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From the time of school entry, chronic levels of victimization by one's peers predict a multitude of psychiatric and physical health problems. However, developmental trajectories of peer victimization, from the time children first begin to socially interact, are not currently known nor are early familial or child predictors.

To describe preschool trajectories of peer victimization, assess continuity of preschool victimization after school entry, and examine early child- and family-level predictors of preschool trajectories of victimization.

A longitudinal, large-scale, multiple-informant, population-based study.

Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development.

One thousand nine hundred seventy children (51% boys).

Developmental trajectories were described using mothers' reports of peer victimization at 4 times from 3⅓ to 6⅙ years of age. In first grade (mean age …