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According to a recent study using data from the National Survey of Children's Health, researchers found that 1 in 20 children in the United States had a diagnosis of anxiety or depression in 2011–2012 (Bitsko et al., 2018). In examining national trends of depression, Mojtabai, Olfson, and Han (2016) found an increased prevalence of depression from 2005 to 2014, with approximately 1 in 11 youth ages 12–20 experiencing a major depressive episode. Moreover, research has found that 1 in 24 children (ages 6–17 years) were diagnosed with anxiety in 2011 compared to 1 in 28 in 2007 (Bitsko et al., 2018). The prevalence of anxiety symptoms continues to increase as children age, with approximately one in three adolescents in the United States meeting diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder (Merikangas et al., 2010). Given these considerable increases in both depressive and anxiety symptoms, there is a need to further understand factors that contribute to these symptoms among school-age youth.
Notably, peer victimization has been identified as a major concern that is prevalent among youth and has been found to contribute to internalizing symptoms (e.g., Reijntjes, Kamphuis, Prinzie, & Telch, 2010). However, much of this research is focused on older youth (Casper & Card, 2017), leaving a notable gap in the field's understanding of the associations between peer victimization and internalizing symptoms among elementary school-age children. Further, even less is known about contextual factors that may contribute to the link between peer victimization and internalizing symptomatology, which can directly inform early prevention and intervention efforts. School climate, including how safe students feel, is a salient factor for school-age youth and may contribute to how strongly peer victimization is associated with internalizing symptoms. Accordingly, the current study extends previous research by evaluating associations between physical and relational victimization and symptoms of depression and anxiety among students in third through fifth grade, with perceived school safety examined as a moderator of these associations.
Peer Victimization
Peer victimization is defined as an aggressive act intending to cause hurt, harm, or discomfort to a targeted victim (Olweus, 2001; Vernberg & Biggs, 2010). To date, the prevalence of peer victimization varies across studies, with some finding that approximately 60% of elementary school-age children have experienced at least one incident of peer...