Anxiety Sensitivity and Children's Risk for Both Internalizing Problems and Peer Victimization Experiences

Anxiety sensitivity among Black youth: A cross-sectional analysis of the direct and indirect effects of community violence exposure, neighborhood risk, parenting practices, and peer effects

Youth exposed to community violence and neighborhood stressors report devastating mental health consequences. Black youth are at greater risk and experience community violence at rates higher than other youth populations. An underexplored mental health consequence is anxiety sensitivity, the fear of experiencing anxiety-related symptoms, which contributes to maladaptive coping strategies and the development and severity of other mental health problems. This study utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine socio-ecological risk and protective factors associated with community violence exposure and anxiety sensitivity among low-income Black youth. Survey data are from a sample of 320 Black youth residing in public and subsidized housing in a Northeastern city in the United States. Results indicated that neighborhood risk, parenting behaviors, and exposure to delinquent peers were indirectly associated with anxiety sensitivity, which occurred through community violence exposure. Additionally, neighborhood risks had direct effects on anxiety sensitivity. Results point to the need to incorporate social and environmental factors in interventions addressing anxiety sensitivity among Black youth in urban communities.

Moderators of the Link Between Social Preference and Persistent Peer Victimization for Elementary School Children

OBJECTIVE

Current antibullying programs can reduce overall rates of victimization but appear to overlook processes that give rise to persistent peer victimization. Needed are studies that delineate the interplay between social contextual and individual difference variables that contribute to persistent peer victimization. We examined the extent to which two individual-difference variables - internalizing symptoms (IS) and anxiety sensitivity (AS) - moderated the link between children's average social preference score across the school year and their status as persistent victims.

METHOD

Participants included 659 4th-grade students (Mage = 9.31 years, SD = 0.50, 51.8% girls; 42.3% Latinx, 28.9% non-Hispanic White, 10.2% Pacific Islander, 7.7% Bi/Multiracial, 1.9% Black, 1.7% Asian, 1.7% Native American, and 3.4% unreported) from 10 public elementary schools in the U.S.

RESULTS

As expected, higher social preference scores predicted a decreased likelihood of being persistently victimized. Conversely, IS and AS were positively linked to persistent victim status. AS significantly moderated the link between social preference and persistent victim status such that for children with high AS, compared to those with AS scores at or below the mean, the negative association between social preference and persistent victim status was attenuated.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings provide evidence that children who experience high levels of IS and AS are at risk for being persistently victimized by peers and that high AS could signal increased risk for persistent victimization even when children are generally liked by peers. We discuss the implications of these findings for efforts to develop focused interventions for chronically bullied children.

Bullying in Adolescents: Differences between Gender and School Year and Relationship with Academic Performance

School bullying is a phenomenon of unjustified aggression in the school environment that is widespread throughout the world and with serious consequences for both the bully and the bullied. The objectives of this research were to analyze the differences between the different bullying categories by gender and academic year in primary and secondary education students, as well as their relationship with academic performance. To categorize students according to their bullying experiences, the European Bullying Intervention Project (EBIPQ) Questionnaire was used. The Chi-square test was used to compare the scores obtained by the students in the EBIPQ based on gender and academic year, and the one-way ANOVA test was used to analyze its relationship with academic performance. Research participants were 562 students from the 5th (n = 228) and 6th (n = 186) primary school years and the 1st (n = 134) and 2nd (n = 94) secondary school years. They were males (50.5%) and females (49.5%) ranging in ages from 10 to 15 years old (mean = 11.66, standard deviation = 1.206). The results showed statistically significant differences in gender and academic year, indicating a greater number of boys in the role of the bully/victim and girls in that of non-bully/non-victim. The most aggressive students were in the 2nd year of ESO (12–13 years old). Regarding academic performance, statistically significant differences were obtained that confirm the hypothesis that performance or average grade varies according to the category of bullying in which students find themselves. The academic performance of the non-bully/non-victim and those in the victim category was found to be higher than that of bullies and bully/victim students.

School Bullying and Association with Somatic Complaints in Victimized Children

OBJECTIVE

To examine the relationship between peer victimization and psychosomatic symptoms among school-going children.

METHODS

A total of 213 school-going children (Mean = 11.49 y, SD = 1.44) studying in grades 5 to 8 were recruited from 2 schools from a north Indian city. The children were administered the California Bullying Victimization Scale (CBVS), Pre-Adolescent Adjustment Scale (PAAS), and the Children's Somatization Inventory (CSI). The total score on the somatization inventory and the total number of psychosomatic symptoms endorsed were used as the main outcome measures.

RESULTS

Out of the 213 students, 42.7% were involved in bullying either as victims or as perpetrators. A little more than one-fourth (26.8%) were victims. A consistent positive association between victimization and somatic complaints was found. The most common physical symptoms reported by victims included headache (60.7%), chest pain (35.7%), stomach pain (33.9%), weakness (30.4%), and pain in arms and legs (19.6%). Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that 22.6% of the variance in the total CSI scores was accounted by the total victimization score, self-reported adjustment with school teachers, and academic performance (F = 20.97, P = 0.0001). The total number of functional somatic symptoms were predicted by the total victimization score, academic performance, and age of the child (F = 16.03, P = 0.0001). These variables together predicted 18% of the variance in the total number of symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Primary health care clinicians and pediatricians need to consider bullying as one of the potential risk factors when they encounter physical symptoms among pediatric patients in their clinical practice.

Psychological and Gender Differences in a Simulated Cheating Coercion Situation at School

This study aimed to analyze gender, anxiety, and psychological inflexibility differences of high school students’ behaviors in a simulated situation of peer coercion into academic cheating. Method: A total of 1147 volunteer adolescents participated, (Men: N = 479; Mage = 16.3; Women: N = 668; Mage = 16.2). The participants saw 15 s animated online video presenting peer coercion into an academic cheating situation, including a questionnaire about their reactions to face the situation. They also answered the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory for children and adolescents and the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y). Gender was associated with the behaviors facing the situation. Higher state anxiety and inflexibility were present in those participants that avoided aggressive behaviors facing the situation; on the other hand, trait anxiety was present in those who reacted aggressively. Finally, higher anxiety and inflexibility were associated with the used moral disengagement mechanisms, but also with peers’ perception as sanctioning or being against the participants’ decision. The most aggressive students were more flexible and less stressed than those who tried to solve assertively. Expectations about peers seem to be relevant to the decision-making facing moral dilemmas and peer victimization.

Gender, Anxiety, and Legitimation of Violence in Adolescents Facing Simulated Physical Aggression at School

We analyzed gender and anxiety differences in middle school students facing a physical peer aggression situation. The participants were 1147 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years (male: n = 479; female: n = 668) who watched a 12 s animation representing the situation and filled out a questionnaire to analyze the legitimation of violent behaviors and anxiety levels. We registered their decisions to solve the situation using a categorical scale that included assertive, avoidant, aggressive, submissive, and supportive behaviors. Gender was not associated with the adolescent's behaviors in facing a simulated peer aggression situation. However, male teenagers tended to perceive adults as sanctioners and neutrals; those who used the diffusion of responsibility and dehumanization to justify their behavior also showed a higher state of anxiety. Female teenagers who expected legitimation from their peers, presented higher anxiety as well. Educational interventions may use these results, helping adolescents to understand that their acts have substantial implications in the lives of others. It is essential to develop group interventions that modify how adolescents manage their conflicts and change gender stereotypes that significantly impact health. We highlight the need for linking families in educational programs facing the challenges of transforming the legitimization of violence in parental practices.

Genetic variation in neuropeptide Y interacts with childhood trauma to influence anxiety sensitivity

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) refers to a fear of the negative implications of anxiety, and arises due to gene-environment interactions. We investigated whether genetic variation in two neuropeptides implicated in the stress response, neuropeptide Y (NPY) and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide receptor 1, interacted with childhood trauma (CT) to influence AS.

DESIGN AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study examined the CT x genetic variant effects on AS in 951 adolescents who self-identified as Xhosa or South African Colored (SAC) ethnicity.

RESULTS

In Xhosa females, the NPY rs5573 A allele and rs3037354 deletion variant were associated with increased (p = 0.035) and decreased (p = 0.034) AS, respectively. The interaction of CT and the NPY rs5574 A allele increased AS in SAC female participants (p = 0.043). The rs3037354 deletion variant protected against AS with increased CT in SAC male participants (p = 0.011).

CONCLUSIONS

The NPY rs5574 A allele and rs3037354 deletion variant interact with CT to act as risk and protective factors, respectively, for AS in an ethnicity- and sex- differentiated manner. Our results reaffirm the role of NPY and gene-environment interactions in anxiety-related behaviors and reinforce the need for psychiatric genetics studies in diverse populations.