The impact of extrafamilial victimization and poly-victimization on the psychological well-being of English young people

Abstract

Childhood victimization impacts on the well-being of children and young people, particularly those experiencing an extreme amount of different types of victimization (i.e., poly-victims). However, limited attention has been given to the impact of different categories of extrafamilial victimization (experienced outside of the family), particularly in the UK. The intricacies of the significant detrimental impact poly-victimization has on victims are also poorly understood. In this study, 730 young people, aged 13 to 16 years (mean 13.8 years), from one county in the UK, were surveyed about their lifetime and past year experiences of extrafamilial victimization, the locations in which these occurred, and current trauma symptoms. The results showed that interpersonal forms of extrafamilial victimization (e.g., sexual victimization) were significant predictors of trauma, whilst more indirect forms of extrafamilial victimization (e.g., witnessing the victimization of others) were not. When extrafamilial poly-victimization and number of extrafamilial victim locations were accounted for within regression models, however, this impact was reduced. Poly-victimization within the past year was the strongest predictor of trauma symptoms. Number of victim locations did not significantly predict trauma symptoms above and beyond the impact of poly-victimization, although it was a contributory predictor. These findings suggest that a holistic exploration of a young person's extrafamilial victim experiences is needed in any clinical assessment or research into its psychological impact. Specifically, attention should be given to the experiencing of extreme levels of victimization (e.g., poly-victimization). Further longitudinal research is needed to understand why poly-victimization has the greatest impact on psychological well-being.

Resilience and Poly-Victimization among Two Cohorts of Norwegian Youth

“…We observed a persistent, strong association between poly-victimization and the mental health of young people, which is in line with the findings from previous research [8,17]. Another important finding is that resilience has a strong and significant negative association with poor mental health, and it also substantially moderates the negative relationship between poly-victimization and young people’s mental health.…”

“…Most of the previous research on poly-victimization has focused on the risk factors associated with the development of mental health disorders [17] and little has delved into the factors of resilience that may moderate these negative effects. In recent years, resilience has received considerable attention as a desirable behavioral adaptation when one faces adverse experiences [18].…”

Poly-Victimization Among Female College Students: Are the Risk Factors the Same as Those Who Experience One Type of Victimization?

“…This finding is particularly important as past research has established that poly-victimization has been related to many negative psychological impacts. For instance, poly-victimization has been associated with increased risk of depression (Andrews et al, 2015; Ford et al, 2010; Holt et al, 2016; Sargent et al, 2016; Turner et al, 2017), trauma symptoms and psychological distress (Finkelhor et al, 2007; Jackson-Hollis et al, 2017; Richmond et al, 2009; Sabina & Straus, 2008), suicidal actions (Charak et al, 2016), poorer executive functioning (Li et al, 2013), and sexual problems (Ross et al, 2016). Given the seriousness of these negative impacts on the long-term and overall health and well-being of poly-victims, it is important to understand and identify the risk factors for poly-victimization to create effective reduction strategies.…”

Continuity and Overlap of Roles in Victims and Aggressors of Bullying and Cyberbullying in Adolescence: A Systematic Review

“…The works that have tried to deepen in this sense suggest that those involved in a dual role show more psychological adjustment problems, as they experience the negative effects of both roles [ 24 ]. This fact, together with recent preliminary results arguing that direct peer harassment is one of the most powerful predictors of cyberbullying [ 9 , 25 ], alerts about the need to determine whether these two forms of harassment have distinctive identities and development processes [ 26 ] or whether they are part of the same process of intimidation.…”