Peer harassment, psychological adjustment, and school functioning in early adolescence.

Abstract

The relations between peer harassment, psychological adjustment, and school functioning were investi-gated with an ethnically diverse sample of middle school students. A conceptual model, which proposed that self-perceived peer harassment predicts psychological adjustment (loneliness, depression, and self-worth), which in turn predicts school outcomes (GPA and attendance), was tested using concurrent data (n = 244). Structural equation modeling supported the proposed model. Longitudinal analyses with a subsample (n = 106) of students revealed that subjective self-views of victimization were moderately stable across a 1-year period. Comparisons across stable and unstable victim groups suggested that concurrent (rather than earlier or chronic) perceptions of victimization predicted loneliness and self-worth. Finally, changes in subjective perceptions of victimization, self-worth, and loneliness across the 1-year period predicted subsequent GPA, absenteeism, and teacher-rated social adjustment. Findings are discussed in terms of the short- and long-term effects of peer harassment. Humiliation, public ridicule, taunting, physical threats, and ag-gression by classmates are school experiences shared by many students. Survey data reveal that anywhere from 40 % to 80 % of American school-age respondents report that they personally have

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