anxiety in mid-adolescence and early adulthood.

Susceptibility to peer influence: using a performance-based measure to identify adolescent males at heightened risk for deviant peer socialization

A substantial amount of research has suggested that adolescents' attitudes and behaviors are influenced by peers; however, little is known regarding adolescents' individual variability, or susceptibility, to peer influence. In this study, a performance-based index from an experimental paradigm was used to directly measure adolescents' susceptibility to peers. A total of 36 adolescent boys participated in a "chat room" experiment in which they ostensibly were exposed to deviant or risky social norms communicated either by high-peer-status (i.e., popular, well-liked) or low-peer-status (i.e., unpopular, disliked) grade mates who actually were electronic confederates. Changes in adolescents' responses before and after exposure to peer norms were used as a measure of peer influence susceptibility. These same adolescents completed a questionnaire assessment at the study outset and again 18 months later to assess their actual engagement in deviant behavior and their perceptions of their best friend's engagement in deviant behavior. Only among adolescents with high levels of susceptibility to high-status peers was a significant longitudinal association revealed between their best friend's baseline deviant behavior and adolescents' own deviant behavior 18 months later. Findings support the predictive validity of a performance-based susceptibility measure and suggest that adolescents' peer influence susceptibility may generalize across peer contexts.

Correlation of the experience of peer relational aggression victimization and depression among African American adolescent females

PROBLEM

This study aimed to examine if the experience of peer relational aggression victimization (PRAV) can be linked to feelings of depression in the African American adolescent female population.

METHODS

The sample included 241 college-age African American adolescent females assessed for PRAV and depression. Statistical analysis was carried out to determine the relationship between the variables.

FINDINGS

PRAV in this study population does exist as a detrimental phenomenon, whereby PRAV significantly correlates with depression, r (214) = 0.29, p < .01.

CONCLUSION

Nurses can assist the adolescent clients experiencing relational aggression by becoming knowledgeable on the presentation and manifestations of this experience.

Understanding and using informants' reporting discrepancies of youth victimization: a conceptual model and recommendations for research

Discrepancies often occur among informants' reports of various domains of child and family functioning and are particularly common between parent and child reports of youth violence exposure. However, recent work suggests that discrepancies between parent and child reports predict subsequent poorer child outcomes. We propose a preliminary conceptual model (Discrepancies in Victimization Implicate Developmental Effects [DiVIDE]) that considers how and why discrepancies between parents' and youths' ratings of child victimization may be related to poor adjustment outcomes. The model addresses how dyadic processes, such as the parent-youth relationship and youths' information management, might contribute to discrepancies. We also consider coping processes that explain why discrepancies may predict increases in youth maladjustment. Based on this preliminary conceptual framework, we offer suggestions and future directions for researchers who encounter conflicting reports of community violence exposure and discuss why the proposed model is relevant to interventions for victimized youths.

The relations among measurements of informant discrepancies within a multisite trial of treatments for childhood social phobia

Discrepancies between informants' reports of children's behavior are robustly observed in clinical child research and have important implications for interpreting the outcomes of controlled treatment trials. However, little is known about the basic psychometric properties of these discrepancies. This study examined the relation between parent-child reporting discrepancies on measures of child social phobia symptoms, administered before and after treatment for social phobia. Participants included a clinic sample of 81 children (7-16 years old [M = 11.75, SD = 2.57]; 39 girls, 42 boys) and their parents receiving treatment as part of a multisite controlled trial. Pretreatment parent-child reporting discrepancies predicted parent-child discrepancies at posttreatment, and these relations were not better accounted for by the severity of the child's pretreatment primary diagnosis. Further, treatment responder status moderated this relation: Significant relations were identified for treatment non-responders and not for treatment responders. Overall, findings suggest that informant discrepancies can be reliably employed to measure individual differences over the course of controlled treatment trials. These data provide additional empirical support for recent work suggesting that informant discrepancies can meaningfully inform understanding of treatment response as well as variability in treatment outcomes.

Peer status and victimization as possible reinforcements of adolescent girls' and boys' weight-related behaviors and cognitions

OBJECTIVE

Reciprocal longitudinal associations among weight-related behaviors and cognitions and peer relations constructs were examined among adolescent males and females.

METHODS

Participants included 576 adolescents aged 10-14 years, in grades 6-8. Measures assessed body dissatisfaction, negative weight-related cognitions, weight management behaviors, muscle-gaining behaviors, body mass index (BMI), likeability, popularity, and victimization at two time points, approximately 11 months apart. Multiple group path analyses were conducted to examine the reciprocal longitudinal associations between the peer relations constructs and weight-related behaviors and cognitions, controlling for participants' Time 1 BMI, pubertal development, and age.

RESULTS

Higher levels of body dissatisfaction were associated longitudinally with decreases in popularity. Higher popularity and lower likeability each were associated longitudinally with increases in negative body-related cognitions. Higher popularity was associated longitudinally with muscle-gaining behaviors for boys.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest highly popular and disliked adolescents may be at greater risk of weight-related behaviors and cognitions than other adolescents.

Targeted peer victimization and the construction of positive and negative self-cognitions: connections to depressive symptoms in children

The goal was to examine the relation of covert/relational and overt/physical targeted peer victimization (TPV) to each other, to positive and negative self-cognitions, and to symptoms of depression. In a sample of elementary and middle school children, TPV was assessed by self-report, peer-nomination, and parent report in a multitrait-multimethod study. Positive and negative self-cognitions and depressive symptoms were assessed by self-report. Confirmatory factor analytic results support the convergent and discriminant validity of these two types of TPV. Both kinds of TPV were significantly related to positive and negative self-cognitions as well as self-reported depressive symptoms; however, structural equation modeling revealed that the effects of covert/relational TPV accounted for the effects of overt/physical TPV. In exploratory analyses, positive and negative self-cognitions explained the relation between TPV and depressive symptoms.

The longitudinal consistency of mother-child reporting discrepancies of parental monitoring and their ability to predict child delinquent behaviors two years later

This study examined the longitudinal consistency of mother-child reporting discrepancies of parental monitoring and whether these discrepancies predict children's delinquent behaviors 2 years later. Participants included 335 mother/female-caregiver and child (46% boys, >90% African American; age range 9-16 years [M = 12.11, SD = 1.60]) dyads living in moderate-to-high violence areas. Mother-child discrepancies were internally consistent within multiple assessment points and across measures through a 2-year follow-up assessment. Further, mothers who at baseline consistently reported higher levels of parental monitoring relative to their child had children who reported greater levels of delinquent behaviors 2 years later, relative to mother-child dyads that did not evidence consistent discrepancies. This finding could not be accounted for by baseline levels of the child's delinquency, maternal and child emotional distress, or child demographic characteristics. This finding was not replicated when relying on the individual reports of parental monitoring to predict child delinquency, suggesting that mother-child reporting discrepancies provided information distinct from the absolute frequency of reports. Findings suggest that mother-child discrepancies in reports of parental monitoring can be employed as new individual differences measurements in developmental psychopathology research.

Emotion dysregulation as a mechanism linking peer victimization to internalizing symptoms in adolescents

Peer victimization experiences represent developmentally salient stressors among adolescents and are associated with the development of internalizing symptoms. However, the mechanisms linking peer victimization to adolescent psychopathology remain inadequately understood. This study examined emotion dysregulation as a mechanism linking peer stress to changes in internalizing symptoms among adolescents in a longitudinal design. Peer victimization was assessed with the Revised Peer Experiences Questionnaire (M. J. Prinstein, J. Boergers, & E. M. Vernberg, 2001) in a large (N = 1,065), racially diverse (86.6% non-White) sample of adolescents 11-14 years of age. Emotion dysregulation and symptoms of depression and anxiety were also assessed. Structural equation modeling was used to create a latent construct of emotion dysregulation from measures of discrete emotion processes and of peer victimization and internalizing symptoms. Peer victimization was associated with increased emotion dysregulation over a 4-month period. Increases in emotion dysregulation mediated the relationship between relational and reputational, but not overt, victimization and changes in internalizing symptoms over a 7-month period. Evidence for a reciprocal relationship between internalizing symptoms and relational victimization was found, but emotion dysregulation did not mediate this relationship. The implications for preventive interventions are discussed.

Peer Victimization and Depressive Symptoms in Mexican American Middle School Students: Including Acculturation as a Variable of Interest

This study examined direct and indirect victimization and depressive symptoms in a sample of 229 Mexican American middle school students. The effects of gender, grade, and acculturation on both victimization and depressive symptoms were investigated. The moderating effect of receiving prosocial actions from peers was also explored. Approximately 23% of students in the sample were victimized. Females were recipients of more prosocial behavior, but receiving prosocial behavior did not moderate the influence of victimization on depressive symptoms. Significantly more depressive symptoms were reported by victims than by nonvictims. Anglo-oriented participants reported significantly more depressive symptoms than did their bicultural classmates. Indirect victimization made the largest contribution to a regression equation predicting depressive symptoms. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Linking informant discrepancies to observed variations in young children's disruptive behavior

Prior work has not tested the basic theoretical notion that informant discrepancies in reports of children's behavior exist, in part, because different informants observe children's behavior in different settings. We examined patterns of observed preschool disruptive behavior across varying social contexts in the laboratory and whether they related to parent-teacher rating discrepancies of disruptive behavior in a sample of 327 preschoolers. Observed disruptive behavior was assessed with a lab-based developmentally sensitive diagnostic observation paradigm that assesses disruptive behavior across three interactions with the child with parent and examiner. Latent class analysis identified four patterns of disruptive behavior: (a) low across parent and examiner contexts, (b) high with parent only, (c) high with examiner only, and (d) high with parent and examiner. Observed disruptive behavior specific to the parent and examiner contexts were uniquely related to parent-identified and teacher-identified disruptive behavior, respectively. Further, observed disruptive behavior across both parent and examiner contexts was associated with disruptive behavior as identified by both informants. Links between observed behavior and informant discrepancies were not explained by child impairment or observed problematic parenting. Findings provide the first laboratory-based support for the Attribution Bias Context Model (De Los Reyes and Kazdin Psychological Bulletin 131:483-509, 2005), which posits that informant discrepancies are indicative of cross-contextual variability in children's behavior and informants' perspectives on this behavior. These findings have important implications for clinical assessment, treatment outcomes, and developmental psychopathology research.

Friends' knowledge of youth internalizing and externalizing adjustment: accuracy, bias, and the influences of gender, grade, positive friendship quality, and self-disclosure

Some evidence suggests that close friends may be knowledgeable of youth's psychological adjustment. However, friends are understudied as reporters of adjustment. The current study examines associations between self- and friend-reports of internalizing and externalizing adjustment in a community sample of fifth-, eighth-, and eleventh-grade youth. The study extends prior work by considering the degree to which friends' reports of youth adjustment are accurate (i.e., predicted by youths' actual adjustment) versus biased (i.e., predicted by the friend reporters' own adjustment). Findings indicated stronger bias effects than accuracy effects, but the accuracy effects were significant for both internalizing and externalizing adjustment. Additionally, friends who perceived their relationships as high in positive quality, friends in relationships high in disclosure, and girls perceived youths' internalizing symptoms most accurately. Knowledge of externalizing adjustment was not influenced by gender, grade, relationship quality, or self-disclosure. Findings suggest that friends could play an important role in prevention efforts.

Self-Perceptions, Discrepancies Between Self- and Other-Perceptions, and Children’s Self-Reported Emotions

Self and others’ perceptions of victimization, bullying, and academic competence were examined in relation to self-reported anxiety, depression, anger, and global self-worth in a non-clinical sample of second- and third-grade children. Previous studies document links between negative emotions and self-perceptions that are less favorable than others’ perceptions. However, the current study suggests that the impact of discrepant self—other-perceptions (in bullying, victimization, and academic competence) on emotions is complex, sometimes involving interactions between perceptions of self and other informants.

Depressed Mood and Maternal Report of Child Behavior Problems: Another Look at the Depression-Distortion Hypothesis

Caregiver depression has been described as leading to overreport of child behavior problems. This study examines this "depression-distortion" hypothesis in terms of high-risk families of young adolescents. Questionnaire and diagnostic interview data were collected from mothers, teachers, and fathers, and self-report information was obtained from youth between ages 10 and 14 years. First, convergent and discriminant validity were demonstrated for internalizing and externalizing multiagent constructs. Second, the depression-distortion hypothesis was examined, revealing a modest effect of maternal depression, leading to the inflation of reported son externalizing and daughter internalizing problems. The data suggest the need to consider multiple influences on parental perceptions of child behavior and psychopathology in research and clinical settings.

Peer victimization and social anxiety in adolescents: prospective and reciprocal relationships

This study used a 2-month prospective research design to examine the bi-directional interplay between peer victimization and social anxiety among adolescents. Participants included 228 adolescents (58% female) in grades 10-12. Three types of peer victimization were examined: overt (physical aggression or verbal threats), relational (malicious manipulation of a relationship, such as by friendship withdrawal), and reputational (damaging another's peer relationships, such as through rumor spreading). Adolescents' self-reported feelings of social anxiety and peer victimization experiences were assessed at two time points, in November and January of the same school year. Peer victimization was strongly related to adolescents' social anxiety, and relational victimization explained additional unique variance. Moreover, peer victimization was both a predictor and consequence of social anxiety over time, with the most robust results found for relational victimization. Limited support was obtained for gender as a moderating variable. Findings highlight the deleterious effects of peer victimization, especially relational victimization, and suggest avenues for future research and clinical intervention for adolescents experiencing such victimization.

Whose depression relates to discrepancies? Testing relations between informant characteristics and informant discrepancies from both informants' perspectives

This study examined whether mothers' and children's depressive symptoms were each uniquely related to mother-child rating discrepancies on a multidimensional dyadic construct: domains associated with parental monitoring (i.e., Child Disclosure, Parental Knowledge, and Parental Solicitation). Participants included a community sample of 335 mother/female-caregiver and child dyads (182 girls, 153 boys; 9-16 years old). Children's depressive symptoms were consistently related to each of the three domains of mother-child discrepancies. Mothers' depressive symptoms were related to perceived discrepancies in two domains (Child Disclosure and Parental Knowledge). Furthermore, these relations could not be accounted for by other informant characteristics (maternal stress, child age, child gender, child ethnicity). Findings provide important empirical support for theory suggesting that both informants' perspectives meaningfully contribute to their discrepancies in perceived behavior. Consideration of both informants' perspectives leads to valuable information as to whether any particular characteristic is an important correlate of discrepancies.

Life stress and the accuracy of cognitive appraisals in depressed youth

This study investigated the accuracy of depressed youths' appraisals of naturally occurring life events. Participants (49% girls; M age = 12.44 years) with clinical diagnoses of depression (n = 24), subsyndromal symptoms of depression (n = 29), and no symptoms of psychopathology (n = 36) completed semi-structured interviews of life stress. As predicted, depressed youth experienced more independent and self-generated interpersonal stress than did nonsymptomatic youth. Consistent with a cognitive bias, clinically depressed youth overestimated the stressfulness of events and overestimated their contribution to events relative to nonsymptomatic youth. Youth with subsyndromal symptoms demonstrated similar, although typically less severe, impairment than those with clinical depression. Results contribute to cognitive-interpersonal models of depression by illustrating the need to consider both realistic interpersonal difficulties and biased appraisals of experiences.

Associations between peer victimization, self-reported depression and social phobia among adolescents: the role of comorbidity

Associations of peer victimization with adolescent depression and social phobia (SP), while controlling for comorbidity between them, have not been sufficiently explored in earlier research. A total of 3156 Finnish adolescents aged 15-16 years participated in a survey study. Self-reported peer victimization, as well as self-reported depression (Beck Depression Inventory), SP (Social Phobia Inventory), and selected background variables were assessed. Frequency of overt and covert peer victimization was examined among four groups: (1) adolescents with depression non-comorbid with SP (DEP), (2) those with SP non-comorbid with depression (SP), (3) those with both SP and depression (SP+DEP), and (4) controls, with neither. A logistic regression analysis controlling for confounding familial (family moving, parental unemployment), and psychopathology (delinquency, aggressiveness, general anxiety) covariates was conducted to confirm the associations between peer victimization and the four groups. Among boys the comorbid SP+DEP group reported the highest rates of both overt and covert victimization, these being significantly higher than among both DEP and SP groups. Among girls covert victimization was again most frequent in the SP+DEP group, but overt victimization was not more frequent in the comorbid group than it was in the DEP and SP groups. In the logistic regression analysis depression without SP did not maintain an independent association with either type of victimization. Instead, SP without depression with ORs from 2.8 to 4.3, and SP comorbid with depression, with ORs between 3.2 and 11.4 had independent associations with peer victimization. In conclusion, overt and covert peer victimization seem to be associated with SP, rather than depression, among adolescents.

Moderators of peer contagion: a longitudinal examination of depression socialization between adolescents and their best friends

This longitudinal study examined peer contagion of depressive symptoms over an 18-month interval within a sample of 100 11th-grade adolescents. Three types of peer contagion moderators were examined, including characteristics of adolescents (social anxiety, global self-worth), friends (level of friends' peer-perceived popularity), and the relationship between them (friendship quality). Measures were collected using adolescents' and their friends' reports of depressive symptoms, adolescents' reports of social anxiety, global self-worth, friendship quality, and a sociometric assessment of peer-perceived popularity. Results indicated that among girls higher levels of social anxiety were associated with adolescents' greater susceptibility to peer contagion. Among boys, higher levels of friends' peer perceived popularity and lower levels of positive friendship quality each were associated with greater susceptibility to depressive symptom contagion.

Peer contagion of aggression and health risk behavior among adolescent males: an experimental investigation of effects on public conduct and private attitudes

Peer contagion of adolescent males' aggressive/health risk behaviors was examined using a computerized "chat room" experimental paradigm. Forty-three 11th-grade White adolescents (16-17 years old) were led to believe that they were interacting with other students (i.e., "e-confederates"), who endorsed aggressive/health risk behaviors and whose ostensible peer status was experimentally manipulated. Adolescents displayed greater public conformity, more internalization of aggressive/health risk attitudes, and a higher frequency of actual exclusionary behavior when the e-confederates were high in peer status than low. Participants' level of social anxiety moderated peer contagion. Nonsocially anxious participants conformed only to high-status peers, whereas socially anxious participants were equally influenced by low- and high-status peers. The role of status-maintenance motivations in aggression and risk behavior, and implications for preventive intervention, are discussed.

False consensus and adolescent peer contagion: examining discrepancies between perceptions and actual reported levels of friends' deviant and health risk behaviors

Adolescents' perceptions of their friends' behavior strongly predict adolescents' own behavior, however, these perceptions often are erroneous. This study examined correlates of discrepancies between adolescents' perceptions and friends' reports of behavior. A total of 120 11th-grade adolescents provided data regarding their engagement in deviant and health risk behaviors, as well as their perceptions of the behavior of their best friend, as identified through sociometric assessment. Data from friends' own report were used to calculate discrepancy measures of adolescents' overestimations and estimation errors (absolute value of discrepancies) of friends' behavior. Adolescents also completed a measure of friendship quality, and a sociometric assessment yielding measures of peer acceptance/rejection and aggression. Findings revealed that adolescents' peer rejection and aggression were associated with greater overestimations of friends' behavior. This effect was partially mediated by adolescents' own behavior, consistent with a false consensus effect. Low levels of positive friendship quality were significantly associated with estimation errors, but not overestimations specifically.