Prediction and Prevention of Peer Victimization in Early Elementary School

Abstract

(from the chapter) Our own program of ongoing longitudinal research at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, The W.I.T.S. Longitudinal Study, is investigating the individual and context level differences (in classrooms and schools) that contribute to peer victimization in the early elementary school years (Dhami et al., 2003; Hoglund & Leadbeater, 2003; Leadbeater, Hoglund, & Woods, 2003). In this chapter, we hope to add to the understanding of how gender matters in predicting peer victimization by addressing the following questions: 1) Do gender differences in the levels and changes in peer victimization emerge in early elementary school? 2) Does gender moderate the effects of a school-wide prevention program on relational and physical victimization? 3) Does gender interact with individual differences in social competence or emotional and behavioral problems in predicting relational and physical victimization? We assessed children's reports of their experiences of peer relational and physical victimization, as well as predictors of these problems at three time points; namely, the beginning and end of first grade, and the end of second grade. Teacher and parent reports of the children's social competence and emotional and behavioral problems were obtained at each time point. We focus on the teacher reports in this chapter. Forty-four classrooms, in 17 elementary schools in a local school district are participating in the W.I.T.S. Longitudinal Study. Children's social competence (e.g., "gets along with other children," "shares toys or materials"), emotional problems (e.g., "appears unhappy or depressed," "is withdrawn, shy, or bashful"), and behavioral problems (e.g., "appears unhappy or depressed," "is shy or bashful") were assessed using teacher reports of children's behaviors on the Early School Behavior Rating Scale (ESBS; Caldwell & Pianta, 1991). The Social Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ; Crick & Grotpeter, 1996) was used to assess children's experiences of prosocial acts (e.g., "How often does another kid help you when you need it?"), relational victimization (e.g., "How often do other kids leave you out on purpose when it is time to play or do an activity?"), and physical victimization (e.g., "How often do you get hit by another kid at school?"). Children rated how often the events occurred on a 3-point scale. The findings from the W.I.T.S. Longitudinal Study, suggest that the role of gender in the prediction of relational and physical victimization is complex. Gender, alone, cannot be thought of as a direct explanation of the etiology of victimization. Rather, observations of gender differences in relational and physical victimization point to the need to investigate the individual or contextual risks and protective factors that interact with gender to give rise to or serve to maintain differences in the experiences of girls and boys. Consistent with past research, the W.I.T.S. Longitudinal Study shows that individual differences matter in determining which children are targeted for physical victimization by their peers. Boys (but not girls) who showed increases in social competence or increases in behavioral problems tended to be at greater risk for physical victimization. On the other hand, girls (but not boys) who showed increases in emotional problems were at greater risk for physical victimization. Few predictors of increases in relational victimization were found, although, the boys tended to report greater increases in relational victimization than girls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)