Child Internalizing Problems in Ukraine: The Role of Prosocial and Antisocial Friends and Generalized Self-Efficacy
Viktor Burlaka,
Oleksii Serdiuk,
Jun Sung Hong,
Lisa A. O’Donnell,
Serhii Maksymenko,
Vitalii Panok,
Heorhii Danylenko,
Igor Linskiy,
Valerii Sokurenko,
Iuliia Churakova,
Nadiya Ilchyshyn
Affiliations
Viktor Burlaka
School of Social Work, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
Oleksii Serdiuk
Research Lab for Psychological Support of Law Enforcement, Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs, 61080 Kharkiv, Ukraine
Jun Sung Hong
School of Social Work, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
Lisa A. O’Donnell
School of Social Work, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
Serhii Maksymenko
G.S. Kostyuk Institute of Psychology, National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, 01033 Kyiv, Ukraine
Vitalii Panok
Ukrainian Scientific and Methodical Center of Applied Psychology and Social Work, National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, 03045 Kyiv, Ukraine
Heorhii Danylenko
Institute for Children and Adolescents Health Care, National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, 61153 Kharkiv, Ukraine
Igor Linskiy
Institute of Neurology, Psychiatry and Narcology, National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, 61068 Kharkiv, Ukraine
Valerii Sokurenko
Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, 61080 Kharkiv, Ukraine
Iuliia Churakova
Bloomberg School of Public Health, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Nadiya Ilchyshyn
Research Lab for Psychological Support of Law Enforcement, Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs, 61080 Kharkiv, Ukraine
The current study examines the association between peer behaviors, self-efficacy, and internalizing symptoms in a sample of 1545 children aged 11 to 13 years old who attended middle schools in eastern Ukraine. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the role of self-efficacy in the relationship between child internalizing behaviors (anxiety, depression, and somatic complaints) and exposure to prosocial and antisocial friends among girls and boys. Higher self-efficacy was linked with fewer internalizing symptoms for girls and boys. For both boys and girls, exposure to prosocial friends was not statistically associated with changes in internalizing behaviors. However, girls and boys who reported having more antisocial friends had significantly more internalizing symptoms. For girls, association with a greater number of prosocial friends and fewer antisocial friends has been linked with higher self-efficacy and fewer internalizing symptoms. For boys, having more prosocial friends was also linked with higher self-efficacy and fewer internalizing symptoms; however, there was no statistically significant association between having more antisocial friends and self-efficacy. The study discusses the cultural and gender aspects of child socialization in the context of antisocial and prosocial friends, and the development of internalizing behavior problems.
