Peer victimization and rejection: Investigation of an integrative model of effects on emotional, behavioral, and academic adjustment in early adolescence

This study investigated an integrative model of the effects of peer victimization (PV) and peer rejection (PR) on youth adjustment using data from 508 middle-school students. In the proposed model, PV and PR each contribute independently to problems in emotional, behavioral, and academic adjustment. The adverse consequences of PV and PR are each mediated by their more proximal contributions to lower self-esteem in the form of negative self-evaluations for peer relations and global self-derogation, respectively. Results of structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses provided support for the overall model, including significant indirect linkages of PV and perceived PR with adjustment problems via their intermediary negative associations with lower levels of self-esteem. Additional analyses revealed that indirect linkages of victimization and perceived rejection with emotional problems via self-esteem were evident only for girls. Implications of these findings are discussed.