title: Parental strategies and trajectories of peer victimization in 4 to 5 year olds.
abstract: This study was designed to examine how parental strategies contribute to explaining trajectories of peer victimization in young children. A total of 73 4 and 5 year old children identified as victims of peer aggression in the fall semester and their parents were recruited from 46 classrooms in 18 schools in the Netherlands. All children were followed-up twice in order to determine for whom victimization was stable. Hypothetical vignettes describing various forms of victimization were presented to one parent of each child in order to assess parental responses to victimization events. Findings indicated that autonomy supporting and autonomy neutral strategies were associated with a decrease of victimization in the first semester of the school year. No protective effects were found in the second semester. Autonomy undermining strategies were not related to the course of peer victimization. These findings underscore the importance of joint and coordinated efforts of teachers and parents as partners in supporting victimized young children at school.
authors: Department of Clinical Child and Family Studies, Faculty of Psychology and Education, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands. m.bonnet@psy.vu.nl
authors: Mariëlle
authors: M
authors: Bonnet
authors: Frits A
authors: FA
authors: Goossens
authors: Carlo
authors: C
authors: Schuengel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D058445:Bullying / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010379:Peer Group; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D012574:Schools