(PS3-19) Negative Automatic Thoughts Mediate the Relationship Between Peer Victimization and Internalizing Distress in Adolescents: Implications for Clinical Practice

Prior research has established that peer victimization is associated with internalizing distress in adolescents. While most research has focused on overt victimization (OV), or direct physical harm or verbal abuse, some research has shown that relational victimization (RV), or more covert forms of aggression such as teasing and spreading rumors, is also associated with internalizing symptoms. Negative information processing biases (e.g., negative self-statements, high expectations of negative outcomes, interpreting ambiguous situations as threatening, etc.) have been proposed as a causal mechanism linking peer victimization and internalizing distress. However, it is unclear whether this mechanism functions similarly for both OV and RV, especially among adolescents from marginalized racial and ethnic groups. In the current study, we investigated whether negative automatic thoughts mediated the relationships between OV and RV with internalizing distress in a 2005 archival, longitudinal dataset of high school students. We hypothesized OV and RV at time one would predict internalizing symptoms at time two through the pathway of negative automatic thoughts at time one. 286 adolescents attending a high school (Grade 6 – 10) in an urban area of the Northeast United States completed self-report measures of internalizing symptoms (Youth Self-Report, internalizing broadband), automatic thoughts (Children’s Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire; CATS), and peer victimization (Children’s Social Experiences Questionnaire – Self-Report, OV and RV subscales), at two timepoints one year apart. Two linear regressions were conducted: 1) the direct effect of time one OV on time two internalizing symptoms, and 2) the direct effect of time one RV on time two internalizing symptoms were investigated. Planned mediation analyses were conducted if a direct effect was present. All analyses were conducted in R version 4.2.1. The final sample included 219 adolescents (M_age= 13.6, SD= 1.5) where 64% self-identified as female and 36% as male, and the sample was 52% white, 20% black, 19% Latino/a, 8% Other, and 1% Asian. The OV and RV regressions were both significant (OV: R² = .19, F(3,209)= 16.3 , p< .001; RV: R² = .22, F(3,209)= 20.2, p< .001). When controlling for gender and age, time one OV (b= 1.53, p< .001) and RV (b= 1.34, p< .001) each emerged as a significant predictor of time two internalizing symptoms. Mediation analyses revealed the indirect effect of negative automatic thoughts on time two internalizing symptoms was statistically significant for both the OV (Indirect effect= 0.46, 95% bootstrapped C.I [0.21 – 0.76], p< .001) and RV (Indirect effect= 0.77, 95% bootstrapped C.I [0.46 – 1.09], p< .001) models when controlling for gender and age. Negative automatic thoughts partially mediated the relationships between time one OV and RV with time two internalizing symptoms. Individual cognitive vulnerabilities, such as negative automatic thoughts, may interact with OV and RV to influence internalizing symptom onset throughout development. Findings suggest interventions targeting negative automatic thoughts may protect against risk for internalizing symptoms in the context of OV or RV.