Psychology Commons^™

Relational And Physical Forms Of Peer Victimization In Preschool, Nikki R. Crick, Juan F. Casas, Hyon-Chin Ku

Psychology Faculty Publications

Recent studies of peer victimization have demonstrated the importance of studying relational as well as physical forms of peer maltreatment for understanding children's social-psychological adjustment problems. Studies in this area have been limited thus far by a focus on school-age children (9–12-year olds). Given the significance of early identification of children's social difficulties for intervention and prevention efforts, this research was designed to assess relational and physical peer victimization among preschool-age children (3–5-year-olds). Results indicated that boys were significantly more physically victimized than girls whereas girls were more relationally victimized. Both relational and physical victims experienced greater adjustment problems than …