Behavioral and Psychological Consequences of Social Identity-based Aggressive Victimization in High School Youth

• NCJ Number: 304996
• Journal: Self and Identity Volume: 21 Issue: 1 Dated: FEB 2022 Pages: 61-85
• Author(s): Jessica Weiss Utley; H. Colleen Sinclair; Sierra Nelson; Chelsea Ellithorpe; Megan Stubbs-Richardson
• Date Published: February 2022
• Length: 25 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)

Annotation

Since research suggests many youth report being victimized in school due to their social identities (e.g., race, gender, sexual orientation), we compared the consequences of social identity-based victimization (SIBV) to general victimization wherein adolescents are victimized by peers for other reasons (e.g., competition, a perceived insult).

Abstract

An online survey administered to 471 high school students yielded 777 victimization reports. 71.2% of the students reported at least one recent victimization, with 53.8% reporting SIBV. Race-based victimization was the most prevalent, and SIBV was more common online than offline. Psychological reactions (i.e., negative affect, self-esteem, and perceived costs) and behavioral responses (i.e., avoidant, antisocial, prosocial, and self-harm behavior), were heightened for youth reporting SIBV. As anticipated, psychological reactions significantly mediated the effect of SIBV on behavioral responses. (Publisher abstract provided)