Peer victimization: Exploring psychosocial correlates and reciprocal longitudinal relationship

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the peer victimization among a Korean adolescent sample (N = 3,449; female = 1,724). First, we examined the differences among peer victimization subgroups (bully, bully-victim, victim, and noninvolved) on psychosocial characteristics. We conducted a multinomial logistic regression to examine the relationship between peer victimization categories and individual, peer, and family factors. Findings showed that, compared with the nonaggressor/victim group, the aggressor-only group reported lower levels of behavioral self-control and higher levels of aggression and social skills; the victim-only group reported lower levels of social skills and higher levels of stress over appearance; and the combined aggressor and victim group reported lower levels of behavioral self-control, higher levels of aggression and social skills, and higher levels of stress over appearance. Second, we examined the reciprocal, longitudinal relationship between aggressor and victim experiences over 3 years using autoregressive cross-lagged modeling. Results showed that adolescents who bullied others were highly likely to be bullied by others in the following year. Implications of these findings are discussed.