Relationship Between Peer Victimization and Posttraumatic Stress Among Primary School Children |
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| Authors: | Leib Litman Giuseppe Costantino Richard Waxman Caribel Sanabria‐Velez Von Marie Rodriguez‐Guzman Anabelle Lampon‐Velez Richard Brown Tomas Cruz |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Psychology Department, Lander College, Queens, New York, USA;2. Graduate School of Psychology, Touro College, New York, New York, USA;3. NYU Lutheran Family Health Centers, Brooklyn, New York, USA |
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| Abstract: | Peer victimization is a common stressor experienced by children. Although peer victimization has been studied extensively, few studies have examined the potential link between peer victimization and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and no studies of which we are aware have examined this link among children in primary school. The paucity of studies examining the link between PTSD and peer victimization in primary school is surprising because peer victimization occurs more frequently and is more likely to be physical among 7‐ and 8‐year‐old children. This study assessed the relationship between peer victimization and PTSD in a sample of 358 elementary school children (ages 6–11 years). Results indicated that peer victimization accounted for 14.1% of PTSD symptom severity among boys and 10.1% among girls. Additionally, we found gender differences in the types of peer victimization that were most associated with PTSD symptom severity (d = 0.38). The long‐term developmental consequences that may be associated with peer victimization‐linked PTSD symptomatology are discussed. |
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