Are victims of bullying primarily social outcasts? Person‐group dissimilarities in relational, socio‐behavioral, and physical characteristics as predictors of victimization

Abstract

Existing literature has mostly explained the occurrence of bullying victimization by individual socioemotional maladjustment. Instead, this study tested the person‐group dissimilarity model (Wright et al., Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50: 523–536, 1986) by examining whether individuals’ deviation from developmentally important (relational, socio‐behavioral, and physical) descriptive classroom norms predicted victimization. Adolescents (N = 1267, k = 56 classrooms; Mage = 13.2; 48.7% boys; 83.4% Dutch) provided self‐reported and peer‐nomination data throughout one school year (three timepoints). Results from group actor–partner interdependence models indicated that more person‐group dissimilarity in relational characteristics (fewer friendships; incidence rate ratios [IRR]T2 = 0.28, IRRT3 = 0.16, fewer social media connections; IRRT3 = 0.13) and, particularly, lower disruptive behaviors (IRRT2 = 0.35, IRRT3 = 0.26) predicted victimization throughout the school year.

In defense of peer influence: The unheralded benefits of conformity

“…Conformity helps establish belongingness and sustains close relationships, signaling agreeableness and a preference for cooperation. Nonconformity invites disagreement and can lead to victimization (Kaufman et al, 2022).…”

Open Science: Recommendations for Research on School Bullying

“…To date, there have been few pre-registered studies in bullying. A Web of Science search using the Boolean search terms bully* peervict*, pre-reg*, and preregist* identified four pre-registered studies on school bullying (Kaufman et al, 2022;Legate et al, 2019;Leung, 2021;Noret et al, 2021). The lack of pre-registrations may reflect concerns that it is a difficult, rigid, and time-consuming process.…”

The Healthy Context Paradox: When Reducing Bullying comes at a Cost to Certain Victims

“…According to this theory, the attitudes of the group members towards their peers depend on what is considered normative, and therefore valued and accepted, in the peer group (Wright et al, 1986). Consequently, victimized students would be considered “misfits” in classrooms with low levels of victimization and would be more likely to be peer rejected in these classrooms (Kaufman et al, 2022; Sentse et al, 2013). This leads to their non-victimized peers avoiding them as friends (Sentse et al, 2013; Sijtsema et al, 2013), as well as them tending to associate with other victimized students who share their plight (Huitsing et al, 2014; Lodder et al, 2016).…”