Chronic peer victimization heightens neural sensitivity to risk taking

Abstract

Although behavioral and experimental studies have shown links between victimization and antisocial behavior, the neural correlates explaining this link are relatively unknown. In the current study, we recruited adolescent girls from a longitudinal study that tracked youths' reports of peer victimization experiences annually from the second through eighth grades. Based on these reports, 46 adolescents were recruited: 25 chronically victimized and 21 nonvictimized. During a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan, participants completed a risk-taking task. Chronic peer victimization was associated with greater risk-taking behavior during the task and higher levels of self-reported antisocial behavior in everyday life. At the neural level, chronically victimized girls showed greater activation in regions involved in affective sensitivity, social cognition, and cognitive control, which significantly mediated victimization group differences in self-reported antisocial behavior.

Figure 1

Stoplight Task.

Figure 2

Victimization group differences in self-reported antisocial behavior (left) and risky decisions on the Stoplight Task following social exclusion (right).

Figure 3

Victimization group differences in neural activation when making risky decisions on the Stoplight Task. Victimized adolescents showed significantly greater activation than non-victimized adolescents in neural regions involved in a) affective sensitivity and b) social cognition.

Figure 4

Victimization group differences in neural activation when making safe decisions on the Stoplight Task. Victimized adolescents showed significantly greater activation than non-victimized adolescents in neural regions involved in a) social cognition and b) cognitive control

Figure 5

Victimization group differences in neural activation following risky decisions on the Stoplight Task (i.e., pass outcome). Victimized adolescents showed significantly greater activation than non-victimized adolescents in the ventral striatum.

Figure 6

Neural regions identified in whole brain analyses comparing group differences (i.e., victim>non-victim; depicted in yellow) and antisocial behavior (depicted in red) during risk taking. Regions showing overlap between the two independent analyses are depicted in orange.