Adolescent Females' Attraction to Male Adolescent Bullies and Victims of Bullying

Abstract

This study assessed adolescent females' self-reported attraction and interest in dating adolescent male bullies and victims of bullying. Thirty-six 9th and 10th grade female adolescents (mean age = 15 years; 69.2% White; 30.8% Non-white) from a city high school in the Mid-Atlantic United States examined three photographs and listened to a verbal account portraying two adolescent males in an episode of physical and verbal bullying. Participants were significantly more likely to be attracted and interested in dating a male victim of bullying than a male bully.     

Swedish 10-Year-Old Children's Perceptions and Experiences of Bullying

Abstract

The main aim of the present study was to describe children's perceptions and experiences of bullying: the way they define it, their thoughts about why children are bullied and their experiences of the way adults respond to bullying. The study group comprised 960 children in the fourth grade. The most frequent answers concerning why some children get bullied were that these children have a different appearance (43%) or that they are deviating in other ways than by appearance (31%). Two groups of bullied children seem to be of special concern; the children who do not tell adults about their situation (9% of the bullied children) and the children who do not perceive that they have received help from adults at school (24% of bullied children). The children's perceptions and experiences are discussed in relation to interventions in Swedish schools.     

The Assessment of School Bullying

Abstract

This article examines the conceptual basis for and methods used to assess school bullying, including the core bullying behavior elements of repetition, intentionality, and power differential and instruments needed to foster comparability across studies and to improve the precision of intervention capacity. Common bully self-report procedures (Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire, Olweus, 2004; Reynolds Bully Victimization Scale, Reynolds, 2003; The Bully Surveys, Swearer, 2001) are examined for the thoroughness with which they assess these core elements that distinguish bullying from other forms of peer victimization. It is concluded that bullying assessment can be enhanced by systematically including all core bully behaviors, more thoroughly examining sources of power differential between bullies and victims, and giving more attention to the dynamic nature of the bullying process.     

Examination of the Predictors of Latent Class Typologies of Bullying Involvement among Middle School Students

This study employs latent class analysis to construct bullying involvement typologies among 3114 students (48% male, 58% White) in 40 middle schools across the U.S. Four classes were constructed: victims (15%); bullies (13%); bully-victims (13%); and noninvolved (59%). Respondents who were male and participated in fewer conventional activities were more likely to be members of the victims class. Students who were African-American and reported being less successful at school had a higher likelihood of membership in the bullies class. Bully-victims shared characteristics with bullies and victims: Students with more feelings of anger toward others and a higher tendency toward sensation-seeking had a higher likelihood of membership in the bullies and bully-victims classes, whereas lower levels of social inclusion was associated with membership in the victims and bully-victims classes.     

Bullying in Early Adolescence and Antisocial Behavior and Depression Six Years Later: What Are the Protective Factors?

This study identified factors that protected (a) adolescent bullies from becoming antisocial young adults, and (b) adolescent victims of bullying from subsequent depression. Data were drawn from the Australian Temperament Project, a population birth cohort study that has followed participants since 1983. Systematic examination of potential risk modifiers (protective factors) was conducted within a regression framework. Low negative reactivity was found to protect bullies from later antisocial outcomes and higher parental monitoring moderated (ameliorated) the risk relation between bullying and antisocial behavior. High social skills and understanding schoolwork protected victims from later depression, but high attachment to peers intensified the risk relation between victimization and later depression. Preventive interventions targeting interpersonal skills and parent and peer relationships may be effective in reducing adverse outcomes of bullying.     

Characteristics of School Bullies and Victims as Perceived by Public School Professionals

Abstract

A large body of international research substantiates the concern with problems of peer-on-peer violence in schools and its common beginnings as taunting, harassment and other forms of bullying. One common difficulty in developing better ways of handling these problems is the professional literature's inconsistency in the identification of bully and victim characteristics. This study surveyed school professionals (teachers and counselors) who work with youth on a daily basis to see how closely their perceptions of victims and bullies matched the criteria commonly found in the literature. Participants rated 70 characteristics as to their importance in recognizing the potential for children to become bullies or victims. The results demonstrated strong agreement on five characteristics as being exclusively those of victims, 11 as exclusively those of bullies, and 15 as strongly associated with both victims and bullies. These characteristics and additional ones identified by an earlier study of international experts are offered to assist all those related to the school community in more effectively recognizing young people with the potential to develop into bullies or victims. Earlier and more accurate identification of such developing problems would increase the ability to create and implement prevention methods to improve safety and security for all youths.     

Identification of Bullies and Victims

SUMMARY

Bullying studies frequently rely on student self-report to identify bullies and victims of bullying, but research in the broader field of peer aggression makes greater use of other informants, especially peers, to identify aggressors and victims. This study compared self, peer, and teacher identification of bullies and bully victims in a sample of 416 middle school students. Overall, there was poor correspondence between self-reports and reports made by peers or teachers, but consistently better agreement between peers and teachers, in identifying both bullies and victims of bullying. Peer and teacher identification of bullies were more consistently associated with subsequent school disciplinary infractions than were self-reports. These results raise concern about reliance on student self-reports of bullying and bully victimization.     

An Examination of Bullying Roles and Moral Disengagement Using Latent Analysis

ABSTRACT

Bullying persists as a concern in schools, including the question of why some children bully. One idea differentiating bullying roles (e.g., bully, victim, bully-victim) is that some individuals are morally disengaged, or able to disconnect their moral understanding and behavior. The present study examined types of bullying involvement and moral disengagement. To address the methodological debate within the bullying literature, the present study used latent analysis. The findings revealed that bullying and victimization behaviors vary by degree of involvement. The present study found that moral disengagement was related to students’ degree of participation in bullying; students in the bully-victim class had the highest levels of moral disengagement, followed by students in the victim class, social victim class, and outsider class. Further research should explore moral engagement as a strategy to enhance anti-bullying efforts.     

Bullying in Context: An Analysis of Psychosomatic Complaints Among Adolescents in Stockholm

Using multilevel modeling, this study examined how different types of bullying, involving both peers and teachers, relate to psychosomatic health complaints. Data were obtained via the Stockholm School Survey from 41,032 ninth- and eleventh-grade students in the years 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. Results showed that students involved in bullying as either a bully, a victim, or both a bully and a victim displayed poorer psychosomatic health than those not involved in bullying. Victims of peer-bullying also reported significantly poorer health than perpetrators. Two class-aggregated measures of bullying remained positively associated with ninth-grade student health complaints even when their individual-level analogues were taken into account. Thus, both the proportion of victims of teacher-bullying and peer-bullying in the school class appeared to generate health problems that go beyond the directly exposed students. However, an interaction revealed that the latter association was confined to female students only.     

A Multilevel Perspective on the Climate of Bullying: Discrepancies Among Students, School Staff, and Parents

Although many bullying prevention programs aim to involve multiple partners, few studies have examined perceptual differences regarding peer victimization and the broader bullying climate among students, staff, and parents. The present study utilized multilevel data from 11,674 students, 960 parents, and 1,027 staff at 44 schools to examine the association between school-level indicators of disorder, norms regarding bullying and bullies, and students, parents, and staff perceptions of safety, belonging, and witnessing bullying. Results revealed several important discrepancies between adults and youth with regard to their perceptions. Moreover, results highlight the significance of normative beliefs about bullies, retaliation, and the influence of school contextual factors on students' risk for exposure to bullying.     

Greek In-Service and Preservice Teachers’ Views About Bullying in Early Childhood Settings

Despite the plethora of studies regarding bullying worldwide, there are limited studies at the early childhood level. This article presents the results of a pilot study aiming at exploring preservice and in-service early childhood teachers’ views on bullying in Greek early childhood settings. A total of 192 early childhood teachers completed a questionnaire containing six vignettes and questions regarding the seriousness of the incidents, feelings toward the students involved, and methods of intervention. Results indicated that early childhood teachers considered social bullying to be less serious than the other forms of bullying, displayed less sympathy for victims of social bullying, and were less likely to intervene in social bullying incidents; they varied their actions toward bullies and victims according to the type of bullying behavior.     

Longitudinal Analysis of Links Between Bullying Victimization and Psychosomatic Maladjustment in Swedish Schoolchildren

Cross-sectional studies of bullying mask variability in categories of and persistence of bullying victimization. Longitudinal, individual-level data offers a greater insight into schoolchildren’s psychosomatic maladjustment as a consequence of bullying. Swedish schoolchildren (n = 3,349), with unique identifiers, in 44 schools (4th–9th grade), answered a questionnaire at baseline and 1-year follow-up. Longitudinal trends for nonvictims (88%), ceased victims (4.7%), new victims (5.7%), and continuing victims (1.6%) revealed that new victims had the largest decrease in well-being; continuing victims had a smaller though not significant decrease; while ceased victims showed a small, (nonsignificant) increase in well-being over the measurement period. It was also discovered that children not bullied at baseline but bullied subsequently, differed, at baseline, from their never-bullied peers through lower levels of overall well-being. It is argued that this finding has implications for prevention strategies.     

Protective Factors Interrupting the Continuity From School Bullying to Later Internalizing and Externalizing Problems: A Systematic Review of Prospective Longitudinal Studies

A systematic review is presented, based on prospective longitudinal studies, on protective factors that interrupt the continuity from bullying perpetration at school to externalizing problem behaviors later in life; and from bullying victimization to later internalizing problems. Some common factors were established, which seem to interrupt the continuity from school bullying perpetration and victimization to later maladjustment problems. These included having a good performance at school and good social skills, coming from a stable (undisrupted) family, being attached to parents, and having prosocial friends. Findings are consistent with the wider resilience literature on factors that confer emotional and behavioral adjustment to school youth. This is not surprising given the interconnectedness and common pathways between bullying and other risk behaviors. Effective antibullying and other multicomponent programs may successfully interrupt this long-term continuity. Future intervention research should be informed by the resilience literature and incorporate existing findings in future program planning.     

Bullying in Schools Towards Sexual Minority Youth

ABSTRACT

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning and inter-sex (GLBTQI) youth, and those perceived to be GLBTQI, face extensive verbal and physical bullying in schools. Although increasing attention has been made at examining the safety concerns of sexual minority (GLBTQI) youth, there remain important gaps in the literature as well as significant sampling limitations. This article seeks to identify and respond to research gaps by: (a) reviewing existing literature about the causes and risk factors associated with homophobic bullying; (b) reviewing existing literature about the consequences associated with the victims of sexual minority bullying; (c) identifying the limitations to research procedures and methodologies that have been used to investigate this topic; and (d) proposing a research agenda for future investigations of homophobic bullying in schools.     

Teachers’ Perceptions of Bullying: A Focus Group Approach

The current qualitative study used a focus group approach to examine teachers’ perceptions of student aggressors and victims. Participants in the current study included 35 teachers from public elementary, middle, and high schools. Teachers’ responses to five questions about risk factors for aggression and victimization, adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies, and advice for victimized youth were analyzed using thematic analysis. Teachers frequently identified family factors as a risk factor for becoming an aggressor. Appearance-based factors, shyness, and emotional reactivity were commonly mentioned as risk factors for victimization. Teachers believed that strong displays of emotions, physical retaliation, and ignoring the situation were ineffective means for victims to respond to peer aggression. Reporting the aggression to an adult, appropriately standing up for oneself, and seeking support from friends were viewed as more effective strategies for responding to peer victimization. Directions for future research and implications for intervention are discussed.     

Comparing Middle School Teachers' and Students' Views on Bullying and Anti-Bullying Interventions

Abstract

This study compares middle school students' and teachers' perceptions regarding the effectiveness of intervention and prevention strategies commonly used by children, teachers, and nonteaching staff to address bullying among students as identified in the research literature. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The results indicate that teachers are more likely to perceive bullying intervention and prevention strategies as effective than are students, and to perceive teachers as offering assistance to student victims. Both teachers and students appear to believe that teachers need to teach students assertiveness techniques to confront perpetrators. However, both students and teachers generally did not see as helpful some of the common educational techniques utilized by most bullying prevention programs, including role-playing and literature.     

Examining Adolescent Suicidal Behaviors in Relation to Gun Carrying and Bullying

Guided by the interpersonal theory of suicide, this study examines the associations between gun carrying, bullying, and suicidal behaviors among high school students. Arizona Youth Risk Behavior Surveys were completed by 2,677 students in 2011; 9.0% reported suicide attempt in the past year, 5.5% carried a gun in the past 30 days, 8.5% were involved in school bullying, and 3.9% in cyberbullying. After accounting for depressive symptoms and self-harm, multiple linear regression results demonstrate that youth who carried a gun in the past 30 days were 3.98 times more likely to attempt suicide. Bullying was not associated with suicide attempt; however, youth report being 1.55 times more likely to make a suicide plan if they were bullied in school, 1.89 times more likely if cyberbullied, and .48 less likely if a cyberbully/victim. Results support the interpersonal theory of suicide; implications for school policies on gun carrying and bullying are discussed.     

The Role of Moral Disengagement on Social Bullying in Dyadic Very Best Friendships

This study examined the self-regulatory process of moral disengagement in adolescent social bullying. Moral disengagement was assessed at the individual level, as well as within reciprocated very best friendships. At the dyadic level, this study investigated the role of friendship quality in moderating the influence of a very best friend’s moral disengagement on adolescents’ social bullying. The sample consisted of 710 mainly White students (306 males, 12–17 years). Results showed adolescents’ proneness to moral disengagement was associated with increased social bullying. Further, a very best friend’s moral disengagement was associated with higher social bullying for those who perceived positive qualities in their friendship. The findings highlight the importance of close friends in fostering adolescents’ social bullying.     

惩罚之外：恢复性司法理念在校园欺凌中的适用

校园欺凌已经成为世界各国面临的主要难题,其发生频率之高、受害人数之多无不使人感到恐惧。传统的解决模式主要是集惩罚、教育和培训于一体的措施,但收效甚微。恢复性司法理念融入了一系列的恢复性措施,允许学校成员积极参与欺凌者和受欺凌者的和解会议并发表意见,着重补偿损失、修复社会关系,具有解决校园欺凌的天然优势,且符合学校的设立初衷,能很好修复受损的同学关系。虽然面临众多质疑,但恢复性司法理念在解决校园欺凌中有不可比拟的优势,对于解决校园欺凌也将会有不可估量的作用。     

Bullying Widespread

Abstract

The issue of bullying features prominently in educational administration, academic research, journalism, and public discourse. In this paper, I present a critical examination of research on bullying by addressing dominant themes and preoccupations in the literature. I argue that the proliferation of policies and programs purported to reduce bullying in schools are anchored by what appears to be a common, but problematic, understanding of the notion of bullying. Such policies and programs are utilitarian but misguided. Here, I problematize the very notion of bullying and contextualize it within broader frameworks of educational administration and social oppression. By contrast, I highlight educational theorists who conceptualize school violence in social and political terms rather than psychological, behavioral, and individualistic ones.