Peer victimization across the school years: Consequences for social goals in early adolescence.

= 0.37) followed from second to seventh grade. Youh reported annually on peer victimization and reported on social goals in second and seventh grades. Compared to youth experiencing lower early levels and/or normative declines in peer victimization over this span, youth experiencing elevated early levels and/or smaller decreases/larger increases in victimization between second and seventh grade tended to endorse greater seventh-grade performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals. No association was evident for mastery goals. These results provide evidence that peer victimization can have resounding implications for the development of social goals, which can have long-lasting effects on social health and well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).