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. (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.