Do social relationships protect victimized children against internalizing problems?

Abstract

We investigated whether social relationships protect against the effects of victimization on internalizing problems. We used data from the Zurich Project on the Social Development of Children and Youths. Victimization at age 8 was associated with internalizing problems at age 9. Victims who had siblings, warm parents, and a good relationship with the teacher had less internalizing problems than those who did not, providing evidence for a protective effect of social relationships. Friendships with classmates were not found to be protective. Furthermore, social relationships did not protect victims more than non-victims.