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References

Ainsworth, M.D. (1979). Infant-mother attachment. American Psychologist, 34(10), 932-937. Booth-LaForce, C., & Kerns, K. A. (2009). Child-parent attachment relationships, peer relationships, and peer group functioning. In K. H. Rubin, W. Bukowski & B. Laursen (Eds.), Handbook of peer interactions, peer relationships, and peer group functioning (pp. 490–507). New York, NY: Guilford. Borenstein, M., Hedges, L., Higgins, J., & Rothstein, H. (2014). Comprehensive Meta Analysis Version 3.0. Englewood, NJ: Biostat. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/bullying_factsheet.pdf. . Cook, C.R., Williams, K.R., Guerra, N.J, Kim, T.E, & Sadek, S. (2010) Predictors of Bullying and Victimization in Childhood and Adolescence: A Meta-analytic Investigation, School Psychology Quarterly, 25(2), 65-83. Fried, S., & Fried, P. (1996). Bullies and victims: Helping your child through the schoolyard battlefield. New York: M. Evans and Company. McDougall, P., & Vaillancourt, T. (2015). Long-term adult outcomes of peer victimization in childhood and adolescence: Pathways to adjustment and maladjustment. American Psychologist, 70(4), 300-310. doi:10.1037/a0039174 Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., & Altman, D. G. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA Statement. Annals of Internal Medicine, 151(4), 264-269. Molcho, M., Craig, W., Due, P., Pickett, W., Harel-Fisch, Y., & Overpeck, M. (2009). Cross-national time trends in bullying behaviour 1994– 2006: findings from Europe and North America. International Journal of Public Health, 54(2), 225-234. doi:10.1007/s00038-009-5414-8 Rigby, K., & Slee, P. (1999). Suicidal ideation among adolescent school children, involvement in bully-victim problems, and perceived social support. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 29, 119–130. Walden, L. M., & Beran, T. N. (2010). Attachment quality and bullying behavior in school-aged youth. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 25(1), 5-18.

Research Questions

1.  What is the association between parent-child attachment security and peer victimization?

2.  Do publication variables (i.e., publication type, year, country) influence this relationship?

3.  Do study sample variables (i.e., child age, gender, and ethnicity) influence this relationship?

Methods A meta-analysis was conducted.

Discussion

The relationship between parent-child attachment and experiences of peer victimization is small.

•  Given the modest effect size, this relationship is likely indirect; other factors may be mediating this relationship (e.g., social expectations, social skills, cognitive biases).

This relationship was found to become stronger in samples with a greater percentage of White people.

•  This finding should be interpreted with caution. •  Cultural and/or measurement biases may be

influencing this association.

Future research should explore potential mediating factors to better understand this relationship and to develop and facilitate effective interventions.

Acknowledgments Special thanks to to the members of the Family and Developmental

Psychopathology Lab for their helpful comments and suggestions. This research was funded by the Department of Psychology at the

University of Manitoba.

Objective To clarify the association between parent-child

attachment security and peer victimization.

Results 1.  A small significant relationship was found between

attachment security and peer victimization experiences (r = -.14, 95% CI [-.18, -.10], p < .001, k = 10).

2.  Publication variables (i.e., publication type, year, and country) did not significantly moderate this relationship.

3.  Studies with a higher percentage of White participants revealed larger correlations between attachment security and peer victimization experiences

(p = .014, k = 4).

Correspondence

Michelle.Ward@umanitoba.ca or Jen.Theule@umanitoba.ca

*

The Association Between Peer Victimization and Attachment Security: A Meta-Analysis

Michelle Ward, Kylee Hurl, Jennifer Barnes, & Jennifer Theule

Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba

Parent-Child Attachment

An infant’s bond with their primary caregiver helps to establish an internal working model that becomes a foundation for guiding later relationships (Bowlby, 1982).

Attachment can be categorized as (Ainsworth, 1979): a.  Secure b. Non-secure

Non-secure attachment styles have been associated with internalizing, externalizing, and social difficulties.

Bullying and Peer Victimization

Bullying has been defined as continual aggressive behaviour that is perpetrated by peers and involves an actual or perceived imbalance of power (CDC, 2014).

Bullying continues to be a reality faced by Canadian children and youth, with research revealing rising rates of victimization in recent decades (Molcho et al., 2009).

Victims of bullying are at an increased risk for maladaptive outcomes across academic, social, physical, and mental health domains (Cook et al., 2010; Fried & Fried, 1996; McDougall & Vaillancourt, 2015; Rigby & Slee, 1999).

Presented at The Canadian Psychological Association's 77th Annual Convention Victoria, British Columbia, June 9-11, 2016

16 studies met eligibility criteria:

•  11 published reports •  5 unpublished reports (theses/dissertations) •  Year of publication ranged from 2003 to 2014

Each study was coded following a coding manual. •  Data was entered and analyzed through the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis

3.0 program (Borenstein, Hedges, Higgins, & Rothstein, 2014).

Excluded (n = 523)

Full-text articles excluded, with reasons (n = 109)

•  No eligible measure of peer victimization (n = 46)

•  No eligible measure of parental attachment (n = 29)

•  Ineligible mean age (n =14) •  Data in format not amenable to

meta-analysis (n = 10) •  Case study or missing quantitative

data (n = 4) •  Ineligible or no quantitative

comparison between attachment and peer victimization (n = 4)

•  Full-text unavailable (n = 2)

The following databases were searched: PsycINFO, ERIC, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Scopus, and Google Scholar

Limits: English-language articles

Published or prepared before June 2014

Full-text articles assessed

for eligibility (n = 125)

Included (n = 16)

Articles screened on basis of title and abstract

Search results combined after duplicates removed (n = 648)

Peer Victimization and Attachment

Children with secure attachment orientations have positive expectations about their social interactions.

•  This may make them less likely to become a victim of bullying (Walden & Beran, 2010).

Children with a more secure maternal attachment have been found to have more secure peer attachments (e.g., Booth-LaForce & Kerns, 2009).

*Modified version of the PRISMA Flow Diagram (Moher, Liberati, Tetzlaff, Altman, & The PRISMA Group, 2009)