Loneliness and Social Functioning in Adolescent Peer Victimization
Interpersonal adversity such as peer victimization has been shown to have complex associations with other socio-emotional difficulties, particularly during adolescence. We used a multidimensional peer nomination measure on a sample of 440 (52% girls) 11- to 17-year-old (M = 13.14 years, SD = 1.26) P...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-07-01
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Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.664079/full |
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author | Telma Sousa Almeida Olivia Ribeiro Miguel Freitas Kenneth H. Rubin António J. Santos |
author_facet | Telma Sousa Almeida Olivia Ribeiro Miguel Freitas Kenneth H. Rubin António J. Santos |
author_sort | Telma Sousa Almeida |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Interpersonal adversity such as peer victimization has been shown to have complex associations with other socio-emotional difficulties, particularly during adolescence. We used a multidimensional peer nomination measure on a sample of 440 (52% girls) 11- to 17-year-old (M = 13.14 years, SD = 1.26) Portuguese youths to identify three groups, classified by peers as (1) victimized adolescents who showed anxious withdrawn behaviors in the context of the peer group (n = 111), (2) victimized adolescents who did not exhibit anxious withdrawn behaviors (n = 104), and (3) non-victimized adolescents (n = 225). We compared these groups on their peer-reported social functioning and on their self-reported feelings of social and emotional loneliness (with peers and family). Anxiously withdrawn victims were viewed by peers as more excluded, less aggressive, less prosocial, and less popular than non-withdrawn victims and non-victims. Non-anxiously withdrawn victims were considered more excluded than non-victims, and more aggressive than both anxiously withdrawn victims and non-victims. Finally, anxiously withdrawn victims reported feeling less integrated and intimate with their peers than non-withdrawn victims and non-victims, which is indicative of greater feelings of social and emotional loneliness at school. Youths in the current study did not report feeling lonely in their family environment. Our findings thus provide further evidence that victimized youths constitute a heterogeneous group, which differ in the way they behave toward their peers and experience loneliness. |
first_indexed | 2024-12-16T06:09:59Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-5d1e5182b29b408499b7496f2a2f58da |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1664-1078 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-16T06:09:59Z |
publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
record_format | Article |
series | Frontiers in Psychology |
spelling | doaj.art-5d1e5182b29b408499b7496f2a2f58da2022-12-21T22:41:25ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782021-07-011210.3389/fpsyg.2021.664079664079Loneliness and Social Functioning in Adolescent Peer VictimizationTelma Sousa Almeida0Olivia Ribeiro1Miguel Freitas2Kenneth H. Rubin3António J. Santos4William James Center for Research, ISPA—Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, PortugalWilliam James Center for Research, ISPA—Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, PortugalWilliam James Center for Research, ISPA—Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, PortugalDepartment of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United StatesWilliam James Center for Research, ISPA—Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, PortugalInterpersonal adversity such as peer victimization has been shown to have complex associations with other socio-emotional difficulties, particularly during adolescence. We used a multidimensional peer nomination measure on a sample of 440 (52% girls) 11- to 17-year-old (M = 13.14 years, SD = 1.26) Portuguese youths to identify three groups, classified by peers as (1) victimized adolescents who showed anxious withdrawn behaviors in the context of the peer group (n = 111), (2) victimized adolescents who did not exhibit anxious withdrawn behaviors (n = 104), and (3) non-victimized adolescents (n = 225). We compared these groups on their peer-reported social functioning and on their self-reported feelings of social and emotional loneliness (with peers and family). Anxiously withdrawn victims were viewed by peers as more excluded, less aggressive, less prosocial, and less popular than non-withdrawn victims and non-victims. Non-anxiously withdrawn victims were considered more excluded than non-victims, and more aggressive than both anxiously withdrawn victims and non-victims. Finally, anxiously withdrawn victims reported feeling less integrated and intimate with their peers than non-withdrawn victims and non-victims, which is indicative of greater feelings of social and emotional loneliness at school. Youths in the current study did not report feeling lonely in their family environment. Our findings thus provide further evidence that victimized youths constitute a heterogeneous group, which differ in the way they behave toward their peers and experience loneliness.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.664079/fulladolescenceinterpersonal adversitypeer victimizationaggressive behavioranxious-withdrawalloneliness |
spellingShingle | Telma Sousa Almeida Olivia Ribeiro Miguel Freitas Kenneth H. Rubin António J. Santos Loneliness and Social Functioning in Adolescent Peer Victimization Frontiers in Psychology adolescence interpersonal adversity peer victimization aggressive behavior anxious-withdrawal loneliness |
title | Loneliness and Social Functioning in Adolescent Peer Victimization |
title_full | Loneliness and Social Functioning in Adolescent Peer Victimization |
title_fullStr | Loneliness and Social Functioning in Adolescent Peer Victimization |
title_full_unstemmed | Loneliness and Social Functioning in Adolescent Peer Victimization |
title_short | Loneliness and Social Functioning in Adolescent Peer Victimization |
title_sort | loneliness and social functioning in adolescent peer victimization |
topic | adolescence interpersonal adversity peer victimization aggressive behavior anxious-withdrawal loneliness |
url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.664079/full |
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