Attentional Biases to Bullies and Bystanders and Youth’s Coping With Peer Victimization

Abstract

Effectively coping with peer victimization may be facilitated by deploying attention away from threat (i.e., bullies, reinforcers) and toward available support (e.g., defenders). To test this premise, 72 early adolescents (38 girls; Mage = 11.67, SD = 8.14 months) watched video clips of youth actors portraying a bully aggressing against a victim in front of a reinforcer and a defender. Coping was assessed using self-reports, and peer victimization was assessed through peer-, teacher-, and parent-reports. At high levels of peer victimization, attention to the bully was associated with less seeking of adult support and greater retaliation. Contrary to predictions, at high levels of victimization, attention to defenders was associated with an internalizing coping profile for boys and a retaliatory profile for girls. Thus, attentional biases may contribute to poor coping responses among victimized youth, underscoring the need to study how attention to cues is translated into actionable coping strategies.