Abstract
Relational victimization can have negative implications for early adolescents; yet, few studies have examined relational victimization among Hispanic early adolescents. This study examined (a) the concurrent associations between relational victimization and depressive symptoms and conduct problems and (b) the moderating roles of three sources of social support (parent, teacher, and peer) in the aforementioned associations. Participants were 189 eleven- to 15-year-old (M = 12.13, SD = .95) Hispanic students. Results from hierarchical regression analyses indicated that relational victimization was positively associated with both outcomes. Furthermore, parent support buffered the relational victimization–depressive symptoms association, but exacerbated the relational victimization–conduct problems association. Similarly, peer support exacerbated the relational victimization–depressive symptoms association and did not moderate the relational victimization–conduct problems association. Finally, teacher support did not moderate either association. Findings highlight the complexities of examining various sources of social support, which may not necessarily mitigate Hispanic students’ experiences of relational victimization.
As of 2013, there were approximately 5 million Hispanic early adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14 years in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2013). Some evidence indicates that Hispanic early adolescents report higher levels of emotional and behavioral problems than their non-Hispanic White counterparts (Loukas & Roalson, 2006). In addition, evidence indicates that early adolescents coping with developmental changes may be vulnerable to such maladjustment due to limited availability of resources necessary to cope with stressors (Buck & Dix, 2012). Relatedly, there is ample evidence to indicate that relational victimization is a stressor that can contribute to both emotional and behavioral problems (e.g., Desjardins & Leadbeater, 2011; Yeung & Leadbeater, 2010), yet little is known about these associations among Hispanic early adolescents. Moreover, not all early adolescents who experience victimization experience negative outcomes. Rather, certain protective factors may buffer or offset the impact of relational victimization (Desjardins & Leadbeater, 2011) on Hispanic early adolescents’ emotional and behavior problems. The current study examined the roles of various sources of social support (i.e., parents, teachers, and peers) as protective factors in the concurrent associations between relational victimization and maladjustment in a sample of 11- to 15-year-old Hispanic early adolescents.
Relational victimization involves being the target of relational aggression, in which the perpetrator attempts to harm the victim through manipulation and/or threat of damage to relationships (Crick, Casas, & Nelson, 2002). Relational victimization can be direct (e.g., being excluded from a social activity) or indirect (e.g., being the target of nasty rumors), and this range of victimization experiences has been studied mostly through self-report methods (for a review, see Card & Hodges, 2008). Relational victimization occurring during early adolescence (i.e., 10-14 years of age) may be detrimental due to the increased vulnerability of experiencing depressive symptoms and conduct problems during this developmental period (Cerda, Prins, Galea, Howe, & Pardini, 2016; Edwards et al., 2014; Kessler, Avenevoli, & Ries Merikangas, 2001; Poirier et al., 2015; Thapar, Collinshaw, Pine, & Thapar, 2012). In addition, as early adolescents begin to place increased emphasis on peer relations, relational victimization may threaten newly formed relationships (Crick et al., 2002; Holmbeck & Updegrove, 1995). In turn, relational victimization may lead to the development of early adolescent adjustment problems.
Although few studies have examined relational victimization across ethnic groups, findings from one study indicated that approximately 40% of Hispanic adolescents in Grades 6 through 10 reported relational victimization relative to 43% of Caucasian adolescents and 37% of African American adolescents (Wang, Iannotti, & Nansel, 2009). In a study with a primarily Hispanic sample, elementary-aged children who reported being relationally victimized also reported elevated levels of depression (Bauman, 2008). Another study with a primarily non-Hispanic White middle school sample found a positive association between relational victimization and conduct problems (Loukas & Pasch, 2013). Yet, there is limited research investigating protective factors that may buffer the impact of relational victimization on Hispanic early adolescents’ adjustment problems.
According to the stress-buffering model, certain resources may help lessen the effect of negative life events (i.e., stressful experiences) on early adolescent development (Cohen & Wills, 1985). For example, psychosocial resources, such as social support (including emotional, informational, and appraisal support; Malecki & Demaray, 2006), may buffer the association between a stressful experience, such as relational victimization, and negative developmental outcomes in early adolescence (Darity, 2008). In particular, social support may help an adolescent cope with a stressor by reducing the importance she or he may associate with the stressor (Cohen & Wills, 1985). Although other resources exist to buffer the negative impact of a stress (e.g., personality characteristics such as “hardiness”), early adolescents may rely on social support due to its availability within their social context at home and at school (Darity, 2008).
Previous evidence supports the promotive role of parental support in early adolescent development. Father emotional support (e.g., “my father understands my problems and worries”) was associated with lower levels of emotional and behavioral problems among a primarily non-Hispanic White adolescent sample between the ages of 12 and 21 years (Yeung & Leadbeater, 2010). Another study examining a sample of primarily non-Hispanic White middle school students found that perceived social support from parents buffered the relationship between victimization and distress from bullying (Davidson & Demaray, 2007). Furthermore, parent support buffered the association between peer victimization and mental health problems among younger (i.e., 11-14 years), but not older (i.e., 15-18 years), German female students (Stadler, Feifel, Rohrmann, Vermeiren, & Poustka, 2010). Whereas most studies focus on the buffering effects of parent support on relational victimization among non-Hispanic White early adolescents, Hispanic early adolescents may be particularly likely to benefit from parent support given that their cultural background emphasizes the positive role of family (Piña-Watson, Ojeda, Castellon, & Dornhecker, 2013).
Teacher support may be just as salient to developmental outcomes as parent support, given that youth spend the majority of their time in schools, and teachers are often the first available adults that students can turn to in times of stress (Yeung & Leadbeater, 2010). For example, teacher emotional support was found to be negatively associated with adolescents’ emotional and behavioral problems (Yeung & Leadbeater, 2010). Furthermore, findings from the same study indicated that teacher support buffered the association between relational victimization and behavioral problems, similar to findings found for teacher support in Davidson and Demaray’s (2007) study.
Unlike the literature on parent and teacher support, the role of peer support in early adolescent victimization is much less consistent in its positive direct and moderating roles. Existing correlational evidence indicates that peer support is negatively associated with depressive symptoms among Latino adolescents in Grades 7 through 10 (Gonzalez, Stein, Kiang, & Cupito, 2014). Regarding externalizing problems, one study found that peer support was associated with higher levels of problem behaviors (e.g., “I argue a lot”) among non-Hispanic White adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 years (Kerr, Preuss, & King, 2006). Similarly, findings on the moderating role of peer support indicate that both buffering and exacerbating effects exist in the association between victimization and maladjustment among primarily non-Hispanic White early and older adolescents (Desjardins & Leadbeater, 2011; Papafratzeskakou, Kim, Longo, & Riser, 2011).
The Present Study
The majority of research examining the buffering roles of parent, teacher, and peer support in the associations between relational victimization and adjustment problems has focused on non-Hispanic White early adolescents; therefore, research is needed to assess whether these findings are similar and generalizable to other racial/ethnic groups, such as Hispanic early adolescents. Guided by the stress-buffering model, the current study assessed the unique and interacting associations between relational victimization and three forms of social support (parent support, teacher support, and peer support) on both depressive symptoms and conduct problems in a sample of Hispanic middle school students (Cohen & Wills, 1985).
Given the variability in Hispanic early adolescents’ maladjustment outcomes based on levels of acculturation (e.g., Yu, Huang, Schwalberg, Overpeck, & Kogan, 2003) and gender (e.g., Storch, Phil, Nock, Masia-Warner, & Barlas, 2003), the present study included language primarily spoken at home (a proxy for acculturation; Arcia, Skinner, Bailey, & Correa, 2001; Marin, Sabogal, Marin, Otero-Sabogal, & Perez-Stable, 1987) as well as gender, both as covariates in all models. The current study tested the following hypotheses:
We made no hypotheses for the associations involving peer support, given the mixed literature.
Method
Participants
Participants were 189 sixth- to eighth-grade middle school students who self-reported as “Hispanic, Latino, or Mexican American.” Participants were 11 to 15 years of age (M = 12.13, SD = .95), more than half (62%) were females, and 52% reported their language primarily spoken at home was Spanish. Twenty-eight of the 189 students were missing some data, with most (75%) missing one variable of interest and the remainder missing two to six variables out of eight. Therefore, multiple imputation in SPSS was used to impute the missing data for 28 students.
Procedures
Five middle schools in an urban school district participated in the study. The racial/ethnic breakdown of the school district at the time of data collection was approximately 60% Hispanic, 25% White, 8% African American, and 7% of students reporting another race/ethnicity. Of the 2,582 students at the five middle schools, we obtained active parental consent for 30% (n = 773) of the students to participate. Of those students with parental consent, 71 refused, were absent on the day of survey administration, or did not take the survey for other reasons (e.g., called into the nurse’s office), resulting in a total sample of 702 participants. Only data from the 189 students who self-reported as “Hispanic, Latino, or Mexican American” were included in the present study. Students completed a 167-item self-reported paper-and-pencil English survey in the spring and fall of 2013. The survey was administered in a 45- to 90-minute classroom period, depending on each school’s class schedule. The institutional review board of the university leading the study as well as the urban school district approved all study procedures.
Measures
Covariates
Language primarily spoken at home (i.e., “What is the language most often spoken in your home?”) was used as a proxy for acculturation. Response choices were “English, Spanish, or some other language.” Only participants who indicated either English (coded as 1) or Spanish (coded as 0) primarily spoken at home were included in the study. Gender was coded as 0 for female and 1 for male.
Depressive symptoms
The 10-item CES-D (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale), a common screening test for identifying depressive symptoms, was used to assess depressive symptoms (Andresen, Malmgren, Carter, & Patrick, 1994). Students responded to items such as “In the past week, I felt depressed.” The items were scored on a scale ranging from 1 (rarely or none of the time—less than 1 day) to 4 (most or all of the time—5-7 days). Responses to two items (“I was happy” and “I felt hopeful about the future”) were reverse coded. All 10 items were averaged, such that higher scores indicated more depressive symptoms. Research shows similar internal reliability with Hispanic adolescents (i.e., 12-18 years; Crockett, Randall, Shen, Russell, & Driscoll, 2005), and Cronbach’s α in the present study was .71.
Conduct problems
The five-item Conduct Problems subscale from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, Meltzer, & Bailey, 1998) was used to assess conduct problems. Students responded to items such as “I fight a lot” and “I can make other people do what I want.” Items were scored on a scale from 1 (not true) to 3 (certainly true). Responses to one item (“I usually do as I am told”) were reverse coded. All five items were averaged, such that higher scores indicated more conduct problems. The Cronbach’s α of the five items was .55. Other studies show similar internal reliability for Hispanic samples (Valdez, Padilla, Moore, & Magaña, 2013).
Relational victimization
The three-item scale from Crick and Grotpeter (1995) was used to assess self-reported relational victimization in the last couple of months. Students responded to three items, “Been called mean names,” “Been left out of things on purpose,” and “Been told lies about.” The three items were scored on a scale from 1 (never) to 5 (several times a week). The three items were averaged, with higher scores reflecting more relational victimization. Previous research indicates good scale reliability for Hispanic early adolescents (Buhs, McGinley, & Toland, 2010). The Cronbach’s α of this scale for this study was .80.
Parent support
The 12-item Parent Support subscale from the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS; Malecki, Demaray, Elliott, & Nolten, 2000) was used to assess parent support with items such as “My parents listen to me when I need to talk.” Items were scored on a scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always) and were averaged, with higher scores reflecting higher perceived parent support. The Cronbach’s α for this scale was .96. Similar internal reliability for primarily Hispanic samples has been found in other studies (e.g., Malecki & Demaray, 2006).
Teacher support and peer support
The four-item Teacher Personal Support Scale from the Classroom Life Instrument (Johnson & Johnson, 1983; Van Ryzin, Gravely, & Roseth, 2009) was used to assess perceived teacher support with items such as “My teacher really cares about me.” Similarly, the five-item Student Personal Support Scale from the same Classroom Life Instrument (Johnson & Johnson, 1983; Van Ryzin et al., 2009) was used to assess perceived peer support, with items such as “Other students in this school care about my feelings.” Items were scored on a scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always) and were averaged, with higher scores indicating more teacher support and peer support. The Cronbach’s α for the Teacher and Peer Support subscales were .81 and .92, respectively. Both subscales have demonstrated high internal reliabilities with Hispanic early adolescents (e.g., Kiefer, Matthews, Montesino, Arango, & Preece, 2013).
Analyses
To test the study hypotheses and examine the main and interacting associations of relational victimization and the three support variables on both outcomes, SPSS 24 was used to run a series of hierarchical regression analyses. Separate four-step models were examined for each outcome variable: depressive symptoms and conduct problems. For each model, Hispanic early adolescents’ gender and language primarily spoken at home were entered in Step 1 as covariates. Relational victimization was entered in Step 2 to examine its unique association with the maladjustment outcomes, over and above language primarily spoken at home and gender (Hypothesis 1). Parent, teacher, and peer support were entered simultaneously in Step 3 to examine unique associations with the maladjustment outcomes, over and above the covariates and relational victimization (Hypothesis 2). Three two-way interactions between relational victimization and each of the perceived social support variables (e.g., Relational Victimization × Parent Support) were entered in Step 4 to examine their moderating roles (Hypothesis 3). Standardized (i.e., centered) variables were used in the interaction terms to avoid issues with multicollinearity. Significant interactions were probed by examining the association between relational victimization and both outcome variables at high (1 SD above the mean) and low (1 SD below the mean) levels of the social support variables (Aiken & West, 1991). Interactions indicating nonsignificance were not included in the final models.
Results
Preliminary Analyses
Prior to examining study hypotheses, zero-order correlations and independent-samples t tests were conducted to examine (a) associations between the study variables and (b) differences in study variables on gender and language spoken primarily at home. Correlational results (see Table 1) indicated that relational victimization was positively associated with depressive symptoms and conduct problems. In addition, teacher support, peer support, and parent support were all negatively associated with both depressive symptoms and conduct problems. Examination of the independent-samples t tests (see Table 2) indicated that female Hispanic early adolescents reported higher levels of peer support than male Hispanic early adolescents. Furthermore, early adolescents speaking primarily English at home reported lower levels of conduct problems and higher levels of relational victimization than those speaking primarily Spanish at home. No significant differences were found on all other variables across gender or language primarily spoken at home.
Means and Zero-Order Correlations for All Study Variables Among Hispanic Adolescents (n = 189).
Note. Gender: 0 = female, 1 = male; Language spoken at home: 0 = English, 1 = Spanish; standard deviations are omitted as a result of using multiple imputation.
p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.
Mean Scores of and Differences in Study Variables by Gender and Language Spoken at Home (n = 189).
p < .05.
Primary Analyses
Hierarchical regression analyses were used to examine the direct and moderating associations between relational victimization and the three support variables on the depressive symptoms and conduct problems outcomes. As shown in Table 3, results from Step 3 of the models indicated that after taking into account all study variables, relational victimization was positively associated with both depressive symptoms and conduct problems. Results from Step 3 also indicated that only parent support was negatively associated with depressive symptoms, whereas parent and teacher support were negatively associated with conduct problems. Overall, the main effects model accounted for 28% of the variance in depressive symptoms, F(6, 188) = 12.88, p < .001, and 29% of the variance in conduct problems, F(6, 188) = 13.49, p < .001.
Examining the Unique and Interactive Association of Relational Victimization and Social Support on Hispanic Adolescents’ Maladjustment (n = 189).
Note. All two-way interactions were examined separately in the presence of lower level main effects variables. Depressive symptoms: R2 = .01 for Step 1 (p > .05); ΔR2 = .15 for Step 2 (p < .001); ΔR2 = .14 for Step 3 (p < .001). Conduct problems: R2 = .06 for Step 1 (p < .01); ΔR2 = .13 for Step 2 (p < .001); ΔR2 = .12 for Step 3 (p < .001).
p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.
Examination of the interactions in Step 4 of the models indicated that two of the two-way interactions (i.e., involving parent and peer support) were significant in explaining depressive symptoms. The Relational Victimization × Parent Support interaction accounted for a small but significant portion of the variance in depressive symptoms (3%), ΔR2 = .03, F(1, 181) = 8.34, p < .01. Similarly, the Relational Victimization × Peer Support interaction accounted for a small but significant portion of the variance in depressive symptoms (2%), ΔR2 = .02, F(1, 181) = 4.81, p < .05. Probing the first interaction (see Figure 1) indicated that the positive association between relational victimization and depressive symptoms was significant for Hispanic early adolescents who reported low levels of parent support (β = 0.48, p < .001), but not for early adolescents reporting high levels of parent support (β = 0.10, p = .33). This finding indicates that parent support buffered the positive association between relational victimization and Hispanic early adolescents’ depressive symptoms. Probing the second interaction indicated that peer support moderated the positive association between relational victimization and depressive symptoms for Hispanic early adolescents reporting both high (β = 0.50, p < .001) and low (β = 0.27, p < .001) levels of peer support. As shown in Figure 1, and at both high and low levels of peer support, relational victimization was significantly and positively associated with depressive symptoms; therefore, peer support did not act as a protective factor.
Examining the parent and peer support moderation effects for depressive symptoms and conduct problems.
Relational Victimization × Parent Support was the only significant two-way interaction in explaining conduct problems, accounting for a small portion of the variance in conduct problems (2%), ΔR2 = .02, F(1, 153) = 4.84, p < .05. Probing the interaction (see Figure 1) indicated that there was a positive association between relational victimization and conduct problems for Hispanic early adolescents who reported high levels of parent support (β = 0.51, p < .001), but not for early adolescents reporting low levels of parent support (β = 0.13, p = .13). Contrary to expectations, this finding indicated that parent support exacerbated the positive association between relational victimization and Hispanic early adolescents’ conduct problems.
Discussion
This study examined the unique and interacting associations between relational victimization and three forms of social support (parent support, teacher support, and peer support) on both depressive symptoms and conduct problems in a sample of Hispanic middle school students. Consistent with expectations and prior research (Bauman, 2008; Loukas & Pasch, 2013), findings indicated that relational victimization was positively associated with depressive symptoms and conduct problems among our Hispanic early adolescent sample. Regarding the buffering role of the social support variables, findings showed that only parent support acted as buffer in the association between relational victimization and depressive symptoms. Consistent with the stress-buffering model (Cohen & Wills, 1985) and previous research on primarily non-Hispanic White adolescent samples (Davidson & Demaray, 2007; Stadler et al., 2010), Hispanic early adolescents who reported higher levels of parent support also reported lower levels of depressive symptoms, even when experiencing heighted relational victimization. However, additional findings were inconsistent with the stress-buffering model. Thus, both parent and peer support exacerbated the positive association between relational victimization and conduct problems, and teacher support did not act as a buffer in the associations between relational victimization and either outcome. Findings highlight the complexities involved when considering protective factors for Hispanic adolescents experiencing relational victimization.
Consistent with prior research conducted with non-Hispanic White adolescents, there were positive relational victimization–maladjustment associations in our early adolescent Hispanic sample. Evidence suggests that early adolescents who experience relational victimization may report elevated levels of depressive symptoms because they feel rejected by their peers (Mathieson, Klimes-Dougan, & Crick, 2014). Alternatively, relational victimization may be difficult for early adolescents to understand due to its often-covert nature when compared with physical victimization (Zimmer-Gembeck, Trevaskis, Nesdale, & Downey, 2013). In turn, this may limit early adolescent’s ability to implement cognitive coping mechanisms (Zimmer-Gembeck et al., 2013), possibly leading to the development of depressive symptoms. Relational victimization was also positively associated with conduct problems. Early adolescents who are victimized may find it difficult to regulate their hurt feelings, thus, acting out and responding aggressively (Kaynak, Lepore, Kliewer, & Jaggi, 2015).
Consistent with the stress-buffering model (Cohen & Wills, 1985), parent support buffered the association between relational victimization and depressive symptoms. Adolescents who experience relational victimization may receive advice and support from their parents that lessens the feelings of depression (Yeung & Leadbeater, 2010). Inconsistent with the stress-buffering model, however, parent support exacerbated the effects of relational victimization on Hispanic early adolescents’ conduct problems. Perhaps adolescents who experience victimization also get parental advice to “fight back” as a means of retaliation (Purcell, 2012), thus early adolescents may report higher levels of conduct problems.
Also inconsistent with the stress-buffering model, peer support exacerbated the association between relational victimization and depressive symptoms. This finding may be attributed to the nonnormative nature of having high levels of peer support but still being victimized (Wang et al., 2009). Early adolescents who perceive high levels of peer support but still experience relational victimization may resort to self-blaming for their victimization. In other words, they may blame themselves for their shortcomings and their victimization because even their peers cannot help them. By blaming themselves, they inevitably feel sad and report heightened depressive symptoms (Graham, Bellmore, Nishina, & Juvonen, 2009). It is also feasible that adolescents seek support from peers that are similarly victimized, and in turn, peer support may not offer a solution to the victimization (Lodder, Scholte, Cillessen, & Giletta, 2016).
Additional findings indicated that although early adolescents’ reports of teacher support were directly associated with fewer conduct problems, this form of social support was not associated with depressive symptoms and did not buffer or exacerbate the associations between relational victimization and maladjustment outcomes. Emotional support from teachers is often associated with positive development; however, early adolescents report seeking more informational support (e.g., help with school work) from teachers, while seeking emotional support from parents and peers (Malecki & Demaray, 2003). Moreover, students may be unlikely to seek support from teachers if they believe that teachers are uninterested or unwilling to help (Rigby & Bagshaw, 2003). Therefore, teachers may be seen as a source of support when needing academic assistance, but not when experiencing social problems such as experiences of relational victimization.
Finally, although not the main focus of the present study, findings also indicated few differences across gender and language spoken at home in this sample of Hispanic early adolescents. However, it is notable that Hispanic early adolescents who primarily speak English at home report fewer conduct problems but more relational victimization than their peers who speak primarily Spanish at home. Perhaps, Hispanic early adolescents who primarily speak English at home may adapt and assimilate better to their environment or school setting than those who speak Spanish and, for this reason, report fewer behavior problems (Smokowski, Buchanan, & Bacallao, 2009). Although adolescents who primarily speak English at home may feel more comfortable in a school setting (Smokowski et al., 2009), compared with those who primarily speak Spanish at home, social problems may persist due to cultural differences, which may explain increased levels of relational victimization for early adolescents who primarily speak English at home.
Limitations
The present study corroborates prior research on the detrimental implications of relational victimization and extends the literature by investigating potential protective factors for Hispanic early adolescents, but has some limitations. First, study findings are based on cross-sectional self-reported data, thereby introducing shared method variance and limiting the ability to determine temporal precedence between relational victimization and maladjustment. Findings from two meta-analyses indicate that peer victimization has a bidirectional association with internalizing (Reijntjes, Kamphuis, Prinzie, & Telch, 2010) and externalizing behaviors (Reijntjes et al., 2011); therefore, longitudinal studies should be conducted to determine the temporal associations between variables. Self-reported data may have inflated the associations between variables in this study; thus, future studies should collect data from multiple sources (e.g., parent reports) and/or include observational data. In addition, this study was conducted with a group of early adolescents within a specific age range, and for this reason, findings may not be generalizable to younger or older Hispanic adolescents who may place higher or lower values on social support. Parent support may be more protective for younger adolescents when compared with older adolescents (Stadler et al., 2010). The role of protective factors on the development of adjustment problems may also vary according to constructs specific to the Hispanic culture (e.g., familismo). There were relatively few differences on study variables between early adolescents who spoke primarily Spanish at home and those who spoke primarily English. However, those who spoke primarily English at home reported higher levels of relational victimization than their peers. Thus, constructs specific to Hispanic culture should be included in future research examining relational victimization to understand their role in Hispanic early adolescent development. Finally, the low internal reliability score for the conduct problems measure (i.e., α = .55) may have diminished the strength of associations among study variables. However, results indicated that all study variables (with the exception of gender and peer support) were associated with conduct problems in the full model.
Conclusion
Taking into consideration the aforementioned limitations, this study is important and unique because it examines the moderating roles of parent, teacher, and peer social support in the associations between relational victimization and maladjustment in an exclusively Hispanic sample. Findings indicated that parent support acted as a protective factor in the association between relational victimization and depressive symptoms, whereas peer support acted as an exacerbating factor, irrespective of how much peer support was available. Parent support also acted as an exacerbating factor in the association between relational victimization and conduct problems. Thus, simply recommending parent and peer support as ways to mitigate Hispanic students’ experiences with relational victimization may not always be beneficial. Rather, culturally competent strategies may need to be developed, and schools encouraged to better identify students dealing with victimization. Although Hispanic early adolescents are a growing ethnic group in the United States, the current immigration debate may put them at an increased risk for victimization. Further research is needed to examine other protective factors for Hispanic early adolescents experiencing relational victimization.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.