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Mothers and children as informants of bullying victimization: results from an epidemiological cohort of children.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Shakoor, S; Jaffee, SR; Andreou, P; Bowes, L; Ambler, AP; Caspi, A; Moffitt, TE; Arseneault, L
Published in: Journal of abnormal child psychology
April 2011

Stressful events early in life can affect children's mental health problems. Collecting valid and reliable information about children's bad experiences is important for research and clinical purposes. This study aimed to (1) investigate whether mothers and children provide valid reports of bullying victimization, (2) examine the inter-rater reliability between the two informants, (3) test the predictive validity of their reports with children's emotional and behavioral problems and (4) compare the genetic and environmental etiology of bullying victimization as reported by mothers and children. We assessed bullying victimization in the Environmental-Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally-representative sample of 1,116 families with twins. We collected reports from mothers and children during private interviews, including detailed narratives. Findings showed that we can rely on mothers and children as informants of bullying victimization: both informants provided information which adhered to the definition of bullying as involving repeated hurtful actions between peers in the presence of a power imbalance. Although mothers and children modestly agreed with each other about who was bullied during primary and secondary school, reports of bullying victimization from both informants were similarly associated with children's emotional and behavioral problems and provided similar estimates of genetic and environmental influences. Findings from this study suggest that collecting information from multiple informants is ideal to capture all instances of bullying victimization. However, in the absence of child self-reports, mothers can be considered as a viable alternative, and vice versa.

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Published In

Journal of abnormal child psychology

DOI

EISSN

1573-2835

ISSN

0091-0627

Publication Date

April 2011

Volume

39

Issue

3

Start / End Page

379 / 387

Related Subject Headings

  • Twins
  • Mothers
  • Male
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Emotions
  • Developmental & Child Psychology
  • Crime Victims
  • Child, Preschool
 

Citation

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ICMJE
MLA
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Shakoor, S., Jaffee, S. R., Andreou, P., Bowes, L., Ambler, A. P., Caspi, A., … Arseneault, L. (2011). Mothers and children as informants of bullying victimization: results from an epidemiological cohort of children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39(3), 379–387. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-010-9463-5
Shakoor, Sania, Sara R. Jaffee, Penelope Andreou, Lucy Bowes, Antony P. Ambler, Avshalom Caspi, Terrie E. Moffitt, and Louise Arseneault. “Mothers and children as informants of bullying victimization: results from an epidemiological cohort of children.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 39, no. 3 (April 2011): 379–87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-010-9463-5.
Shakoor S, Jaffee SR, Andreou P, Bowes L, Ambler AP, Caspi A, et al. Mothers and children as informants of bullying victimization: results from an epidemiological cohort of children. Journal of abnormal child psychology. 2011 Apr;39(3):379–87.
Shakoor, Sania, et al. “Mothers and children as informants of bullying victimization: results from an epidemiological cohort of children.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, vol. 39, no. 3, Apr. 2011, pp. 379–87. Epmc, doi:10.1007/s10802-010-9463-5.
Shakoor S, Jaffee SR, Andreou P, Bowes L, Ambler AP, Caspi A, Moffitt TE, Arseneault L. Mothers and children as informants of bullying victimization: results from an epidemiological cohort of children. Journal of abnormal child psychology. 2011 Apr;39(3):379–387.
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal of abnormal child psychology

DOI

EISSN

1573-2835

ISSN

0091-0627

Publication Date

April 2011

Volume

39

Issue

3

Start / End Page

379 / 387

Related Subject Headings

  • Twins
  • Mothers
  • Male
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Emotions
  • Developmental & Child Psychology
  • Crime Victims
  • Child, Preschool