title: Relationship Between Peer Victimization and Posttraumatic Stress Among Primary School Children.
abstract: Peer victimization is a common stressor experienced by children. Although peer victimization has been studied extensively, few studies have examined the potential link between peer victimization and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and no studies of which we are aware have examined this link among children in primary school. The paucity of studies examining the link between PTSD and peer victimization in primary school is surprising because peer victimization occurs more frequently and is more likely to be physical among 7- and 8-year-old children. This study assessed the relationship between peer victimization and PTSD in a sample of 358 elementary school children (ages 6-11 years). Results indicated that peer victimization accounted for 14.1% of PTSD symptom severity among boys and 10.1% among girls. Additionally, we found gender differences in the types of peer victimization that were most associated with PTSD symptom severity (d = 0.38). The long-term developmental consequences that may be associated with peer victimization-linked PTSD symptomatology are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, Lander College, Queens, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Leib
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Litman
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Psychology, Touro College, New York, New York, USA.|NYU Lutheran Family Health Centers, Brooklyn, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Costantino
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Psychology, Touro College, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Waxman
authors.affiliation: NYU Lutheran Family Health Centers, Brooklyn, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Caribel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sanabria-Velez
authors.affiliation: NYU Lutheran Family Health Centers, Brooklyn, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Von Marie
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Rodriguez-Guzman
authors.affiliation: NYU Lutheran Family Health Centers, Brooklyn, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Anabelle
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lampon-Velez
authors.affiliation: NYU Lutheran Family Health Centers, Brooklyn, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: NYU Lutheran Family Health Centers, Brooklyn, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cruz
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D058445:Bullying; D002648:Child; D000069581:Exposure to Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D012919:Social Behavior; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000209:etiology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*