The Role of Peer Victimization in Predicting Aggression and Internalizing Problems in Early Childhood: The Moderating Effect of Emotion Regulation and Gender

ABSTRACT

Research Findings: This study (N = 300; M age = 44.72 months, SD = 4.39) aimed to elucidate the distinct pathways leading to maladjustment in early childhood by examining whether or not peer victimization differentially predicts aggression and internalizing problems. Hypotheses were guided by the relational vulnerability model, which suggests peer victimization and relational aggression have deleterious effects on socioemotional adjustment. This study was novel in its hypotheses that these effects will depend on form of victimization (physical/relational) and that emotion regulation and gender moderate the association. Information was collected through naturalistic observations and teacher-report, and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results demonstrated that, across 12 months, relational victimization predicted increased anxiety symptoms, whereas relational aggression predicted decreased overall internalizing symptoms. Emotion regulation, but not gender, was concluded to be a significant moderator, where the effect of relational victimization on anxiety symptoms was significant for those with average to high emotion regulation skills. Practice & Policy: Examination of differential pathways leading to maladjustment in early childhood is critical, as early identification of risk factors, such as relational victimization, may improve developmental outcomes. Thus, this knowledge can be used by early childhood educators and providers in maximizing socioemotional adjustment across development.

Acknowledgments

We thank the PEERS project staff and the participating families for their contributions and support of this project. We would like to thank Dr. Sarah Blakely-McClure, Dr. Kimberly Kamper-DeMarco, Lauren Mutignani, Sarah Probst, Samantha Kesselring, Gretchen Perhamus, and many research assistants for data collection and coordination. We also thank Dr. Craig R. Colder for intellectual contributions in both theory and analyses. Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Science Foundation (BCS-1450777) to the second author and manuscript preparation was supported by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development grant (R01HD095832) to the second author. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the National Science Foundation or Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary Material

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Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.