Demonstrating the Importance of Multi-wave Assessment of Peer Victimization

" " " ii" " " " iii" ABSTRACT Christopher S. Sheppard: Demonstrating the Importance of Multi-wave Assessment of Peer Victimization (Under the direction of Mitchell J. Prinstein) The current study assessed the extent to which chronic victimization is a unique type of peer victimization. This was examined using stability analyses, trajectory analyses, and comparisons of victimization and adjustment outcomes both concurrently and longitudinally over a 3-year period. A community sample of 652 adolescent (50% females) in Grades 6-8 participated in the study. Participants completed measures of peer-reported victimization and associated adjustment correlates (both self and peer-report) at three time points. Peer victimization was not stable for all victims, and four trajectories of victimization were identified: chronic, high decreasing, low increasing, and low stable. The chronic victimization trajectory was associated with worse overall outcomes than the other trajectories. Results provided additional support for the idea that the chronicity of peer victimization influences the impact of victimization on youth, and that a single time point assessment of victimization is insufficient to capture the nuances of this construct.