Sociodemographic variations in the linkage between emotion regulation and peer victimization

ABSTRACT

Sociodemographic variables may have important implications for understanding the role of global and discrete-level emotion regulation ability in the prediction of elementary school children’s peer victimization. We tested this hypothesis in a sample of 109 elementary school children from economically and racially diverse backgrounds. There was a positive relation between sadness regulation and overt victimization for children in early elementary grades, but not for children in later grades. In addition, there was a positive relation between sadness regulation and relational victimization for boys and a negative association between the two variables for girls. Girls were rated higher than boys on global emotion regulation ability. In addition, economically disadvantaged children reported more relational victimization than their more affluent peers. Affluent children also received higher ratings on global emotion regulation as well as sadness regulation. Anger regulation was also positively associated with overt victimization.

KEYWORDS:

• Peer victimization
• bullying
• emotion regulation ability
• sociodemographic factors

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the students who participated in this research for their cooperation. The authors are also grateful to the numerous research assistants who helped to collect the data described in this article.