Dating Violence, Bullying, and Sexual Harassment: Longitudinal Profiles and Transitions Over Time

Abstract

Although there is growing recognition of the problem of dating violence, little is known about how it unfolds among young adolescents who are just beginning to date. This study examined classes (subgroups) and transitions between classes over three time points based on dating violence, bullying, and sexual harassment perpetration and victimization experienced by youth. The sample was ethnically diverse, consisting of 795 seventh-grade students from schools that were part of a multi-site, longitudinal evaluation of a dating violence initiative (50 % female; 27 % White, 32 % African American, 25 % Latino, 16 % other or multiple races). Results from latent transition analyses revealed five classes of students with distinct behavioral profiles: multi-problem (victimization and perpetration), bullying and sexual harassment (victimization and perpetration), bullying (victimization and perpetration) and sexual harassment (victimization only), bullying (victimization and perpetration), and a least problem group. The majority of classes were characterized by reports of both perpetration and victimization for at least one behavior. Girls were more likely to be in the less problematic classes. Class membership was fairly stable across the three time points. When students transitioned to a different class, the shift was most often from a more problematic to a less problematic class, particularly for girls. The findings support understanding dating violence within a dynamic, developmental process that recognizes related behaviors within and across individuals. Overall, the findings highlight the utility of person-oriented approaches to enhance our understanding of longitudinal profiles and transitions over time for dating violence and related behaviors.

Examination of the change in latent statuses in bullying behaviors across time.

“…Different from Miller et al (2013), current results did not indicate any gender differences in bullying perpetration to support the assertion that aggressive behavior is less stable among girls than boys. However, we found that girls were more likely to experience verbal/relational and cyber victimization than boys, and boys were more likely to be physi cally victimized.…”

Clinical trial of Second Step© middle-school program: Impact on aggression & victimization

“…Also, in the 7th grade curriculum, youth learn how sexual harassment differs from flirting, their school's sexual harassment policy, and learn assertive skills to refuse sexual harassment. This is a critical component of the SS-SSTP given research documenting that bully perpetration is a precursor to the development of sexual harassment among middle school youth (Espelage, Basile, & Hamburger, 2012;Miller et al, 2013). Further, this sexual harassment takes the form of directing homophobic epithets toward other peers, which provides support for assessing the use of homophobic epithets in this study (Espelage, Basile, De La Rue, & Hamburger, in press).…”

“…These findings are critical given the recent research demonstrating that homophobic name-calling and sexual violence are emerging as significant public health concerns and are precursors to teen dating violence Miller et al, 2013). About half of the students in 7th through 12th grades were the victims of sexual harassment at school during the 2010-11 school year, with 56% of females and 40% of males experiencing sexual harassment in person or online (AAUW, 2011).…”

Multidisciplinary Approaches to Research on Bullying in Adolescence

“…For example, by high school 10 % of youth have experienced physical dating violence victimization (Miller et al 2013). In turn, research has indicated that youth involved in bullying are more likely to experience teen dating violence (Debnam et al 2016;Holt et al 2007).…”