Peer victimization among young children with disabilities: Early risk and protective factors

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the risk and protective factors of peer victimization among young children with disabilities. This study analyzed data from the Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study (n =1,130) to test a path model that included child, family, and school characteristics at Year 1 and peer-relation difficulties and social skills at Year 2 to predict peer victimization among children with disabilities at Year 3. Children's family and school factors had direct effects on children's poorer social behaviors and language development, which had direct effects on peer-relation difficulties, which in turn increased peer victimization. Children's prosocial skill development, facilitated by children's receptive language ability, protects children with disabilities from peer victimization. Intervention implications are discussed. © 2014 Council for Exceptional Children.