Identifying victims of peer aggression from early to middle childhood: analysis of cross-informant data for concordance, estimation of relational adjustment, prevalence of victimization, and characteristics of identified victims

Psychol Assess. 2002 Mar;14(1):74-96. doi: 10.1037//1040-3590.14.1.74.

Abstract

Two studies were conducted to investigate cross-informant measures of children's peer victimization. In Study 1, self- and peer reports of victimization were compared for 197 children from Kindergarten (M age = 5.73) to Grade 4. Before Grade 2, peer reports were less reliable than self-reports and were poor estimators of relational adjustment. In Study 2, single- versus multiple-informant (self, peer, teacher, parent) victimization measures were compared for 392 children across grades 2 (M age = 8.73) to 4. Results indicated that (a) data from the four informants were reliable and increasingly concordant over time, (b) no single-informant measure proved to be the best predictor of relational adjustment, and (c) a multi-informant composite measure yielded better estimates of relational adjustment than any single-informant measure.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Aggression / psychology*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Crime Victims / psychology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Peer Group*
  • Psychometrics
  • Self Disclosure*
  • Social Adjustment*