Multiple Dimensions of Peer Victimization and Their Relations with Children’s Psychological, Social, Behavioral, and Academic Functioning

Title of Dissertation: MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF PEER VICTIMIZATION AND THEIR RELATIONS WITH CHILDREN’S PSYCHOLOGICAL, SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND ACADEMIC FUNCTIONING Sarah K. Parsons, Doctor of Philosophy, 2012 Dissertation directed by: Professor Hedwig Teglasi Department of Counseling and Personnel Services This study investigated the relations among victimization and psychological, social, behavioral, and academic functioning while considering how these constructs are conceptualized and measured. Victimization was treated as a multidimensional variable that can be distinguished in terms of form (relational vs. overt), informant (self vs. teacher vs. peer report), and its overlap with aggression. Participants were 99 ethnically diverse second and third graders from the mid-Atlantic region. The observed relations between victimization and functioning were impacted by issues of informant, form, and aggression. When examining different measures of the same construct, correlations were more often statistically significant for same-informant pairs of measures compared to cross-informant pairs. Correlations between peer and teacher reports were stronger than correlations between selfand other-reports. Self-other agreement was higher for aggression than for victimization, suggesting that victimization is more individualistically experienced than aggression.