Do Children, Parents, and Teachers Agree in Reports on Victimization and Internalizing Symptoms? Cross-Sectional Triangulation and a Two-Year Prediction

Abstract

Concordance in reports on victimization and emotional problems is understudied. This paper explores child, parent, and teacher agreement in cross-sectional reports on children's victimization, anxiousness, and sadness, as well as longitudinal associations between these factors. In this population-based study of 419 school children, the informants reported that four in ten children were victimized. Venn diagrams displayed agreement in 19 out of 140 cases, indicating low concordance. On the other hand, logistic regression models demonstrated strong agreement on anxiousness, suggesting two to four times higher odds compared with non-victimized peers. Early anxiousness, sadness, and victimization typically were associated with the same adversity in adjusted two-year linear regression models, with a low explained variance (5–16%). The paper critically discusses sensitivity and specificity related to the high prevalence and low concordance of victimization and hypothesizes that signs of anxiousness may lead–or mislead–a significant number of adults to assume victimization.