Profiles of family maltreatment and peer victimization: Associations with psychosocial adjustment in Chinese children

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough the family and peer systems are both important for children's development, few studies have simultaneously considered the impact of adversity experienced in these systems on children. ObjectiveThe first purpose of this study was using latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify profiles of family maltreatment (i.e., physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect) and peer victimization (i.e., physical victimization and relational victimization) among Chinese elementary school children. The second purpose was to examine associations between the identified profiles and short-term psychosocial adjustment (i.e., self-esteem, depression symptoms, prosocial behavior, and externalizing behavior). Participants and settingThe sample included 4313 children (45.6 % girls) with an average age of 10.9 years (SD = 0.49) from a large city in China. MethodAssessments were conducted on two occasions six months apart. Family maltreatment and peer victimization were assessed at Time 1. Psychosocial adjustment was assessed at Time 2. ResultsThe potential complexity of children's adversity experiences was revealed in that six profiles of family maltreatment and peer victimization in children were identified: (a) Low-risk; (b) Slight peer victimization; (c) Severe peer victimization; (d) Serious neglect; (e) Severe maltreatment; (f) Doubly disadvantaged. Children in the low-risk profile showed the best psychosocial adjustment whereas children in the doubly disadvantaged profile showed the worst psychosocial adjustment. The findings revealed additional differences in the subsequent psychosocial adjustment of the children in the six profiles. ConclusionsThe identification of multiple profiles and differing relations to psychosocial adjustment implies that interventions should be tailored to members of specific profiles.