Victimization from Peer Aggression and/or Bullying: Prevalence, Overlap, and Psychosocial Characteristics

Bullying and peer victimization are overlapping concepts related to aggressive behaviors by peers, prevalent among children and adolescents worldwide. Bullying has been suggested to be particularly harmful for the victim, yet few studies have empirically explored the differences between peer victimization and victimization from bullying. In the present study, a multinomial approach was applied to examine the prevalence and psychosocial profiles of teenagers that reported frequent peer victimization and/or episodes of being bullied, in a sample of 3,447 Finnish middle school students (1,757 girls and 1,690 boys; mean age 14.3 years). Convergent, multi-identified victims were found to be most likely to show high levels of depressive symptoms, but all categories of victims showed increased levels of depressive symptoms compared to non-victims. Notably, victims of bullying and victims of peer aggression differed in terms of aggressive behavior and perceived peer support. The results are discussed in terms of victim identity and identification.