Protecting Youth Against the Adverse Effects of Peer Victimization: Why Do Parents Matter?

Exposure to peer victimization is associated with a variety of adverse outcomes but there is individual variability in its effects, suggesting the need to identify why some youth are resilient in the face of victimization. This research examined whether (a) high-quality parent-child relationships protect youth against the effects of peer victimization on psychopathology (antisocial behavior and depressive symptoms); and (b) mitigation of social risks (deviant peer group affiliation and social helplessness) accounts for the protective effects of high-quality parent-child relationships. Youths (N = 636; 338 girls, 298 boys; Mage in 5th grade = 10.94; SD = 0.36) and their teachers completed survey measures at three annual waves across the transition to middle school (5th - 7th grade). Path analyses indicated that high-quality parent-child relationships attenuated the effects of pre-transition victimization on post-transition antisocial behavior, depressive symptoms, and social risks, with some effects differing by gender. As predicted, results suggested that the protective effect against antisocial behavior may operate through mitigated deviant peer group affiliation. This research identifies one key protective factor that contributes to resilience among victimized youth and suggests the importance of incorporating parental support into prevention programs for victimized youth.

A meta-analysis and systematic review of Memory Specificity Training (MeST) in the treatment of emotional disorders.

The tendency to recall events from one's past in a non-specific and overgeneral way has been found to predict the onset and severity of a range of emotional disorders. Memory Specificity Training (MeST) was devised a decade ago in order to target and modify this tendency so as to reduce the symptoms of emotional disorder or to reduce the risk that such disorders might emerge over time. We present a meta-analytical review of research into the effects of MeST on autobiographical memory specificity in the context of emotional disorders (k = 13). MeST was associated with substantial improvement in memory specificity (d = -1.21) and depressive symptoms (d = 0.47) and MeST groups outperformed control groups at post-intervention in terms of specificity (d = 1.08) and depressive symptoms (d = -0.29). However, these effects were transitory and the benefit of MeST over control groups was mostly lost by follow-up assessment. There was mixed evidence in terms of MeST's effects on other processes associated with reduced specificity but MeST showed evidence of improving problem solving abilities and hopelessness. MeST holds promise as a novel intervention targeting reduced specificity but future studies are warranted with control groups that enable the investigation of MeST's mechanism of action and in studies with larger and more varied samples.