Peer Victimization in Adolescents With Severe Obesity: The Roles of Self-Worth and Social Support in Associations With Psychosocial Adjustment.
To examine the associations of peer victimization with internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, social competence, and academic performance in a clinical sample of adolescents with severe obesity, and whether self-worth and social support affect these associations.



Multisite cross-sectional data from 139 adolescents before weight loss surgery ( M age = 16.9; 79.9% female, 66.2% White; M Body Mass Index [BMI] = 51.5 kg/m 2 ) and 83 nonsurgical comparisons ( M age = 16.1; 81.9% female, 54.2% White; M BMI = 46.9 kg/m 2 ) were collected using self-reports with standardized measures.



As a group, participants did not report high levels of victimization. Self-worth mediated the effects of victimization on a majority of measures of adjustment, and further analyses provided evidence of the buffering effect of social support for some mediational models.



Self-worth and social support are important targets for prevention and intervention for both victimization and poor adjustment in adolescent severe obesity.
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Jennifer
J
Reiter-Purtill
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Marissa A
MA
Gowey
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Heather
H
Austin
Children's Mercy Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA.
Kevin C
KC
Smith
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Dana L
DL
Rofey
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Todd M
TM
Jenkins
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Beth H
BH
Garland
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Meg H
MH
Zeller
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D058445:Bullying / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000523:psychology*; D010379:Peer Group; D012649:Self Concept; D057566:Self Report; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012944:Social Support
adolescents; bariatric; severe obesity; surgery; victimization
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