Predictors of Peer Victimization in Preschool

Intervening Early to Target Parenting Skills and Children’s Behavior Could Head Off Long-Term Victimization by Peers

About 10 percent of children experience a pattern of being victimized physically or socially by peers during their school years. This can lead to problems like depression, low self-esteem, and substance abuse. Research shows the behaviors associated with peer victimization are present by age 4 or 5 but until recently, there wasn't much research looking at both child- and family-level predictors of victimization at this age. A large study of Canadian children participating in the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development corrects this and sheds light on common trajectories of peer victimization among young children and the factors that predict them.

Edward D. Barker, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa and colleagues in Canada and the United Kingdom used responses to questions about peer victimization from teachers, parents and children themselves at various ages up to 6 years to identify common trajectories of victimization. The researchers identified three trajectories that children commonly follow. Most common was low level of victimization but increasing, followed by moderate level but increasing and finally, high level and chronic. Seventy-one percent of the children fell in the lower level, 25 percent in the moderate level, and 4 percent in the high/chronic level.

Once the trajectories were defined, they looked at factors that predict those trajectories such as harsh, reactive parenting, insufficient parental income, and greater physical aggression in the child. The best predictor of both the high/chronic and moderate/increasing trajectories was high levels of early physical aggression displayed by the kids. Children displaying aggression as early as 17 months of age were more likely to experience peer victimization in preschool. In contrast, hyperactivity and internalizing behavior at early ages did not predict peer victimization in preschool--although the authors cautioned they may do so in later grades.

Another key finding is that both harsh, reactive parenting and insufficient parental income predicted preschool peer victimization above and beyond a child's aggressive behavior. Harsh, reactive parenting distinguished the high/chronic group from the two others whereas insufficient income distinguished the three trajectories.

The authors speculate that the coercive processes that typify harsh parenting may provide a training ground for children to further develop aggressive patterns with peers, ultimately resulting in rejection from the group. Whatever the case, the findings in this study suggest intervening early with parents and children could help prevent a lifetime of victimization and disappointment.

Predictive Validity and Early Predictors of Peer Victimization Trajectories in Preschool is the first large study using multiple informants to provide evidence that patterns of peer victimization emerge from the time children begin interacting socially. It's available in the Archives of General Psychiatry, October 2008 and online at http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/65/10/1185.