Does defending help? The role of peer defending in reducing victimization and enhancing victims’ psychological adjustment.

= 1,303 students indicated that they were victimized by their peers at T1 and T2, respectively; 75.1% of the T1 victims and 70.6% of the T2 victims reported being defended. Descriptive statistics indicated that defended victims were less frequently victimized and experienced fewer psychological problems than nondefended victims at most time points (cross-sectional associations). However, longitudinal findings consistently indicated that defended victims did not experience stronger within-person decreases in victimization and psychological problems than nondefended victims. No significant interaction effects with gender and age were detected. Thus, the benefits of being defended for victims of bullying may be more limited than often assumed, at least in the longer term. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).