Internalizing behavior problems among elementary and middle school students: Contributions of peer status, victimization, and friendship.

A sample of 117 elementary school students and 132 middle school students responded to questionnaires assessing their peer status, treatment by peers, friendships, anxiety, and depression. Findings were hypothesized to show internalizing behavior problems predicted uniquely by peer status, victimization, and friendship indicators. Regression analyses demonstrated support for this hypothesis. Whereas anxiety was predicted only by increases in victimization and age, depression was predicted by decreases in peer acceptance and friendship support, and increases in peer rejection, peer victimization, and friendship conflict. In particular, many conditional relations were obtained on depression that explained individual differences, between and among children, in terms of peer relationship risks and vulnerabilities. For example, the relation of victimization to depression was greater among older children. In addition, children involved in ‘aversive’ peer relationships were not similarly benefitted by friendship support. As peer rejection increased, increases in friendship support were more likely to predict increases in depression. Conversely, as victimization increased, increases in friendship support were less likely to predict decreases in depression. Findings were discussed that help explain individual differences in risk for depression, and why children\u27s peer relationships differently predicted anxiety and depression