Loneliness: The Cause or Consequence of Peer Victimization in Children and Youth

Shireen Pavri

doi:10.2174/1874350101508010078

Abstract

This article reviews the extant research literature on loneliness and peer victimization for children and youth, and explores the complex relationship between these two constructs. While lonely students who have few friends and receive limited peer support are vulnerable to being victimized by their peers, loneliness also emerges as a salient outcome of persistent and chronic peer victimization. The author discusses the phenomenon and incidence of bullying, the predictors of bullying and loneliness in children and youth, and reviews the literature associated with peer victimization in children and youth with disabilities, a population that is particularly vulnerable to being both the perpetrator and victim of bullying. The article concludes with a review of school-based intervention approaches to alleviate bullying in children and youth.

Highlights

Bullying in schools has increasingly been gaining attention as a cause for concern
They found adults who were victimized as children reported lower self-esteem, higher emotional loneliness, greater difficulties maintaining friendships, and were at higher risk for continued victimization as adults, than did peers who were not victimized at a young age
While there is a vast literature base to support the claim that loneliness is a common outcome in students who are bullied [6, 9], the research indicates that lonely children and youth are more susceptible to persistent bullying by their peers [2, 10, 11], a phenomenon that maintains the student’s victimized status and builds immunity to intervention

Summary

Introduction

Bullying in schools has increasingly been gaining attention as a cause for concern. Bullying is a stressor on school-aged children and youth that adversely impacts academic adjustment, psychosocial adaptation, and attitudes toward school [1, 2]. Loneliness, social anxiety, and lower self-esteem are common outcomes for children and youth who have been bullied at school [5]. While there is a vast literature base to support the claim that loneliness is a common outcome in students who are bullied [6, 9], the research indicates that lonely children and youth are more susceptible to persistent bullying by their peers [2, 10, 11], a phenomenon that maintains the student’s victimized status and builds immunity to intervention.

Results

Conclusion