Heterogeneity of adolescent bullying perpetrators: Subtypes based on victimization and peer status

We identified different types of adolescent bullying perpetrators and nonbullies based on peer-reported bullying, victimization, and peer status (popularity, likeability, and rejection) and examined differences between bully subtypes in typical forms of bullying perpetrated. Moreover, we studied how bully subtypes differed from nonbullies with varying levels of victimization and peer status in academic and psychosocial adjustment. The study utilizes data from 10,689 adolescents (48.3% boys, mean age 14.7 years). Latent profile analysis identified three distinct subgroups of bullies: popular-liked bullies (13.5%), popular-rejected bully-victims (5.8%), and bully-victims (6.9%), and four groups on nonbullies. High-status bullies (popular-liked and popular-rejected) resembled nonbullies in many ways and had even lower social anxiety, whereas bully-victims were the most maladjusted group. Overall, popularity seems to protect adolescents from social anxiety, and victimization is related to internalizing problems. Results suggest that bullying, victimization, and peer status can be used to identify distinct subtypes of bullies.

Being on top versus not dangling at the bottom: Popularity motivation and aggression in youth

Whereas research on aggression and status motivation in youth has predominantly looked at a promotion focus (striving for popularity), a prevention focus (wanting to avoid low popularity) could also be an important determinant of aggression, as youth who fear low popularity may use strategic aggression to secure their position. The aim of the current study was to develop reliable measures for both popularity motivations, and examine how both motivations are uniquely and jointly related to aggression. Participants were 1123 Dutch secondary school students (M age = 14.4 years, 48% girls), who completed a 3-item measure of striving for high popularity based on existing questionnaires (Li & Wright, 2014; Ojanen et al., 2005), and a 3-item measure of avoiding low popularity consisting of an adapted version of the high popularity items. Aggressive behavior was measured through peer nominations. Motivations were moderately correlated (r = .51), but did not always co-occur within the same person, as 17% of the sample belonged to a cluster that scored low on striving for popularity, but moderately high on avoiding low popularity. When considered simultaneously, striving for high popularity was not related to any type of aggression, whereas avoiding affiliation with unpopular peers was related to strategic aggression. For physical and verbal aggression, gossiping, excluding and bullying, the association of avoiding low popularity with aggression was strongest when youth also strived for high popularity. Future work should take both popularity motivations into account to better understand, predict and intervene on youth's aggression toward peers.

The Longitudinal Effect of Peer-Nominated Popularity on Defending Behaviors in Chinese Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Manipulative Traits, Desired Popularity, and Gender

The factors influencing popular adolescents to defend victims require further exploration, particularly concerning their traits and the desire for higher peer status. In this one-year longitudinal study, 2464 Chinese adolescents (48.50% girls, Mage = 13.40 years, SD = 0.61) were investigated to examine the relationship between peer-nominated popularity, manipulative traits, desired popularity, and defending behaviors. The results revealed that peer-nominated popularity had a positive predictive effect on Chinese adolescents' defending behaviors. Furthermore, this longitudinal association was accentuated by desired popularity and manipulative traits in girls but was not in boys. Specifically, popular girls with high desired popularity demonstrated a higher likelihood of engaging in defending behaviors compared to other girls. These findings carry significant implications for understanding the influencing factors behind peer status and adolescents' defending behaviors.

Is Bullying Always about Status? Status Goals, Forms of Bullying, Popularity and Peer Rejection during Adolescence

Bullying has been associated with status goals among peers, but this research has not distinguished among forms of bullying, nor included actual status or popularity among peers in an integrated analysis. To this aim, in concurrent correlational data, we examined adolescent status goals as predictors of peer-reported physical, verbal, exclusionary and electronic bullying, and these further as predictors of popularity and peer rejection (N = 256; 67.2% girls; M age = 12.2 years). We also explored potential indirect associations of status goals with popularity and peer rejection via forms of bullying. The findings indicated that verbal bullying was the most common form of bullying. Status goals were positively related to all but physical bullying, yet only verbal bullying partially mediated this association with popularity. Electronic bullying was unrelated to popularity and peer rejection, when controlling for other bullying forms (but was positively related to rejection at the bi-variate level). The findings underscore the importance of assessing bullying as a heterogeneous construct, as related goals and adjustment among peers may depend on its specific form.

Bullying perpetration and victimization associations to suicide behavior: a longitudinal study

Previous studies have reported a longitudinal association between cybervictimization and suicidal thoughts and behavior. However, the relationship between cyber-perpetration and prospective suicide risk remains unclear. The sample was composed of 2150 at-risk adolescents (mean age 15.42), enrolled in Vocational Education and Training high schools in Israel. Cyberbullying, traditional bullying, depression, hostility, serious suicidal ideations, and suicide attempts were assessed through self-report questionnaires at the beginning of the school year and one year later. All types of victimization and preparation were cross-sectionally associated with suicide ideation and attempts. Longitudinal associations were found between cyber-perpetration and suicidal ideation/attempts. Cyber-perpetrators were found to be over twice more likely to report serious suicidal ideation (OR = 2.04) or attempt suicide (OR = 2.64) in the subsequent year compared to noninvolved adolescents. These associations were significant even after adjusting for baseline depression, hostility, and traditional bullying. Traditional bullying perpetration was prospectively associated with suicide attempts. Traditional victimization was cross-sectionally associated with suicide ideation and attempts but not prospectively. Cybervictimization was prospectively associated with suicide ideation but not to suicide attempts. The findings demonstrate the prospective risk of involvement in bullying in regard to suicide ideation and behavior. Cyberbullying was found to be a somewhat differentiated phenomena from traditional bullying.

HEXACO personality correlates of adolescents' involvement in bullying situations

Adolescents' involvement in bullying situations is—at least partially—personality trait‐activated. Although some studies investigated personality correlates of bullying and being victimized, little is known about personality correlates of bystander responses (i.e., reinforcing, outsider behavior, indirect defending, and direct defending). The present study investigated whether Dutch adolescents' self‐reported HEXACO personality traits could explain their peer‐reported involvement in bullying (N = 552; M_age = 13.4 years, SD = 0.8 years). The results show that bullying was negatively related to honesty‐humility, emotionality, agreeableness (for boys specifically), and openness, whereas reinforcing was only negatively related to honesty‐humility and openness. Conversely, direct defending and outsider behavior were positively related to honesty‐humility, emotionality, and openness, whereas indirect defending was only positively related to emotionality and openness. Furthermore, reinforcing was positively related to extraversion (for boys only), whereas outsider behavior was negatively related extraversion and positively to conscientiousness. Finally, being victimized was positively related to emotionality and negatively to extraversion. These findings contribute to our understanding of the heterogeneity in adolescents' involvement in bullying and fit the view of bullying and defending as strategic and goal‐directed behavior. Implications for bullying prevention programs are discussed.

Was that (cyber)bullying? Investigating the operational definitions of bullying and cyberbullying from adolescents' perspective

Background/Objective: Despite the great interest that bullying and cyberbullying have received during the last decades, the problem of defining these phenomena is still debated. Recently, this discussion has also been articulated in terms of how young people who are directly involved in bullying and cyberbullying understand these notions. This study aimed at investigating the operational definitions of both bullying and cyberbullying provided by adolescent victims and perpetrators, by inquiring the weight of traditional criteria (i.e., frequency, deliberateness, imbalance of power, and harm) as well as dominance in the perception of these phenomena. Method: A total of 899 students aged between 11 and 16 years filled out the Student Aggression and Victimisation Questionnaire. Results: Common traits and differences between the operational definition of bullying and cyberbullying and between the perspectives of victims and perpetrators of aggression were found. The most relevant criterion for the perception of both these phenomena was clearly the presence of dominance. By contrast, the imbalance of power showed no significant relationship with the perception of being bullied or bullying others both offline and online. Conclusions: Findings emphasise that young people conceptualise bullying with a clear reference to relational and group processes, rather than to individual differences.

Different Approaches to Address Bullying in KiVa Schools: Adherence to Guidelines, Strategies Implemented, and Outcomes Obtained

We examined the extent to which school personnel implementing the KiVa® antibullying program in Finland during 2009–2015 systematically employed the program-recommended approaches (confronting or non-confronting), used one or the other depending on the bullying case (case-specific approach), or used their own adaptation when talking to perpetrators of bullying, and whether they organized follow-up meetings after such discussions. In addition to investigating adherence to program guidelines, we tested how effective these different approaches were in stopping bullying. Finally, we tested the contribution of follow-up meetings and the number of years KiVa had been implemented in a school to the effectiveness of the interventions, using reports from both school personnel and victimized students. The data were collected annually across 6 years via online questionnaires and included responses from 1221 primary and secondary schools. The school personnel were more likely to use the confronting approach than the non-confronting approach. Over time, rather than sticking to the two program-recommended approaches, they made adaptations (e.g., combining the two; using their own approach). Two-level regression analyses indicated that the discussions were equally effective, according to both personnel and victimized students, when the confronting, non-confronting, or a case-specific approach had been used. The discussions were less effective when the personnel used their own adaptation or could not specify the method used. Perceived effectiveness was higher in primary school and when follow-up meetings were organized systematically after each intervention, but unrelated to the number of years KiVa had been implemented.

Dyadic nominations of bullying: Comparing types of bullies and their victims

Previous studies indicate that when identifying individuals involved in bullying, the concordance between self- and peer- reports is low to moderate. There is support that self- and peer- identified victims constitute distinct types of victims and differ in adjustment. Likewise, differentiating between self- and peer- reports of bullying may also reveal distinct types of bullies. The goal of this study was to examine differences between types of bullies identified via dyadic nominations (self-identified, victim-identified, and self/victim identified). First, we examined the concordance between dyadic nominations of bullying and traditional measures of bullying (i.e., self- and peer-reports). Second, we compared the behavioral profiles of the bully types to nonbullies, with a focus on aggressive behaviors and social status. Third, we examined whether the types of bullies targeted victims with different levels of popularity, as well as the role of their own popularity and prioritizing of popularity. Participants were 1,008 Dutch adolescents (50.1% male, M_age  = 14.14 years, standard deviation [SD] = 1.30) who completed a classroom assessment of dyadic nominations, peer nominations, and self-report items. Results indicated that victim identified and self/victim identified bullies were more aggressive, more popular, and less socially preferred than self-identified bullies and nonbullies. Self/victim identified bullies targeted victims with the highest social status. The association between bully type and victims' popularity was further qualified by bullies' own popularity and the degree to which they prioritized popularity. Implications for the implementation of dyadic nominations are discussed.

Social Network Analysis in Child and Adolescent Physical Activity Research: A Systematic Literature Review

BACKGROUND

Regular physical activity (PA) has many benefits for children and adolescents, yet many do not meet PA recommendations. Social context is important for promoting or discouraging PA among children and adolescents. This review aimed to identify social network variables related to PA among children and adolescents.

METHODS

A systematic review of the literature was conducted in September 2018 using PsycINFO, MEDLINE, PubMed, and Web of Science. Included articles needed to (1) be focused on children (aged 5-11 y) or adolescents (aged 12-17 y), (2) include a measure of PA, (3) include a measure of egocentric or sociocentric social connection in which alters were nominated, and (4) perform an analysis between network data and PA.

RESULTS

A search of 11,824 articles was refined to a final sample of 29 articles. Social network themes and concepts such as homophily, centrality, and network composition were related to child and adolescent PA behavior across the literature.

CONCLUSIONS

The impact of an individual's social network is evident on their PA behaviors. More research is needed to examine why these networks form in relation to PA and how interventions can utilize social network analysis to more effectively promote PA, especially in underserved and minority populations.

Classroom bullying norms and peer status: Effects on victim-oriented and bully-oriented defending

Defending a victimized peer is a socially risky behavior that may require high peer status and may depend on how popular or disliked bullies are in the classroom (i.e., within-classroom correlations between bullying and status). Past research has investigated defending as a unidimensional construct, though it can involve confronting the bully (bully-oriented defending) or supporting the victim (victim-oriented defending). This study used multilevel modeling to examine the effects of individual peer status, gender, and bullying as well as two indicators of classroom norms—the bullying-popularity norm and the bullying-rejection norm—on both types of defending. Our sample included 1,460 Dutch adolescents (50% girls; M age 11 years) from 59 classrooms in 50 schools. Likability and popularity were positively associated with both types of defending. Being female and lower in bullying was associated with victim-oriented defending, whereas being male and higher in bullying was associated with bully-oriented defending. In classrooms where bullies were more rejected, both types of defending were more prevalent, and the positive associations of likability and popularity with victim-oriented defending were stronger. The positive effect of the bullying-rejection norm on victim-oriented defending was stronger for girls. Moreover, the effect of popularity on bully-oriented defending was stronger in classrooms where bullies were less popular.

Differences in perceived popularity and social preference between bullying roles and class norms

The aim of this study was to examine differences in perceived popularity and social preference of bullying roles and class norms. In total, 1,339 students (48% girls) participated: 674 primary school (M = 10.41 years, SD = 0.49) and 685 secondary school students (M = 12.67 years, SD = 0.80). Peer nominations and perceptions of class norms were collected. The results showed the highest perceived popularity among aggressors and defenders, except in anti-bullying primary school classes, where aggressors had low levels of popularity. In pro-bullying secondary school classes school, female victims had the lowest popularity levels. These findings suggest that class norms and personal variables as gender and school levels are important to understand bullying roles. Practical implications are discussed to guide teachers and practitioners according to the importance to adapt antibullying programs to the characteristics of the group in each school level and gender.

Why does decreased likeability not deter adolescent bullying perpetrators?

This study examines why the lower likeability of bullying perpetrators does not deter them from engaging in bullying behavior, by testing three hypotheses: (a) bullying perpetrators are unaware that they are disliked, (b) they value popularity more than they value likeability, (c) they think that they have nothing to lose in terms of likeability, as they believe that their targets and other classmates would dislike them anyway, regardless of their behavior. The first two hypotheses were examined in Study 1 (1,035 Dutch adolescents, M_age = 14.15) and the third hypothesis was examined in Study 2 (601 Dutch adolescents, M_age = 12.92). Results from regression analyses showed that those higher in bullying were not more likely to overestimate their likeability. However, they were more likely than others to find being popular more important than being liked. Moreover, those higher in bullying were more likely to endorse the belief that the victimized student or the other classmates would have disliked a bullying protagonist (in vignettes of hypothetical bullying incidents) before any bullying started. These findings suggest that adolescent bullying perpetrators may not be deterred by the costs of bullying in terms of likeability, possibly because they do not value likeability that much (Hypothesis 2), and because they believe they hardly have any likeability to lose (Hypothesis 3).

The Upsides and Downsides of the Dark Side: A Longitudinal Study Into the Role of Prosocial and Antisocial Strategies in Close Friendship Formation

Resource control theory (RCT) posits that both antisocial and prosocial behaviors combine in unique ways to control resources such as friendships. We assessed students (N = 2,803; 49.7% male) yearly from junior (grades 8-10) to senior high school (11-12) on antisocial (A) and prosocial (P) behavior, peer nominated friendship, and well-being. Non-parametric cluster analyses of the joint trajectories of A and P identified four stable profiles: non-strategic (moderately low A and P), bi-strategic (moderately high on A and P), prosocial (moderately low A and moderately high on P), and antisocial (moderately low on P, and very high on A). There were clear benefits to youth using bi-strategic strategies in junior high: they attracted relatively high levels of opposite sex friendship nominations. However, this benefit disappeared in senior high. There were also clear costs: bi-strategic youth experienced relatively low well-being, and this effect was significantly more pronounced for females than males. Prosocial youth were the only ones who maintained both high friendship numbers and high well-being throughout high school. We discuss the cost/benefit trade-offs of different resource control strategies.

Social Costs for Wannabes: Moderating Effects of Popularity and Gender on the Links between Popularity Goals and Negative Peer Experiences

Youth in early adolescence are highly concerned with being popular in the peer group, but the desire to be popular can have maladaptive consequences for individuals. In fact, qualitative work suggests that youth with high popularity goals who are nonetheless unpopular have negative experiences with their peers. However, little quantitative work has examined this possibility. The purpose of the current study was to examine if popularity goals were linked with physical (e.g., being hit) and relational (e.g., being excluded) victimization and peer rejection, particularly for individuals who strived for popularity but were viewed by their peers as unpopular. Late elementary and early middle school participants (N = 205; 54% female) completed self-reports of popularity goals and peer nominations of popularity and peer rejection. Teachers reported on students' experiences of relational and physical victimization. Peer nominated popularity and gender were moderators of the association between popularity goals and negative peer experiences. Consistent with hypotheses, girls who were unpopular but wanted to be popular were more likely to experience peer rejection and relational victimization. Unexpectedly, boys who were unpopular but did not desire to be popular were more likely to be rejected and relationally victimized. The findings suggest that intervention and prevention programs may benefit from addressing the social status goals of low status youth in a gender-specific manner.

Brief note: Applying developmental intergroup perspectives to the social ecologies of bullying: Lessons from developmental social psychology

Over the past decades, the field of bullying research has seen dramatic growth, notably with the integration of the social-ecological approach to understanding bullying. Recently, researchers (Hymel et al., 2015; Hawley & Williford, 2015) have called for further extension of the field by incorporating constructs of group processes into our investigation of the social ecologies of bullying. This brief note details the critical connections between power, social identity, group norms, social and moral reasoning about discrimination and victimization, and experiences of, evaluations of, and responses to bullying. The authors highlight a parallel development in the bridging of developmental social-ecological and social psychological perspectives utilized in the field of social exclusion that provides a roadmap for extending the larger field of bullying research. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled [VSI: Bullying] IG000050.