Behavioral and psychological consequences of social identity-based aggressive victimization in high school youth

Research suggests many youth report being victimized in school due to ptheir social identities (e.g., race, gender, sexual orientation). We compared the consequences of social identity-based victimization (SIBV) to general victimization wherein adolescents are victimized by peers for other reasons (e.g., competition, a perceived insult). An online survey administered to 471 high school students yielded 777 victimization reports. 71.2% of the students reported at least one recent vicitimization, with 53.8% reporting SIBV. Race-based victimization was the most prevalent, and SIBV was more common online than offline. Psychological reactions (i.e., negative affect, self-esteem, and perceived costs) and behavioral responses (i.e., avoidant, antisocial, prosocial, and self-harm behavior), were heightened for youth reporting SIBV. As anticipated, psychological reactions significantly mediated the effect of SIBV on behavioral responses.