University of Vermont ScholarWorks @ UVM Graduate College Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 2016 Peer Victimization and the Development of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms: The Roles of Stress Physiology and Gender Leigh Ann Holterman University of Vermont Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis Part of the Developmental Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Holterman, Leigh Ann, "Peer Victimization and the Development of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms: The Roles of Stress Physiology and Gender" (2016). Graduate College Dissertations and Theses. 460. https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/460 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks @ UVM. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate College Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ UVM. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. PEER VICTIMIZATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS: THE ROLES OF STRESS PHYSIOLOGY AND GENDER A Thesis Presented by Leigh Ann Holterman to The Faculty of the Graduate College of The University of Vermont In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts Specializing in Psychological Science January, 2016 Defense Date: October 21, 2015 Thesis Examination Committee: Dianna “Annie” Murray-Close, Ph.D., Advisor Patricia Prelock, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Chairperson Jamie Abaied, Ph.D. Cynthia J. Forehand, Ph.D., Dean of the Graduate College Abstract The overall goal of the current study was to determine whether experiences of relational and physical victimization were related to anxiety and depressive symptoms in a sample of emerging adults. This study also investigated whether these associations were moderated by gender, as well as by sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) reactivity to peer stress.