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Youth’s Responses to Peer Provocation: Links to Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Youth’s Responses to Peer Provocation: Links to Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression

Melanie Dirks, Teresa Treat and V Weersing
Journal of psychopathology and behavioral assessment, Vol.36(3), pp.339-349
09/2014
DOI: 10.1007/s10862-014-9406-5
PMID: 15733505

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Abstract

Youth experiencing anxiety and depression are more likely to be targeted aggressively by peers, making it critical that we understand how they respond to these challenging interpersonal situations. We addressed this issue by recruiting a school-based sample of lower-income youth (N = 327) in grades 6, 7, and 8 (M age =13.10, SD =0.99) to complete a multiple-choice measure asking them to select responses to 11 scenarios describing physical, relational, and verbal provocation by a peer. We found that increasing anxiety was negatively associated with endorsement of aggressive behaviors, whereas greater levels of depressive symptoms were linked to higher rates of aggressive responding, and, for girls, decreased endorsement of assertive strategies. Implications for understanding and intervening on social competence and psychopathology are discussed.
Personality and Social Psychology Peer provocation Psychology Depression Clinical Psychology Anxiety Social skills

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