title: Beyond bullying: Aggravating elements of peer victimization episodes.
abstract: This study sought to identify features of peer victimization that aggravate negative outcomes in children. The features that were assessed include "power imbalance," a commonly used criterion in defining bullying, and 5 other characteristics: injury, weapon involvement, Internet involvement, sexual content, and bias content. Three outcomes were assessed: level of fear, missing school, and trauma symptoms. A nationally representative sample of 3,164 children and youth ages 6-17 (51.8% male; 68.4% white, 12.5% black, 13.5% Hispanic, 5.7% other race) was obtained through Random Digit Dial and supplemented with an address-based sample to capture cell-phone-only households. One child was randomly selected from each household. Interviews were conducted with parents of children age 6-9 and with the youths themselves if they were age 10-17. Peer victimization was assessed with the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ). Almost half (48.4%) of the entire sample of school-age children experienced at least 1 form of peer victimization in the past year. Injury and power imbalance independently increased the impact on children for all 3 outcomes. Additionally, weapon involvement and sexual content were associated with trauma symptoms, with sexual content having the strongest effect (B = .23, p < .001). This diversity of aggravating features suggests a need to reconsider the current emphasis on prioritizing bullying with its exclusionary power imbalance definition as the central focus for prevention and intervention. We recommend a broader focus on peer victimization along with more research to identify the aggravating features that signal the greatest need for intervention.
authors.affiliation: Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire.
authors.forename: Heather A
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2900-2419
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Finkelhor
authors.affiliation: Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shattuck
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Sewanee, The University of the South.
authors.forename: Sherry
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hamby
authors.affiliation: Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire.
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mitchell
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000293:Adolescent; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D058445:Bullying / Q000502:physiology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D011209:Power, Psychological; D015995:Prevalence; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017406:Sexual Harassment / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology