Identification of Early Child and Family Risk Factors for Aggressive Victim Status in First Grade

Abstract

This prospective investigation sought to discriminate children who were both aggressive towards and victimized by peers in the first grade, from those who were only aggressive, only victimized, or neither (i.e., socially adjusted), using early child and family risk factors. Two hundred thirty-eight children, their mothers, and teachers participated in a longitudinal study since birth. All three aggressor/victim subgroups showed greater temperamental dysregulation than the socially adjusted children, but only aggressive victims had significantly poorer social perception skills. Aggressive victims were distinguished from aggressors by greater exposure to maternal depression and from victims by lower levels of early inhibition, but they shared the experiences of negative family emotional expressiveness with aggressors and greater mother-child negativity with victims. The identification of early risk factors is crucial to prevention and early intervention efforts that have the potential to attenuate the long term emotional, social, and academic problems associated with aggressive victim status.

Suicidality, internalizing problems and externalizing problems among adolescent bullies, victims and bully-victims

“…While suicidal ideation increased the risk of all three types of bullying involvement, the odds were highest for bully-victims. These findings fit with previous research that bully-victims are an exceptionally vulnerable group, especially in regards to suicide Cook et al, 2010;Haynie et al, 2001;Ivarsson et al, 2005;Sourander et al, 2007;Kumpulainen and Räsänen, 2000;Forero et al, 1999;Copeland et al, 2013;Burk et al, 2008Burk et al, , 2011Schwartz, 2000;Klomek et al, 2011).…”

Transgenerational effects of social stress on social behavior, corticosterone, oxytocin, and prolactin in rats

“…These data support previous work in rodents (Champagne and Meaney, 2007; Johnson et al, 2011; Meaney, 2001) and humans (Champagne, 2008; Matthews and Phillips, 2012; Pawlby et al, 2008; Plant et al, 2013; Ricks, 1985) on the transgenerational transmission of social behavior. In humans, the offspring of depressed mothers often suffer from mental health disorders that involve deficits in social behavior, such as infant social engagement and depression and anxiety (Burk et al, 2008; Feldman et al, 2009). Emotional distress in mothers is associated with an increased risk of externalizing problems in children which may be mediated by compromised early parenting (Choe et al, 2013; Lovejoy et al, 2000).…”

Bully/Victim Problems Among Preschool Children: a Review of Current Research Evidence

“…Several studies have shown that peer victimization is associated with inconsistent, punitive, hostile and/or abusive parenting, high negative expressiveness, or high levels of family conflicts or violence (Burk et al 2008;Mohr 2006;Schwartz et al 1997). These findings mainly apply to the subgroup of aggressive victims.…”