Being invisible at school. Understanding outcomes and mechanisms associated with ostracism experiences among adolescents

Ostracism is a form of social exclusion. Studies conducted so far have shown that being ignored by others exacerbates feelings of rejection that seriously harm individuals. Although research on ostracism conducted in the laboratory has primarily focused on adults, there is increasing interest in understanding the impact of this negative interpersonal experience among adolescents in real contexts. Indeed, according to the Self-Determination Theory, young people need to create and maintain positive relationships to satisfy basic psychological needs and develop interpersonal and social competencies necessary for facing multiple developmental tasks. Our study involved 375 adolescents (Mage = 16.43; SD = 0.85). It aimed at understanding the outcomes associated with ostracism experiences at school by considering the role of basic psychological needs. The results revealed that psychological needs (i.e., the need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness) mediate the relation between the experiences of social exclusion and certain aspects of the adolescents’ self-image.