Numerous studies have explored the relationship between parent–child attachment and peer victimization, a problem for many Canadian children and youth; however, research in this area has been mixed. The present study utilized meta-analytic procedures to clarify the relationship between parent–child attachment and peer victimization. A random effects model was used to complete these analyses. Following extensive database searches, 16 studies were found to be eligible for inclusion. A significant relationship was found between attachment security and peer victimization, r = −.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [−.18, −.10], p < .001. Sample ethnicity was the only significant moderator; samples with higher proportions of White participants had a stronger relationship between attachment and peer victimization. Although the results of this study highlight the existence of a relationship between attachment relationships and peer victimization, modest effect sizes suggest that this relationship is likely indirect, with other key variables mediating this relationship.
AinsworthM. D.BleharM. C.WatersE.WallS. (1978). Patterns of attachment. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
2.
ArmsdenG. C.GreenbergM. T. (1987). The inventory of parent and peer attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16, 427-454.
3.
BarrettP. M.HolmesJ. (2001). Attachment relationships as predictors of cognitive interpretation and response bias in late adolescence. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 10, 51-64.
4.
Booth-LaForceC.KernsK. A. (2009). Child-parent attachment relationships, peer relationships, and peer group functioning. In RubinK. H.BukowskiW.LaursenB. (Eds.), Handbook of peer interactions, peer relationships, and peer group functioning (pp. 490-507). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
5.
Booth-LaForceC.OhW.KimA. H.RubinK. H.Rose-KrasnorL.BurgessK. (2006). Attachment, self-worth, and peer-group functioning in middle childhood. Attachment & Human Development, 8, 309-325.
6.
BorensteinM.HedgesL. V.HigginsJ. P. T.RothsteinH. R. (2009). Introduction to meta-analysis. West Sussex, England: John Wiley.
7.
BorensteinM.HedgesL. V.HigginsJ. P. T.RothsteinH. R. (2010). A basic introduction to fixed-effect and random-effects models for meta-analysis. Research Synthesis Methods, 1, 97-111.
BowlbyJ. (1973). Attachment and Loss: Vol. 2. Separation. New York, NY: Basic Books.
10.
BowlbyJ. (1982). Attachment and Loss: Vol. 1. Attachment (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Basic Books.
11.
CardN. A. (2012). Applied meta-analysis for social science research. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
12.
CarlyleK. E.SteinmanK. J. (2007). Demographic differences in the prevalence, co-occurrence, and correlates of adolescent bullying at school. Journal of School Health, 77, 623-629.
13.
CohenP. N.CasperL. M. (2002). In whose home? Multigenerational families in the United States, 1998–2000. Sociological Perspectives, 45, 1-20.
14.
*ColemanP. K. (2003). Perceptions of parent-child attachment, social self-efficacy, and peer relationships in middle childhood. Infant and Child Development, 12, 351-368.
15.
CookC. R.WilliamsK. R.GuerraN. J.KimT. E.SadekS. (2010). Predictors of bullying and victimization in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analytic investigation. School Psychology Quarterly, 25, 65-83.
CrowellJ. A.FraleyR. C.ShaverP. R. (2008). Measurement of individual differences in adolescent and adult attachment. In CassidyJ.ShaverP. R. (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (2nd ed., pp. 599-634). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
18.
DykasM. J.CassidyJ. (2011). Attachment and the processing of social information across the life span: Theory and evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 137, 19-46.
19.
*DykasM. J.ZivY.CassidyJ. (2008). Attachment and peer relations in adolescence. Attachment & Human Development, 10, 123-141.
20.
*EarlR. M.BurnsN. R. (2009). Experiences of peer aggression and parental attachment are correlated in adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 47, 748-752.
21.
EspelageD. L.SwearerS. M. (2003). Research on school bullying and victimization: What have we learned and where do we go from here?School Psychology Review, 32, 365-383.
22.
FandremH.ErtesvågS. K.StrohmeierD.RolandE. (2010). Bullying and affiliation: A study of peer groups in native and immigrant adolescents in Norway. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 7, 401-418.
23.
FriedS.FriedP. (1996). Bullies and victims: Helping your children through the schoolyard battlefield. New York, NY: M. Evans.
24.
GeorgiouS. N. (2008). Bullying and victimization at school: The role of mothers. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 78, 109-125.
25.
GladdenR. M.Vivolo-KantorA. M.HamburgerM. E.LumpkinC. D. (2014). Bullying surveillance among youths: Uniform definitions for public health and recommended data elements (Version 1.0). Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. Department of Education.
26.
GrohA. M.FearonR. P.Bakermans-KranenburgM. J.Van IjzendoornM. H.SteeleR. D.RoismanG. I. (2014). The significance of attachment security for children’s social competence with peers: A meta-analytic study. Attachment & Human Development, 16, 103-136.
27.
Guttmann-SteinmetzS.CrowellJ. (2006). Attachment and externalizing disorders: A developmental psychopathology perspective. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 45, 440-451.
28.
HowesC.SpiekerS. (2008). Attachment relationships in the context of multiple caregivers. In CassidyJ.ShaverP. R. (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (2nd ed., pp. 317-332). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
29.
KernsK. A.BraumariuL. E. (2016). Attachment in middle childhood. In CassidyJ.ShaverP. R. (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (3rd ed., pp. 349-365). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
30.
KimY. S.IeventhalB. (2008). Bullying and suicide: A review. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 20, 133-154.
31.
*KokkinosC. M. (2007). Elementary school children’s involvement in bullying and victimization: The role of attachment style and internalizing and externalizing symptomatology. Scientia Peadagogica Experimentalis, 44, 1, 33-49.
32.
*KokkinosC. M. (2013). Bullying and victimization in early adolescence: Associations with attachment style and perceived parenting. Journal of School Violence, 12, 174-192.
33.
*LeenaarsL. S.DaneA. V.MariniZ. A. (2008). Evolutionary perspective on indirect victimization in adolescence: The role of attractiveness, dating and sexual behavior. Aggressive Behavior, 34, 404-415.
34.
LiberatiA.AltmanD. G.TetzlaffJ.MulrowC.GötzscheP. C.IoannidisJ. P. A.. . . MoherD. (2009). The PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies that evaluate health care interventions: Explanation and elaboration. British Medical Journal, 339, Article b2700.
35.
MainM.SolomonJ. (1990). Procedures for identifying infants as disorganized-disoriented during the Ainsworth strange situation. In GreenbergM.CicchettiD.CummingsE. (Eds.), Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research and intervention (pp. 121-160). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
36.
McDougallP.VaillancourtT. (2015). Long-term adult outcomes of peer victimization in childhood and adolescence: Pathways to adjustment and maladjustment. American Psychologist, 70, 300-310.
37.
MoherD.LiberatiA.TetzlaffJ.AltmanD. G., & The PRISMA Group. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. PLoS Med, 6, Article e1000097.
38.
MolchoM.CraigW.DueP.PickettW.Harel-FischY.OverpeckM. (2009). Cross-national time trends in bullying behaviour 1994–2006: Findings from Europe and North America. International Journal of Public Health, 54, 225-234.
39.
MonksC. P.SmithP. K.SwettenhamJ. (2005). Psychological correlates of peer victimization in preschool: Social cognitive skills, executive function and attachment profiles. Aggressive Behavior, 31, 571-588.
40.
*MoonB.MorashM.McCluskeyJ. D. (2012). General strain theory and school bullying: An empirical test in South Korea. Crime & Delinquency, 58, 827-855.
41.
NanselT. R.CraigW.OverpeckM. D.SalujaG.RuanW. J. (2004). Cross-national consistency in the relationship between bullying behaviors and psychosocial adjustment. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 158, 730-736.
42.
NanselT. R.OverpeckM.PillaR. S.RuanW. J.Simons-MortonB.ScheidtP. (2001). Bullying behaviors among US youth: Prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment. Journal of the American Medical Association, 285, 2094-2100.
43.
*NikiforouM.GeorgiouS. N.StavrinidesP. (2013). Attachment to parents and peers as a parameter of bullying and victimization. Journal of Criminology, 2013, 1-9.
44.
OlweusD. (1993). Victimization by peers: Antecedents and long-term outcomes. In RubinK. H.AsendorfJ. B. (Eds.), Social withdrawal, inhibition, and shyness in childhood (pp. 315-342). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
45.
OlweusD. (2001). Peer harassment: A critical analysis and some important issues. In JuvonenJ.GrahamS. (Eds.), Peer harassment in school: The plight of the vulnerable and victimized (pp. 1-20). New York, NY: The Guildford Press.
46.
*PapafratzeskakouE.KimJ.LongoG. S.RiserD. K. (2011). Peer victimization and depressive symptoms: Role of peers and parent–child relationship. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 20, 784-799.
47.
PilkauskasN. V. (2014). Living with a grandparent and parent in early childhood: Associations with school readiness and differences by demographic characteristics. Developmental Psychology, 50, 2587-2599.
48.
PowellM. D.LaddL. D. (2010). Bullying: A review of the literature and implications for family therapists. American Journal of Family Therapy, 38, 189-206.
49.
RansonK. E.UrichuckL. J. (2008). The effect of parent-child attachment relationships on child biopsychosocial outcomes: A review. Early Child Development and Care, 178, 129-152.
50.
RigbyK.SleeP. (1999). Suicidal ideation among adolescent school children, involvement in bully-victim problems, and perceived social support. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 29, 119-130.
*SeibertA. C.KernsK. (2015). Early mother–child attachment: Longitudinal prediction to the quality of peer relationships in middle childhood. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 39, 130-138.
53.
SolbergM. E.OlweusD. (2003). Prevalence estimation of school bullying with the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire. Aggressive Behavior, 29, 239-268.
54.
SuttonA. J.DuvalS. J.TweedieR. L.AbramsK. R.JonesD. R. (2000). Empirical assessment of effect of publication bias on meta-analyses. British Medical Journal, 320, 1574-1577.
55.
TippettN.WolkeD.PlattL. (2013). Ethnicity and bullying involvement in a national UK youth sample. Journal of Adolescence, 36, 639-649.
56.
TroyM.SroufeL. A. (1987). Victimization among preschoolers: Role of attachment relationship history. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 26, 166-172.
57.
van IjzendoornM. H.Sagi-SchwartzA. (2008). Cross-cultural patterns of attachment: Universal and contextual dimensions. In Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (2nd ed., pp. 880-905). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
58.
*WaldenL. M.BeranT. N. (2010). Attachment quality and bullying behavior in school-aged youth. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 25, 5-18.
59.
WatersE. (1995). Appendix A: The Attachment Q-Set (Version 3.0). In WatersE.VaughnB. E.PosadaG.Kondo-IkemuraK. (Eds.), Caregiving, cultural, and cognitive perspectives on secure-base behavior and working models: New growing points on attachment theory and research. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 60(2-3, Serial No. 224), 234-246.
ZhangW.GuC.WangM.WangY.JonesK. (2000). Gender differences in the bully/victim problem among primary and junior middle school students. Psychological Science (China), 23, 435-439.
