Victimization During the Middle School Years: Exploring the Relationship Between Emotion Regulation and Emotional/Behavioral Outcomes

• Main Author: Harlacher, Jason E.
• Format: Others
• Published: DigitalCommons@USU 2005
• Subjects: victimization; middle school; relationship; emotion regulation; emotional outcomes; behavioral outcomes; Psychology
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/6181; https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7289&context=etd

The present thesis examined emotion regulation differences among victims and non victims of bullying and its role as a mediator in the link between victimization and internalizing or externalizing outcomes. Participants from Grades 6 to 8 (n = 240) completed measures that assessed level of victimization, emotions felt relative to emotions expressed during bullying situations, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Weak victim-related differences revealed that boy victims reported feeling more shame and expressing more fear than nonvictims, whereas girl victims reported expressing more shame and feeling and expressing more anger and sadness. A new measure of emotional regulation did not reveal any victim -related differences , nor was emotional regulation found to play a mediating role. Discussion focuses on how antecedent- and response-focused regulation can account for victim-related differences found, and how victims' emotional regulation difficulties may be more attributable to antecedent-focused regulation and poor evaluation of consequences of expressing certain emotions than emotional inhibition during a bullying interaction.