SELF-CONCEPT AND PEER VICTIMIZATION AMONG SCHOOLCHILDREN

The identification of children who are bullied at school is an issue o f concern for developmental social psychologists. The aim of the prese nt study was to replicate previous work in order to confirm the intern al reliability and convergent validity of the Peer Victimization Scale . This is a 6-item scale which can be immersed within the Self-Percept ion Profile for Children thus reducing the saliency of the items and t herefore minimising the effects of social desirability. For boys and g irls, higher scores on the Peer Victimization Scale were associated wi th self- and peer-reports of victimization as well as with lower globa l self-worth, poorer perceptions of competence in a variety of domains , and greater depressive symptomatology.