Peer Victimisation in Early Childhood; Observations of Participant Roles and Sex Differences

Abstract

During middle childhood and adolescence, victimisation appears to be a group process involving different participant roles. However, peer reports with younger children (four to six years old) have failed to identify the participant roles of assistant (to the bully) reinforcers or defenders with much reliability. This may be because peer victimisation is a more dyadic process among younger children (behavioural reality), or because of limitations in young children’s cognitive capacity to identify these behaviours (cognitive limitations). The findings of an observational study which examined the group nature of peer victimisation among young children are presented. Observations were made of 56 children aged four and five years using time sampling during free play at school (totalling 43.5 h of observation). Records were made of their behaviour when an onlooker witnessed aggression by others, and also of others’ behaviour when they were being aggressive or being victimised. Although children other than the aggressor and target were present in nearly two thirds of the episodes of peer victimisation observed, few exhibited behavioural responses in line with the assistant, reinforcer or defender roles. This supports the behavioural reality rather than the cognitive limitations explanation. Sex differences were observed in types of aggression displayed by children, with boys more likely than girls to be physically aggressive. Children were less likely to be aggressive to other-sex peers and were most likely to be victimised by children of the same sex as them. There were also sex differences in children’s onlooker behaviour. The implications for our understanding of the development of peer victimisation and bullying in children are discussed.

Bullying in Students with Special Education Needs and Learning Difficulties: The Role of the Student–Teacher Relationship Quality and Students’ Social Status in the Peer Group

“…Bullying behaviors are characterized by a developmental trajectory (Cook et al, 2010) and increase over the years from childhood, with a peak during early adolescence (Hymel & Swearer, 2015;Menesini & Salmivali, 2017). In addition, research has shown that, starting from middle childhood, bullying and victimization start to be group processes (Monks et al, 2021) and are driven by status goals (Salmivalli, 2010). Older students might turn to bullying more than younger students because this could lead to an improvement in their social status.…”

Perceptions of Bullying amongst Spanish Preschool and Primary Schoolchildren with the Use of Comic Strips: Practical and Theoretical Implications

“…Similarly, Monks et al (2021), in an observational study of 56 children aged four to five years old, have also documented that sex differences were observed in types of aggression displayed by children, with boys more likely to than girls to be physically aggressive. Likewise, children were less likely to be aggressive with other-sex peers and were most likely to be victimised by children of the same sex as them.…”

“…. This cognitive ability is a key skill needed to deeply understand bullying, which is an attempt to gain social status within the peer group (Monks et al 2021), as it allows bullies to understand the impact on the bystanders feelings and thoughts about the victims' feelings and thoughts while being bullied. When a bully is victimizing a classmate, he or she is sending a subtle message to the other classmates, letting them know who is in charge.…”

“…In other words, bullying aggressions tend to be more dyadic than in middle childhood and adolescence. Likewise, these young students are not as sex segregated as in older ages (Rose and Smith 2018); whether or not this has an impact in terms of the same-sex or other-sex orientated patterns of aggression shown is still unclear (Monks et al 2021).…”

“…There are some important differences between the bullying pattern of aggression displayed by younger students compared to adolescents, namely the victim s role tends to be quite unstable and peripheral roles, such as assistants, reinforcers, and defenders, are harder to identify. This suggests that peer victimisation is more dyadic and less of a group process among younger children than it is among older students (Monks et al 2021). Likewise, the bully victim role seems to be more common (Alsaker 2018), and other-sex aggression might be more frequent, since groups of peers at an early age are not so sex segregated compared to adolescents (Rose and Smith 2018).…”