Does defending affect adolescents' peer status, or vice versa? Testing the moderating effects of empathy, gender, and anti‐bullying norms

Abstract

This study examined bidirectional associations between students' bully‐directed defending behavior and their peer status (being liked or popular) and tested for the moderating role of empathy, gender, and classroom anti‐bullying norms. Three waves of data were collected at 4–5‐month time intervals among 3680 Finnish adolescents (Mage = 13.94, 53.0% girls). Cross‐lagged panel analyses showed that defending positively predicted popularity and, to a larger degree, being liked over time. No moderating effect of empathy was found. Popularity was more strongly predictive of defending, and defending was more strongly predictive of status among girls than among boys. Moreover, the positive effects of both types of status on defending were—albeit to a limited extent—stronger in classrooms with higher anti‐bullying norms.

The longitudinal role of classroom defending norms in victims’ psychological adjustment, causal attributions, and social comparisons.

“…The absence of a significant effect of defending norms in victims’ social comparisons may also be due to the heterogeneity of defenders. Even though some work indicates that youth consider having a high peer status (i.e., having friends or being popular) as a prerequisite for defending (Laninga-Wijnen et al, 2023), this may not be true in all cases. In fact, another study indicates that victims also defend each other (Huitsing et al, 2014).…”

“…The stressful event of victimization may force victims to nevertheless engage in social comparisons (Tesser, 1990), and the broader context in which they spend most of their time (i.e., the classroom) may determine their “social comparison material” (Buunk & Mussweiler, 2001). We argue that if classroom defending norms are higher, most classmates are presumably better off than these victims, and hence, represent “upward social comparison material.” Specifically, many classmates are able to defend victims against bullying and, therefore, must have the resources to offer this help, such as being self-confident, having a certain amount of status in the peer group (Laninga-Wijnen et al, 2023), or being surrounded by supportive friends who can shield them from retaliation attempts by the bully (Hawley, 2014). Having many classmates with such resources yields more possibilities for upward comparisons among those in a vulnerable social position.…”