Junsheng Liu

Peer Victimization and Adjustment Difficulties Among Adolescents: Moderating Effects of Peer Groups’ Prosociality

The healthy context paradox posits that victims’ adjustment difficulties may be exacerbated in healthier social environments. However, evidence for this paradox at the peer-group level remains scarce, and the role of positive group norms (e.g., prosociality) has been overlooked. This study examined the moderating role of peer groups’ prosociality on the relations between peer victimization and adjustment difficulties among Chinese adolescents. Participants were 728 adolescents ( M age  = 11.65 years, SD  = 1.55, 44.5% girls) nested in 129 peer groups, who provided self-report and peer nomination data. Results revealed that in high prosocial groups, the relationship between peer victimization and loneliness was strengthened (consistent with the healthy context paradox), while the relationship between peer victimization and aggression was weakened. These findings extend the paradox to the peer-group level and highlight the dual role of prosocial group norms—amplifying internalizing distress while buffering externalizing problems—with implications for targeted interventions.

Longitudinal Relations among Defending Behaviors, Bullying Victimization, and Self-Esteem in Chinese Adolescence: Examining Between- and Within-Person Effects.

Peer Victimization and School Engagement in Chinese Adolescents: The Role of Grit and Self-Compassion

This study aimed to investigate the longitudinal relationships between peer victimization and three types of school engagement among Chinese adolescents, with a focus on the potential indirect effects of two facets of grit, perseverance of effort and consistency of interest, and the moderating role of self-compassion. This study adopted a two-wave longitudinal design over one year, involving 810 Chinese adolescents ( M age  = 13.04, SD  = 0.76). Participants completed the Chinese version of the School Engagement Scale and the Grit Scale at both time points. In addition, the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire and the Self-Compassion Scale were administered at Time 1. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze all study variables. Results showed that the direct relationship between T1 peer victimization and T2 school engagement was significant only for behavioral engagement ( β  = −.084, p  = .011), not for emotional or cognitive engagement. However, peer victimization was linked to subsequent school engagement indirectly through grit's consistency of interest, but not through perseverance of effort ( β  = −.013 to −.035, p s = .003–.024). Further analysis revealed that the indirect effect of consistency of interest was significant across levels of self-compassion and became stronger when T1 self-compassion was high. Moreover, higher self-compassion strengthened the negative association between peer victimization and consistency of interest. These results provide nuanced explanations of how and for whom peer victimization is associated with later school engagement as well as inform interventions to maintain school engagement among victimized Chinese adolescents.