NCJ Number
226601
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 38 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2009 Pages: 487-499
Date Published
April 2009
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study examined the mediating role of self-blaming attributions on peer victimization-maladjustment relations in middle school, and the moderating role of classroom ethnic diversity.
Abstract
Results suggest that part of the relationship between having a reputation as a victim among one’s peers and subsequent adjustment difficulties can be explained by the degree to which victims blame themselves for their plight. It is as if the victim is saying to her/ himself, “It’s something about me, things may always be that way, and there is nothing that I can do to change it.” In research on coping with stigma, there is growing empirical literature guided by attribution theory on the negative mental and physical health consequences of this blaming of social predicament on internal and uncontrollable causes. Most unique in this study’s approach were tests of whether a particular ethnic context variable moderated the linkages between victim reputation, characterological self-blame, and psychological maladjustment. As hypothesized, the clearest evidence of mediation emerged in the analysis of majority group members and the weakest evidence emerged for minority group members. Taken together, these ethnic context findings offer new insights into the dynamics of peer harassment during early adolescence. Data were collected from 909 boys and 1,094 girls in grade six who were taking part in a 3-year longitudinal study of peer relations during the middle school years. Tables, figures, and references