1. Social Interaction Anxiety. The SIAS is used to assess general levels of social anxiety (Mattick & Clark, 1998). Sample items include “I have difficulty making eye contact with others” and “I worry about expressing myself in case I appear awkward.” Rational-Experiential Inventory (REI). The REI is a 40 item Likert-type inventory (Pacini & Epstein, 1999) used to assess rational processing (e.g., “I have a logical mind”) and experiential processing (e.g., “I like to rely on my intuitive impressions”). Results Hypothesis 1. Peer victimization, cognitive processing, depression, and social interaction anxiety will be correlated. Note: *p < 0.05 Hypothesis 2. Depression and social interaction anxiety will mediate the relationship between peer victimization and experiential processing. Peer victimization predicted higher levels of depression which in turn predicted lower experiential processing (Indirect effect = -1.21, CI lower = -2.93, CI upper = -.30; see Figure 1). Introduction Peer victimization is defined as the perpetual and intentional aggression directed at a particular individual (Olweus, 1993). There is a robust relationship between peer victimization and mental health problems (e.g., depression, anxiety). Less research, however, examines the effect of peer victimization on an individual’s cognitive processing. In the current study, we examined whether depression and social interaction anxiety mediated the relationship between peer victimization and rational and experiential cognitive processing. Hypothesis 1. Peer victimization, cognitive processing, and mental health will be correlated. Hypothesis 2. Mental health will mediate the relationship between peer victimization and experiential processing. Hypothesis 3. Mental health will mediate the association between peer victimization and rational processing. Method Participants College students (N = 174; Mage = 18.94 years, SD = 1.24 years) completed an online survey to assess cognitive processing style, peer victimization, and mental health. Assessments Assessments of Peer Victimization. The Children’s Social Experience Questionnaire (CSEQ; Crick & Grotepher, 1995) is used to examine overt victimization and relational victimization. The Direct and Indirect Aggression Survey (DIAS; Bjorkqvist, Lagerspetz, & Osterman, 1992) is a 24-item measure used to assess physical, verbal, and indirect victimization. Given that all five dimensions were correlated, we created an overall peer victimization composite score. Depression. The Depression Inventory is a 20-item questionnaire used to examine depressive symptoms (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996). Example questions include “I feel sad often” and “I don’t like to be around other people.” Hypothesis 3. Mental health will mediate the association between peer victimization and rational processing. Peer victimization predicted higher levels of depression which then predicted more social interaction anxiety which in turn predicted lower rational processing (Indirect effect = -1.04, CI lower = -3.04, CI upper = -.004; see Figure 2). Discussion We found that depression and social interaction anxiety mediate the association between peer victimization and rational and experiential cognitive processing. We assert that these findings could have important clinical applications. For example, knowing that being bullied predicts poorer mental health and lower rational and experiential cognitive processing could impact how counselors approach therapeutic treatment. In addition, our findings also suggest that higher order cognitive functions such as decision making, problem solving, attention to social cues, and social schemas/scripts may be negatively affected. Although our study is a good initial step, future research should include behavioral measures of cognitive processing. These results add to the body of literature indicating the complex nature of peer victimization and the numerous negative outcomes associated with being the target of peer aggression. What Do You Think? Peer Victimization and Mental Health Predict Cognitive Processing Styles DepressionSocial Anxiety Rational Processing Experiential Processing Peer Victimization Depression1 Social Anxiety1 Rational Processing -0.35*-.036*1 Experiential Processing -0.23*-0.35*0.20*1 Peer Victimization 0.21*0.11-0.06-0.031 Peer Victimization Experiential Processing 0.86** Depression Social Interaction Anxiety 5.89** -0.24** Figure 1. Mental Health Mediates the Association between Peer Victimization and Experiential Processing Peer Victimization Rational Processing 0.86** Depression Social Interaction Anxiety 5.89** -0.15* Figure 2. Mental Health Mediates the Association between Peer Victimization and Rational Processing For more information, email Alanna Wormwood at wormwoar@clarkson.edu Alanna Wormwood 1, Aaliyah Gibbons 1, Siri Wilder 2, and Jennifer M. Knack 1 1 Clarkson University; 2 Whittier College