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Child Development· 2026Q1

Longitudinal bidirectional associations between executive functioning and peer victimization in the early school years: A parallel growth model approach

K. T. A. Sandeeshwara Kasturiratna, Hwajin Yang, Andree Hartanto

Short summary

Higher peer victimization in early school years predicts greater increases in cognitive flexibility over time, while lower executive functioning predicts less steep declines in peer victimization.

AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.

Key points

  • Peer victimization initially declines and then stabilizes in early school years.
  • Lower executive functioning predicts less steep declines in peer victimization (βs = [−.11, −.12]).
  • Higher peer victimization is associated with greater increases in cognitive flexibility over time (β = .17).
  • The study used a parallel growth model approach with four waves of data from a large US sample (n ≈ 13,840).

AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.

Abstract

Abstract Peer victimization during early schooling has been linked to executive functioning (EF), yet little is known about their longitudinal associations. This study examined bidirectional associations between peer victimization and EF using four waves (2013–2016) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Cohort (nbaseline ≈ 13,840; 49% female; Mage(baseline) ≈ 8 years; US sample). Applying bivariate latent growth modeling, results indicated that peer victimization followed a nonlinear trajectory with an initial decline followed by stabilization. Lower intercept-level EF predicted less steep declines in peer victimization (βs = [−.11, −.12]; ps = [.002, <.001]). Importantly, higher intercept-level peer victimization was associated with greater increases in cognitive flexibility over time (β = .17, p < .001). These findings inform understanding of cognitive adaptation to early social stressors.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Child Development, 2026 · DOI ↗

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Field: Social Psychology

Social PsychologyPsychology