Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Continued Bullying Victimization from Childhood to Young Adulthood: a Longitudinal Study of Mediating and Protective Factors

  • Published:
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Bullying in schools has severe consequences for victims’ adjustment. It is unclear, however, whether victims of school bullying continue to be victimized in other contexts during adulthood. Mediating processes through which peer victimization in school increases the risk of revictimization in adulthood, as well as protective factors, also need to be explored. This study examined 1) the longitudinal association between peer victimization in school and victimization at work during young adulthood, 2) the predictive link of reactive and proactive aggression and anxious-withdrawn behavior in childhood with victimization in school and at the workplace, 3) the potential mediating role of depression symptoms, and 4) the potential protective effect of friendship support. The study included 251 participants (61% females) followed from age 12 to age 22. Participants reported about their victimization in school from ages 12 to 17 and their workplace victimization at age 22. They also reported about their depression-related thoughts and feelings and about friendship support. Teachers rated reactive and proactive aggression and anxiety-withdrawal at age 12. Structural equation modeling revealed that anxiety-withdrawal at age 12 predicted peer victimization in school, which in turn predicted later victimization at work. The latter association was partially mediated by increased depression symptoms. However, friendship support counteracted (via a main effect) the link between school victimization and subsequent depression symptoms. Bullying victims may benefit from interventions aimed at reducing depression symptoms and fostering social skills to establish supportive friendships to help avoid the generation of new interpersonal stress such as workplace victimization in adulthood.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abramson, L. Y., Metalsky, G. I., & Alloy, L. B. (1989). Hopelessness depression: a theory-based subtype of depression. Psychological Review, 96, 358–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aquino, K., & Bradfield, M. (2000). Perceived victimization in the workplace: the role of situational factors and victim characteristics. Organization Science, 11, 525–537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aquino, K., & Lamertz, K. (2004). A relational model of workplace victimization: social roles and patterns of victimization in dyadic relationships. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 1023–1034.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barker, D. B. (2007). Antecedents of stressful experiences: depressive symptoms, self-esteem, gender, and coping. International Journal of Stress Management, 14, 333–349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baron, R. A., & Neuman, J. H. (1996). Workplace violence and workplace aggression: evidence on their relative frequency and potential causes. Aggressive Behavior, 22, 161–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beck, A. T. (2002). Cognitive models of depression. Clinical Advances in Cognitive Psychotherapy: Theory and Application, 14, 29–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bélanger, J., Janosz, M., Archambault, I., & Riberdy, H. (2010). Portrait de la violence dans des écoles secondaires montréalaises: Enjeux pour l’éducation à la santé. Revue des Sciences de l’Education, 36, 649–669.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bender, H. L., Allen, J. P., McElhaney, K. B., Antonishak, J., Moore, C. M., Kelly, H. O. B., & Davis, S. M. (2007). Use of harsh physical discipline and developmental outcomes in adolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 19, 227–242.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bilsky, S. A., Cole, D. A., Dukewich, T. L., Martin, N. C., Sinclair, K. R., Tran, C. V., et al. (2013). Does supportive parenting mitigate the longitudinal effects of peer victimization on depressive thoughts and symptoms in children? Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 122, 406–410.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Blascovich, J., & Berry Mendez, W. (2013). Challenge and threat appraisals: the role of affective cues. In A. J. Elliott (Ed.), Handbook of approach and avoidance motivation (pp. 431–444). New York: Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boivin, M., Hymel, S., & Hodges, E. V. E. (2001). Toward a process view of peer rejection and harassment. In J. Juvonen & S. Graham (Eds.), Peer harassment in school: the plight of the vulnerable and victimized (pp. 265–289). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boivin, M., Petitclerc, A., Feng, B., & Barker, E. D. (2010). The developmental trajectories of peer victimization in middle to late childhood and the changing nature of their behavioral consequences. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 56, 231–260. doi:10.1353/mpq.0.0050.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boivin, M., Poulin, F., & Vitaro, F. (1994). Depressed mood and peer rejection in childhood. Development and Psychopathology, 6, 483–498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brendgen, M., Girard, A., Vitaro, F., Dionne, G., & Boivin, M. (2016). Personal and familial predictors of peer victimization trajectories from primary to secondary school. Developmental Psychology, 52, 1103–1114. doi:10.1037/dev0000107.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chapell, M. S., Hasselman, S. L., Kitchin, T., & Lomon, S. N. (2006). Bullying in elementary school, high school, and college. Adolescence, 41, 633–648.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cillessen, A. H. N., & Mayeux, L. (2004). From censure to reinforcement: developmental changes in the association between aggression and social status. Child Development, 75, 147–163.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98, 310–357.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Colarossi, L. G., & Eccles, J. S. (2003). Differential effects of support providers on adolescents’ mental health. Social Work Research, 27, 19–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole, D. A., Maxwell, M. A., Dukewich, T. L., & Yosick, R. (2010). Targeted peer victimization and the construction of positive and negative self-cognitions: connections to depressive symptoms in children. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 39, 421–435. doi:10.1080/15374411003691776.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole, D. A., Sinclair-McBride, K. R., Zelkowitz, R., Bilsk, S. A., Roeder, K., & Spinelli, T. (2016). Peer victimization and harsh parenting predict cognitive diatheses for depression in children and adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 45, 668–680. doi:10.1080/15374416.2015.1004679.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooley, J. L., Fite, P. J., & Pederson, C. A. (2017). Bidirectional associations between peer victimization and functions of aggression in middle childhood: further evaluation across informants and academic years. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. Advanced Online Publication. doi:10.1007/s10802-017-0283-8.

  • Copeland, W. E., Wolke, D., Angold, A., & Costello, E. J. (2013). Adult psychiatric outcomes of bullying and being bullied by peers in childhood and adolescence. JAMA Psychiatry, 70, 419–426.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Craig, W., & Edge, H. M. (2011). The health of Canada’s young people: a mental health focus. Retrieved from the Government of Canada: Public Health Agency of Canada website http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hpps/dca-dea/publications/hbsc-mental-mentale/bullying-intimidation-eng.php.

  • Craig, W., Harel-Fisch, Y., Fogel-Grinvald, H., Dostaler, S., Hetland, J., Simons-Morton, B., et al. (2009). A cross-national profile of bullying and victimization among adolescents in 40 countries. International Journal of Public Health, 54, 216–224.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Crick, N. R., & Dodge, K. A. (1996). Social information-processing mechanisms in reactive and proactive aggression. Child Development, 67, 993–1002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Day, D. M., Bream, L. A., & Paul, A. (1992). Proactive and reactive aggression: an analysis of subtypes based on teacher perceptions. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 21, 210–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Desai, S., Arias, I., Thompson, M. P., & Basile, K. C. (2002). Childhood victimization and subsequent adult revictimization assessed in a nationally representative sample of women and men. Violence and Victims, 17, 639–653.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dodge, K. A., & Coie, J. D. (1987). Social information processing factors in reactive and proactive aggression in children's peer groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 1146–1158.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Einarsen, S., & Mikkelsen, E. G. (2003). Individual effects of exposure to bullying at work. In S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, & C. Cooper (Eds.), Bullying and emotional abuse in the workplace: international perspectives in research and practice (pp. 127–144). New York: Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Franić, S., Middeldorp, C. M., Dolan, C. V., Ligthart, L., & Boomsma, D. I. (2010). Childhood and adolescent anxiety and depression: beyond heritability. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 49, 820–829.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Führer, R., & Rouillon, F. (1989). La version française de l’échelle CES-D (Center for epidemiologic studies depression scale). European Psychiatry, 4, 163–166.

    Google Scholar 

  • Furman, W., & Buhrmester, D. (1985). Children’s perceptions of the personal relationships in their social networks. Developmental Psychology, 21, 1016–1024.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furman, W., & Buhrmester, D. (1992). Age and sex differences in perceptions of networks of personal relationships. Child Development, 63, 103–115.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Glomb, T. M. (2002). Workplace anger and aggression: informing conceptual models with data from specific encounters. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 7, 20–36.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Glomb, T. M., & Liao, H. (2003). Interpersonal aggression in work groups: social influence, reciprocal, and individual effects. Academy of Management Journal, 46, 486–496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammen, C. (2006). Stress generation in depression: reflections on origins, research, and future directions. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62, 1065–1082.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hanish, L. D., & Guerra, N. (2004). Aggressive victims, passive victims, and bullies: developmental continuity or developmental change? Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 50, 17–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardt, J., & Rutter, M. (2004). Validity of adult retrospective reports of adverse childhood experiences: review of the evidence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 45, 260–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodges, E. V., Boivin, M., Vitaro, F., & Bukowski, W. M. (1999). The power of friendship: protection against an escalating cycle of peer victimization. Developmental Psychology, 35, 94–101. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.35.1.94.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoel, H., Einarsen, S., & Cooper, C. L. (2003). Organisational effects of bullying. In S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, & C. Cooper (Eds.), Bullying and emotional abuse in the workplace: international perspectives in research and practice (pp. 145–161). New York: Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joiner, T. E., Wingate, L. R., Gencoz, T., & Gencoz, F. (2005). Stress generation in depression: three studies on its resilience, possible mechanism, and symptom specificity. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24, 236–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kendrick, K., Jutengren, G., & Stattin, H. (2012). The protective role of supportive friends against bullying perpetration and victimization. Journal of Adolescence, 35, 1069–1080.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kovacs, M. (1992). Children’s depression Inventory (CDI) manual. North Tonawanda: Multi-Health Systems.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamarche, V., Brendgen, M., Boivin, M., Vitaro, F., Pérusse, D., & Dionne, G. (2006). Do friendships and sibling relationships provide protection against peer victimization in a similar way? Social Development, 15, 373–393. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2006.00347.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laucht, M., Esser, G., Baving, L., Gerhold, M., Hoesch, I., Ihle, W., et al. (2000). Behavioral sequelae of perinatal insults and early family adversity at 8 years of age. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 1229–1237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lereya, S. T., Samara, M., & Wolke, D. (2013). Parenting behavior and the risk of becoming a victim and a bully/victim: a meta-analysis study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37, 1091–1108. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.03.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lereya, S. T., & Wolke, D. (2013). Prenatal family adversity and maternal mental health and vulnerability to peer victimisation at school. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54, 644–652. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12012.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leymann, H. (1996). The content and development of mobbing at work. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 5, 165–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, R. T., & Alloy, L. B. (2010). Stress generation in depression: a systematic review of the empirical literature and recommendations for future study. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 582–593.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Macmillan, R., & Hagan, J. (2004). Violence in the transition to adulthood: adolescent victimization, education, and socioeconomic attainment in later life. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 14, 127–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manchikanti Gómez, A. (2011). Testing the cycle of violence hypothesis: child abuse and adolescent dating violence as predictors of intimate partner violence in young adulthood. Youth & Society, 43, 171–192. doi:10.1177/0044118x09358313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998-2010). Mplus User’s Guide (Sixth ed.). Los Angeles: Muthén & Muthén.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, M. B., Glasø, L., & Einarsen, S. (2017). Exposure to workplace harassment and the five factor model of personality: a meta-analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 104, 195–206. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2016.08.015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, M. B., & Knardahl, S. (2015). Is workplace bullying related to the personality traits of victims? A two-year prospective study. Work & Stress, 29, 128–149. doi:10.1080/02678373.2015.1032383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school: what we know and what we can do. Malden: Blackwell Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ottenbreit, N. D., & Dobson, K. S. (2004). Avoidance and depression: the construction of the cognitive–behavioral avoidance scale. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42, 293–313. doi:10.1016/S0005-7967(03)00140-2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paquin, S., Lacourse, E., Brendgen, M., Vitaro, F., & Dionne, G. (2014). The genetic-environmental architecture of proactive and reactive aggression throughout childhood. Monatsschrift für Kriminologie und Strafrecht, 97, 398–420.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poulin, F., & Boivin, M. (2000). Proactive and reactive aggression: evidence of a two-factor model. Psychological Assessment, 12, 115–122.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pryor, L., Brendgen, M., Boivin, M., Dubois, L., Japel, C., Falissard, B., et al. (2016). Overweight during childhood and internalizing symptoms in early adolescence: the mediating role of peer victimization and the desire to be thinner. Journal of Affective Disorders, 202, 203–209.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Radloff, L. (1991). The use of the center for epidemiologic studies depression scale in adolescents and young adults. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 20, 149–166. doi:10.1007/BF01537606.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reijntjes, A., Kamphuis, J. H., Prinzie, P., Boelen, P. A., van der Schoot, M., & Telch, M. J. (2011). Prospective linkages between peer victimization and externalizing problems in children: a meta-analysis. Aggressive Behavior, 37, 215–222. doi:10.1002/ab.20374.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reijntjes, A., Kamphuis, J. H., Prinzie, P., & Telch, M. J. (2010). Peer victimization and internalizing problems in children: a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Child Abuse and Neglect, 34, 244–252. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2009.07.009.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rigby, K., & Barnes, A. (2002). To tell or not to tell: the victimised student’s dilemma. Youth Studies Australia, 21, 33–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rommelse, N., Buitelaar, J., Smeets, K., Oostermeijer, S., Cohn, M., Popma, A., et al. (2017). Are proactive and reactive aggression meaningful distinctions in adolescents? A variable- and person-based approach. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 45, 1–14. doi:10.1007/s10802-016-0149-5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rose, K., Hawes, D. J., & Hunt, C. J. (2014). Randomized controlled trial of a friendship skills intervention on adolescent depressive symptoms. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 82, 510–520.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, K. H., & Burgess, K. B. (2001). Social withdrawal and anxiety. In M. V. Vasey & M. R. Dadds (Eds.), The developmental psychopathology of anxiety (pp. 407–434). London: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, P. K., Singer, M., Hoel, H., & Cooper, C. L. (2003). Victimization in the school and the workplace: Are there any links? British Journal of Psychology, 94, 175–188.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Canada. (2008/2009). How many times have you been bullied at school in the last month? Statistics Canada, Census at School. Retrieved from http://www.censusatschool.ca/data-results/2008-2009/bullied-at-school/.

  • Stewart, S. L., & Rubin, K. H. (1995). The social problem-solving skills of anxious-withdrawn children. Development and Psychopathology, 7(2), 323–336. doi:10.1017/S0954579400006532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stice, E., Shaw, H., Bohon, C., Marti, C. N., & Rohde, P. (2009). A meta-analytic review of depression prevention programs for children and adolescents: factors that predict magnitude of intervention effects. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77, 486–503. doi:10.1037/a0015168.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S. E. (2010). Mechanisms linking early life stress to adult health outcomes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107, 8507–8512. doi:10.1073/pnas.1003890107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S. E. (2011). Social support: a review. In H. S. Friedman (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of health psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tran, C. V., Cole, D. A., & Weiss, B. (2012). Testing reciprocal longitudinal relations between peer victimization and depressive symptoms in young adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 41, 353–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tremblay, R. E., Loeber, R., Gagnon, C., Charlebois, P., Larivee, S., & LeBlanc, M. (1991). Disruptive boys with stable and unstable high fighting behavior patterns during junior elementary school. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 19, 285–300.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vaillancourt, T., Brittain, H. L., McDougall, P., & Duku, E. (2013). Longitudinal links between childhood peer victimization, internalizing and externalizing problems, and academic functioning: developmental cascades. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41, 1–13. doi:10.1007/s10802-013-9781-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vallerand, R. J. (1989). Vers une methodologie de validation trans-culturelle de questionnaires psychologiques: Implications pour la recherche en langue francaise [toward a methodology for the transcultural validation of psychological questionnaires: implications for research in the French language]. Canadian Psychology, 30, 662–680.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitaro, F., & Brendgen, M. (2011). Subtypes of aggressive behaviors: etiologies, development and consequences. In T. Bliesener, A. Beelmann, & M. Stemmler (Eds.), Antisocial behavior and crime: contributions of theory and evaluation research to prevention and intervention (pp. 17–38). Goettingen: Hogrefe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolke, D., Copeland, W. E., Angold, A., & Costello, E. J. (2013). Impact of bullying in childhood on adult health, wealth, crime, and social outcomes. Psychological Science, 24, 1958–1970. doi:10.1177/0956797613481608.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Yeager, D. S., Fong, C. J., Lee, H. Y., & Espelage, D. L. (2015). Declines in efficacy of anti-bullying programs among older adolescents: theory and a three-level meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 37, 36–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zapf, D., & Einarsen, S. (2011). Individual antecedents of bullying: victims and perpetrators. In S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, & D. Zapf (Eds.), Bullying and harassment in the workplace: developments in theory, research, and practice (pp. 177–200). New York: Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the children and their families and teachers for participating in this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Quebec at Montreal, 8888 succursale Centre-ville, Montreal, Quebec, H3C 3P8, Canada

    Mara Brendgen & François Poulin

  2. Research Unit on Children’s Psycholosical Maladjustment, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Mara Brendgen & François Poulin

  3. Ste-Justine Hospital Research Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Mara Brendgen

Authors
  1. Mara Brendgen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. François Poulin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mara Brendgen.

Ethics declarations

Funding

Funding for this study was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (grant no. 2012-S-701398) and the Fonds Québécois pour la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture (grant no. 2008-PE-118531).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Brendgen, M., Poulin, F. Continued Bullying Victimization from Childhood to Young Adulthood: a Longitudinal Study of Mediating and Protective Factors. J Abnorm Child Psychol 46, 27–39 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-017-0314-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-017-0314-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation