Citation

Nylund-Gibson K, Bellmore AD, Nishina A, Graham S. Child Dev. 2007; 78(6): 1706-1722.

Affiliation

University of California, Los Angeles.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01097.x

PMID

17988316

Abstract

This study uses latent class analysis (LCA) to empirically identify victimization groups during middle school. Approximately 2,000 urban, public middle school students (mean age in sixth grade = 11.57) reported on their peer victimization during the Fall and Spring semesters of their sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Independent LCA analyses at each semester yielded 3 victim classes based on victimization degree rather than type (e.g., physical vs. relational). The most victimized class always represented the smallest proportion of the sample, decreasing from 20% in sixth grade to 6% by the end of eighth grade. This victimized class also always reported feeling less safe at school concurrently and more depressed than others 1 semester later, illustrating the validity of the LCA approach.

Language: en