The Roles of Victimization and Social Status in Adolescentsâ Risk Behaviors and Psychosocialors and Psychosocial Adjustment

Stichting Radboud Universiteit, Nijmegen

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Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract Being victimized by peers is associated social, behavioral, and emotional difficulties, and bullying has even been labeled a public health crisis in several countries and by the NICHD. Victimization has also been linked to increased drug and alcohol use, perhaps as a maladaptive coping mechanism. This is concerning, as substance use is a global risk factor for disability, early mortality, and leads to significant economic and social costs. Therefore, it is crucial to understand factors that predict risk behavior (e.g., aggression, substance use) earlier in development (i.e., adolescence) before these behaviors become more severe and lead to significant individual and societal costs. The proposed project focuses on the roles of victimization and social status in predicting subsequent risk behaviors. Recent evidence suggests that our understanding of the consequences of victimization is incomplete, as most research has only focused on low-status, socially marginalized victims of aggression. Critically, growing evidence supports that high-status youth are also targeted with aggression. This is particularly concerning given the positive associations between high status, substance use, and aggression in adolescence. Therefore, current perspectives on victimization neglect a group of youth (high-status victims) who are already at risk to behave aggressively and to engage in substance use, and whose engagement in these behaviors may be exacerbated by victimization. High-status adolescents who feel victimized by peers may use substances, perhaps to reaffirm their high social standing and/or to coping with negative experiences; however, research has not yet tested this empirically. Whether or not high-status victims become aggressive or use substances likely will also depend on (1) their perceptions of their experience and (2) characteristics of the perpetrator. The current proposal seeks to address these gaps by: (1) examining the short- and long-term consequences of victimization for high-status adolescents; (2) examining high-status victims? perceptions of being victimized; and (3) investigating the characteristics of youth who target high-status adolescents. To accomplish these aims, the proposed study will utilize multi-method (e.g., self-report questionnaires, peer nominations, dyadic nominations, daily diaries) longitudinal datasets. Results from the proposed research will (1) enhance our understanding of the consequences of victimization for an understudied subtype of victim and (2) elucidate circumstances under which victimization and social status are related to health-risk behavior (aggression and substance use). The corresponding three-year fellowship training plan for this project will take place in a global center of peer relations research and will provide the applicant with exceptional conceptual, methodological, and statistical expertise. The training plan builds on the applicant?s past training on aggression and social status by incorporating additional aspects of development (e.g., social cognition, substance use) and statistical techniques (e.g., social network analysis). After this fellowship, the applicant will have the skills needed to be a well-rounded, successful, and independent scientist at a top research university.