The complex interplay between bullying/victimization and defending was examined using a longitudinal social network approach (stochastic actor-based models). The (co)evolution of these relations within three elementary schools (Grades 2-5 at Time 1, ages 8-11, N = 354 children) was investigated across three time points within a year. Most bullies and defenders were in the same grade as the victims, although a substantial number of bullies and defenders were in other grades (most often one grade higher). Defenders were usually of the same gender as the victims, whereas most bullies were boys, with boys bullying both boys and girls. In line with goal-framing theory, multiplex network analyses provided evidence for the social support hypothesis (victims with the same bullies defended each other over time) as well as the retaliation hypothesis (defenders run the risk of becoming victimized by the bullies of the victims they defend). In addition, the analysis revealed that bullies with the same victims defended each other over time and that defenders of bullies initiated harassment of those bullies' victims. This study can be seen as a starting point in unraveling the relationship dynamics among bullying, victimization, and defending networks in schools.

This study focused on the dyadic defending relationships of victimized children in grades 3, 4, and 5 (N = 7481 children from 356 school classes, mean ages 10—12 years). Most of the victims (72.3%) had at least one defender. Being defended was positively related to victims’ adjustment and social status. Analyses on victim—defender dyads showed that they were usually same-gender relationships. Victims usually liked their defenders and perceived them as popular, although the latter effect was weaker. Also other classmates perceived defenders as popular, indicating that defenders enjoy a high status among their peers in general.

In order to battle bullying, it can be important for students to have teachers whom they see as taking an active stand against bullying in terms of propagating antibullying norms and having an efficacious approach to decreasing bullying. This expectation was tested with data from the control schools of the Finnish evaluation of the KiVa antibullying program. Multilevel analyses of data from 2,776 fourth-to sixth-graders showed that students' perceptions of their teachers' efficacy in decreasing bullying was related to a lower level of peer-reported bullying. Students' perceptions of their teachers' efforts to decrease bullying, however, was cross-sectionally related to a higher level of peer-reported bullying, but over time was related to a reduction in peer-reported bullying. In classes where teachers were not perceived as efficacious and had to exert a great deal of effort to reduce bullying, students with probullying attitudes and without antibullying effort had the highest level of bullying. The current findings show that teachers can play an important role in antibullying programs and should be seen as targets of intervention.

The aim of this research was to investigate if and how the group process of bullying can be examined using a social network perspective. In two studies, bullying was investigated using a social network version of the participant-role questionnaire. Study 1 explored the social network structure of one classroom in detail. The findings provide evidence that ingroup and outgroup effects are important in explaining the group process of bullying, and shed new light on defending, suggesting that not only victims are defended. In line with Study 1, Study 2, using data from 494 children in 25 elementary school classes (M age = 10.5), revealed that victims as well as bullies were defended by their ingroup members. The social network perspective can be integrated in antibullying interventions by using it to inform teachers about the positive and negative relations among students, and the group structure of the classroom.

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