Deconstructing bullying roles: A longitudinal latent profile analysis of bullying participant behaviors for students in grades 4 through 12

Promoting Positive Leadership: Examining the Long-Term Dynamics of Anti-Bullying Programs

Anti-bullying programs can create more positive classroom environments by fostering the development of positive leaders who establish constructive norms. The social identity theory of leadership addresses stability and change within different leader profiles and identifies leader group prototypicality: the extent to which leaders are perceived to embody the group identity, including standards, values, and norms. This study focuses on two key areas: (1) examining stability and change within positive and negative leader profiles, and (2) comparing transition probabilities between the KiVa anti-bullying intervention condition and a control condition. A sample of 6,629 children (2057 in the control condition and 4572 in the intervention condition) were followed from age 9 to age 11 in three waves of data collection. At each wave, latent profile analysis was used to identify two distinct leader profiles and three non-leader profiles based on peer nominations that included leadership, popularity, and both positive (defending) and negative (bullying) behavior. These profiles included (a) positive leaders, (b) negative leaders, (c) defenders, (d) bullies, and (e) modal children. Latent transition analysis for the full sample revealed more changing roles for negative leaders compared with positive leaders. In the intervention condition, negative leaders were more likely to make the transition to positive leaders than to bullies. This study shows that, in late childhood, positive leaders are perceived as more representative of the group leader prototypicality than negative leaders. These findings enhance understanding of leader profile evolution and may inform tailored leadership interventions.

Bullying Involvement and Subtypes of Disabilities: Who is Likely to be Affected by What?

The current study uses latent class analysis (LCA) and binary logistic regression analysis to explore profiles of bullying and how they might be associated with the types of disabilities. LCA was used to determine a categorization of involvement in bullying among youth with various types of disabilities. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore how profiles of bullying involvement might be associated with types of disabilities. The study uses the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health, a large-scale survey completed on children's health, ages 0-17, in the United States. A total of 139,923 households were screened for eligibility. The study participants consisted of 50,212 caregivers of a child who completed the survey. Findings revealed that among caregivers of children without disabilities, 79.5% reported that their child was uninvolved, and 20.5% reported that their child was a victim of bullying. Children in the developmental disabilities, speech and/or language disorders, and learning disabilities groups, showed significant odds of being in the bullying victim group compared to those without any disabilities. The study did not find that children in any disability groups were likely to be in the perpetrator group.

The Family Context in Cybervictimization: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The use of Information and Communication Technologies is clearly widespread among adolescents from a young age. Although it poses a significant contribution at the academic, social, and emotional levels, it can also involve a set of important risks, including cyberbullying and, therefore, cybervictimization. Previous studies have pointed out the importance of family context since parental control and family communication emerge as contributors to this phenomenon. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyze the influence of family communication on cybervictims and the moderating role of different sociodemographic variables (age, gender, nationality, and culture), as well as social, emotional, and personality variables. In this context, a meta-analysis was performed with a random effects model, using a total meta-sample of 29,093 adolescents (mean age: 14.50 years) distributed in k = 20 samples belonging to nine studies on cybervictimization published in English in Q1 journals between 2015 and 2020. The results showed that family offensive communication is related to cybervictimization. This could be because the affected individuals often use social media to compensate for the deficiencies they perceive within their families, as well as to obtain support, which increases their time spent on the Internet and their exposure to this phenomenon. These findings highlight the need for family and community interventions, not only school-based or individual interventions.

Latent profiles of bullying perpetration and victimization: Gender differences and family variables

BACKGROUND

School bullying is a prevalent issue that threatens the psychological and social well-being of adolescents. However, little research has investigated how gender and family variables were related to bullying-involvement patterns among adolescents with siblings.

OBJECTIVE

This study explored gender differences in the profiles of bullying involvement and the relationship between sibling, parental variables, and these profiles among Chinese adolescents.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Participants (N = 1,060; 46.0 % boys; Mage = 15.53) were recruited from junior and senior high schools in Jiangxi and Guizhou Provinces, China.

METHODS

Bullying involvement, sibling warmth and conflict, and parental psychological maltreatment and neglect were assessed by self-report questionnaire. Latent profile analysis was used to identify subgroups with distinct bullying involvement patterns, then multiple logistic regressions were performed to investigate the associations between family variables and bullying-involvement subgroups.

RESULTS

We found gender differences in both the latent profiles of bullying involvement and the associations between profiles and family variables. Only boys were identified severe bully-victims (3.39 %), while only girls were categorized as relational bully-victims (20.18 %). Boys and girls were similarly represented among uninvolved students (70.76 % vs. 66.85 %), moderate bully-victims (15.25 % vs. 6.49 %), and victims (10.59 % vs. 6.49 %). Students with more sibling warmth manifested less likelihood of engaging in bullying-related profiles, with more parental psychological maltreatment, and more parental neglect manifested more likelihood of engaging in bullying-related profiles only among girls. While students with more sibling conflict were related to more bullying-related profiles among boys than girls.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings emphasize the importance of developing gender-specific bullying intervention strategies that also consider relevant family factors.

School bullying and self-efficacy in adolescence: A meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Given that literature has examined the relation between school bullying and self-efficacy, findings have been mixed. This meta-analysis aimed to clarify whether school bullying is associated with adolescents' self-efficacy, a key component of social information processing essential for the evaluation of potential behavioral responses. We further examined moderators associated with heterogeneity in the above relation, including participant roles, types of school bullying, types of self-efficacy, and demographic factors (e.g., age, gender, and cultural background).

METHOD

This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Statement for searching, identifying, and screening eligible articles. A total of 53 articles (N = 71,661; Mage  = 12.69 years) were included (50 in English and 3 in Chinese). Articles were coded by two graduate-level coders independently with a high inter-rater reliability (97.12%).

RESULTS

The results showed that (1) school bullying was negatively associated with self-efficacy (r = -.07, p < .001) among adolescents, and (2) the above relation varied by participant role (e.g., bullies, victims, bully-victims, and defenders), types of school bullying (e.g., traditional bullying, cyberbullying, and both), and types of self-efficacy (e.g., general and domain-specific self-efficacy).

FINDINGS

The findings highlight that school bullying is associated with disruptive cognitive processing in adolescence, low self-efficacy in particular, and the heterogeneity should be considered to fully understand the association between school bullying and self-efficacy among adolescents.

Trajectories of defending behaviors: Longitudinal association with normative and social adjustment and self-perceived popularity

Defending the victim in bullying situations is a moral behavior that has received increasing attention in the literature. However, important questions about the development and maintenance of defending behaviors remain unanswered. The present study adopted a longitudinal design with two main goals: (a) identifying trajectories of change in individuals' defending behavior over time and (b) describing and comparing the initial levels and dynamics of change in normative and social adjustment and self-perceived popularity between the different defending trajectories. A total of 3303 students (49.8% girls; Wave 1 Mage = 12.61 years; SD = 1.47) participated in the study. Data were collected in four waves with self-report questionnaires. Using growth mixture modeling, we found four defending trajectories (84% stable-high, 5% decrease, 4% increase, and 7% stable-low). Growth mixture model multigroup and comparative analyses found that adolescents in the stable-high defending group exhibited the highest initial levels of normative adjustment (Mintercept = 5.47), social adjustment (Mintercept = 5.48), and self-perceived popularity (Mintercept = 5). Adolescents in the decrease defending group tended to reduce their normative adjustment over time (Mslope = -0.09), whereas the increase defending group increased their social adjustment (Mslope = 0.18) and self-perceived popularity (Mslope = -0.04). The stable-low defending group showed low and stable levels of normative adjustment (Mintercept = 5.01), social adjustment (Mintercept = 5.03), and self-perceived popularity (Mintercept = 4.4). These results indicate a strong association between normative and social adjustment and self-perceived popularity and involvement in defending behaviors. Bullying prevention programs could improve by adding a stronger focus on the development of classroom dynamics that promote adjusted behaviors and class-group cohesion.

Dispositional mindfulness plays a major role in adolescents' active and passive responding to bully-victim dynamics

Past research on school bullying focused on the role of the bully, suggesting that this active perpetrator is characterized by low empathy, low self-regulation, and high moral disengagement (MD). Studies recently demonstrated a relationship between dispositional mindfulness and bullying as well. However, in the last 2 decades, research has broadened this perspective, suggesting that active and passive bystanders may play a major role in school bullying by either supporting or opposing bullying. In this research, we examined whether empathy, MD, self-regulation, and mindfulness are significantly associated with probullying, defending, and bystanding behaviors. A total of 429 middle and high school adolescents from Israel (mean age = 16.81 years, SD = 1.62) completed online questionnaires. Through structural equation modeling, we found that empathy was associated with both, self-regulation and defending behaviors. MD was associated with defending and probullying behaviors. Dispositional mindfulness was associated with all three roles we examined. All these relationships were significant and in the expected direction. As mindfulness is a disposition that can be cultivated, this finding may have further implications in programs that aim at reducing school bullying.

Identifying hostile versus paternalistic classism profiles: a person-based approach to the study of ambivalent classism

Research on ambivalent classism suggests that individuals can manifest classism not only in a hostile and explicit manner but also in a condescending and paternalistic form. However, researchers have not determined the existence of individual profiles or population subgroups that show this ambivalence pattern. Therefore, to assess the existence of different profiles based on their manifestation of ambivalent classism, we carry out a latent profile analysis with a national representative sample (N = 1536). We identify different classist profiles among the population, including a minority of individuals who score low on both dimensions of classism (low generalized classists, 8.65%) and another minority who score high on both hostile and paternalism classism (high generalized classists, 8.13%). Further, we discovered that most of the population adhered to a moderated classism profile, endorsing both dimensions of classism (moderately generalized classist, 40.95%) or to an ambivalent profile, scoring low in hostile classism and high in paternalistic attitudes (paternalistic classists, 42.25%). The likelihood of adhering to the different profiles seems to be related to the individual’s level of education and system justification beliefs. Those individuals who score higher on system justification and with lower educational attainment are more willing to be highly generalized classists rather than be part of other profiles. Profiles also differ to an extent regarding concerns about economic inequality and social attitudes, with moderate and highly generalized classists being less concerned about economic inequality and less willing to support poor groups. We discuss the implications for developing targeted interventions aimed to confront classism patterns for each profile.

Participant Role Behavior in Cyberbullying: an Examination of Moral Disengagement Among College Students

The current study examined the role of moral disengagement in cyberbullying participant role behavior among college-aged individuals. Participants included 434 students who completed surveys measuring their participation in cyberbullying, including online bystander role behaviors, as well as their moral disengagement. Regression analysis results indicated that moral disengagement was positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration, cyberbullying victimization, passive bystanding online behavior, and reinforcing online behavior. The current study furthers knowledge on the associations between online bullying-related behavior and moral disengagement and could lead to necessary cyberbullying prevention and intervention support for young adults.

Do Neighbors Have More Peaceful Students? Youth Violence Profiles among Adolescents in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia

(1) Background: Co-occurrence or overlaps of different forms or involvement in peer violence among adolescents have been broadly studied. The study aimed to assess adolescents’ violence profiles related to bullying, cyberbullying, and fighting in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The study was to investigate the pattern of bullying, cyberbullying, and fighting involvement among adolescents in these four countries to test the stability of previously identified profiles. (2) Methods: We analyzed the data from the 2017/2018 international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey, which used proportionate sampling among adolescents aged 11–15 years old (n = 24,501). A Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was performed to determine violence profiles in each country. (3) Results: In Slovakia, three distinct latent classes were identified, primarily cyber victims, school bullies, and those involved in multiple forms, and in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland bully victims was the fourth class. (4) Conclusions: The findings suggest that peer violence prevention programs in adolescents should consider violence profiles and multiple involvements.

Examining the validity of the Early Identification System - Student Version for screening in an elementary school sample

As many as 1 in 5 youth in the United States experience social, emotional, and behavioral problems. However, many students with mental health concerns are unidentified and do not receive adequate care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factor structure, measurement invariance, and the concurrent and predictive validity of the Early Identification System-Student Report (EIS-SR), a screener for social, emotional, and behavioral problems, using a sample of over 5000 students from Grades 3 to 5. The EIS-SR was developed by using extant literature on the risk indicators that lead to social, emotional, and behavioral challenges among children and youth. As expected, seven subscales were identified as having adequate factor loadings. Furthermore, the measure was determined to be invariant across grade level (n = 5005), gender (n = 5005), and between Black and White students (n = 1582). The concurrent validity of the Internalizing Behavior, Attention and Academic Issues, Emotion Dysregulation, and School Disengagement subscales was supported by correlations with comparable subscales of the Behavior Assessment System for Children-3rd Edition (BASC-3; n = 382). Additionally, the EIS-SR subscales administered in the fall of the school year were predictive of important outcomes in spring, including attendance (n = 4780), disciplinary referrals (n = 4938), bully victimization (n = 4670), math academic achievement scores (n = 4736), and reading (n = 4772) academic achievement scores. The EIS-SR holds promise as a feasible and technically adequate screening tool for use in elementary schools.

Bullying types and roles in early adolescence: Latent classes of perpetrators and victims

Although research has suggested that youth involved in bullying as victims, perpetrators, or both are at risk for negative outcomes, less work has investigated different patterns in how youth are involved in bullying with consideration for both the role (i.e., victimization and perpetration) as well as type of behaviors experienced (i.e., cyber, verbal, relational, and physical). Using Latent Class Analysis (LCA), the current study investigated patterns of bullying involvement with a sample of 799 middle school students. Results indicated that five classes of bully-involved youth emerged, including a (a) not involved class, (b) traditional bully victim class, (c) verbal bully-victim class, (d) traditional victim-only class, and (e) cyber bully-victim class. Notably, the bully-involved groups demonstrated significantly more internalizing, externalizing, and school related problems than youth not involved in bullying. Implications regarding identification of youth at risk for social and emotional challenges and intervention planning for bully involved youth are discussed.