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Relational Victimization and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence: Moderating Effects of Mother, Father, and Peer Emotional Support

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Abstract

Adolescence heralds a unique period of vulnerability to depressive symptoms. This longitudinal study examined relational victimization in adolescents’ peer relationships as a unique predictor of depressive symptoms among a primarily (85%) Caucasian sample of 540 youth (294 females) concurrently and across a 6-year period. The moderating effects of emotional support received from mothers, fathers, and peers on the association between relational victimization and adolescents’ depressive symptoms were also investigated. Findings revealed that adolescents who were relationally victimized consistently had higher depressive symptoms than their non-victimized peers. However, high levels of emotional support from fathers buffered this relationship over time. Emotional support from mothers and peers also moderated the longitudinal relationship between relational victimization and depressive symptoms, with high levels of support predicting increases in adolescents’ symptoms. Relational victimization presents a clear risk for depressive symptoms in adolescence, and emotional support may serve either a protective or vulnerability-enhancing role depending on the source of support.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the youth who participated in this study and the researchers and research assistants affiliated with the Centre for Youth and Society at the University of Victoria. We also thank Marsha Runtz, Erica Woodin, and Joan Martin for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of the paper. This research was supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research to the first author, and by a Community Alliance for Health Research grant from Canadian Institutes of Health Research to the second author.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, PO Box 3050 STN CSC, Victoria, BC, V8W 3P5, Canada

    Tracy L. Desjardins & Bonnie J. Leadbeater

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  1. Tracy L. Desjardins
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  2. Bonnie J. Leadbeater
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Correspondence to Tracy L. Desjardins.

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Desjardins, T.L., Leadbeater, B.J. Relational Victimization and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence: Moderating Effects of Mother, Father, and Peer Emotional Support. J Youth Adolescence 40, 531–544 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9562-1

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