Gender Differences in the Assessment, Stability, and Correlates to Bullying Roles in Middle School Children

Abstract

The current study investigated bullying behaviors in 284 school children in the fourth through seventh grades at the time of the initial assessment. Peer ratings of bullying behavior were obtained at the end of the spring semester of one school year and at the end of the fall semester of the next school year. Importantly, peer ratings were obtained by assessing not only the level at which participants actually bully other students but also whether participants help bullies to hurt the victim (assister), encourage bullies (reinforce), or help the victim of bullying (defender). Our results did not support the utility of differentiating between bullies, assisters, or reinforcers. Specifically, these bullying roles were highly intercorrelated, both concurrently and across school years, and they showed similar correlations with aggression and several characteristics often associated with aggression (i.e., conduct problems, callous-unemotional traits, and positive expectancies about aggression). In contrast, ratings of defending designated a particularly prosocial group of students. Finally, whereas bullying appeared to be very similar in boys and girls, it was somewhat more stable across school years and was related to lower levels of prosocial behavior in boys, both of which could suggest that bullying may be somewhat more related to social group dynamics in girls.

Interpersonal Value Profiles and Analysis to Adolescent Behavior and Social Attitudes // Perfiles de valores interpersonales y análisis de conductas y actitudes sociales de adolescentes

“…Neither can we omit mentioning that all the students were on the same academic level, as the results could be different at other educational levels, since the prevalence of antisocial behavior changes with age (Inglés et al, 2009). It might also have been of interest, and we leave this goal for future research, to analyze the differences by gender, since there are studies which also show its influence (Crapanzano et al, 2011). Nevertheless, this study's contribution should be highlighted, because it shows the values to be worked on and detected for early and preventive intervention in student behavior (antisocial and delinquent) and social attitudes.…”

A Longitudinal Study on Stability and Transitions Among Bullying Roles

“…Many studies focused on trajectories of bullying within one bullying role. Crapanzano, Frick, Childs, and Terranova () found that perpetration at one time point was highly related to perpetration 7 months later. Espelage, Van Ryzin, and Holt () showed that the most common trajectory of perpetration from age 11 to age 16 was low and moderate, relatively stable across time.…”

Participant roles of bullying in adolescence: Status characteristics, social behavior, and assignment criteria

“…Defending a victim is a form of prosocial behavior. It has been found that children who defend victims also display other prosocial behavior, such as helping and cooperation (Crapanzano, Frick, Childs, & Terranova, 2011). It is interesting to examine whether defenders are more prosocial than outsiders.…”