Peer Rejection During Adolescence: Psychological Long-Term Effects—A Brief Report

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to examine the psychological long-term effects of social peer rejection (SPR) experienced during adolescence as retrospectively perceived by young adults. A convenient sample of 387 undergraduate university students were administered self-report questionnaires consisting of the following measures: demographic variables, traumatic life events, SPR, PTSD, depression, potency and the belief in the existence of social support. Results indicated that about one-third of the participants reported having experienced SPR during adolescence. They perceived it as their most traumatic event. SPR and the belief in the existence of social support determined the PTSD severity, whereas the SPR, potency, and PTSD determined the level of depression.

This study was supported by a grant from The Isreal Foundation Trustee.

Notes

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rachel Lev-Wiesel

Rachel Lev-Wiesel is an associate professor in the Department of Social Work, Ben Gurion University. She serves as the director of the Art Therapy Graduate Program within the Social Work Department. Her main research interests are trauma, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and use of drawings for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

Orit Nuttman-Shwartz

Orit Nuttman-Shwartz is the head of the Social Work Department at Sapir Academic College and a lecturer in the Spitzer Department of Social Work at Ben Gurion University of the Negev. Her fields of interests are social trauma and group work and therapy.

Rotem Sternberg

Rotem Sternberg is a doctoral student in the Department of Social Work, Ben Gurion University. She is a social worker in the Eshkol Welfare Department in Eshkol municipality in Israel, in charge of children at risk.