Research has shown peer victimization to have strong lasting effects on adolescents’ mental health. The purpose of the current study was to examine relationships among religiousness, forgiveness and mental health in the context of peer victimization. We hypothesized that religiousness and forgiveness may be protective factors against negative effects of peer victimization on internalizing symptomatology and emotion regulation. Participants were 127 adolescents between 12 and 18 years and their primary caregivers. Results of Structural Equation Modeling analyses show that religiousness may not be a strong protective factor in the context of peer victimization and that certain dimensions of forgiveness (specifically benevolence motivations) may actually exacerbate the effects of peer victimization on internalizing symptomatology rather than acting as a protective factor.

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