The Relationship Between Peer Victimization and Children's Humor Styles: It's No Laughing Matter!

Abstract

This study assessed the concurrent and prospective (fall to spring) associations between peer victimization and four humor styles, two of which are adaptive (affiliative and self‐enhancing) and two maladaptive (aggressive and self‐defeating). Participants were 1234 adolescents (52 percent female) aged 11–13 years, drawn from six secondary schools in England. Self‐reports and peer reports of peer victimization were collected, as were self‐reports of humor styles. In cross‐sectional analyses, peer victimization was associated with all four humor styles, most strongly with self‐defeating and affiliative humor. Across the school year, peer victimization was associated with an increase in self‐defeating humor and a decrease in affiliative humor (and vice‐versa). These results have implications for models of humor development and how we understand the continuity of peer victimization.

Longitudinal associations between humor styles and psychosocial adjustment in adolescence

“…It was also found that self-defeating humor led to an increase in loneliness across time. This finding compliments our findings reported elsewhere which suggested that use of this humor style may put adolescents at an increased risk of peer victimisation over time ( Fox et al, 2015 ). It has been argued that humor is one means through which social status can be achieved and maintained ( Klein & Kuiper, 2006 ).…”

“…Data collection took approximately half an hour. A range of other variables were measured but are not the central focus of this paper (see Fox, Hunter, & Jones, 2015 , for a paper which draws on the same dataset). Sessions began with the researchers introducing themselves and explaining the measures that would be collected that day, and explaining the confidential nature of the questionnaires.…”

Longitudinal associations between younger children's humour styles and psychosocial adjustment

“…Although the effects discussed above were significant, it is necessary to question why, for the sample as a whole, a number of predicted associations based on the literature were not found to be significant when using SEM. As argued by Fox, Hunter, and Jones () short term longitudinal studies can make it difficult to detect change, particularly if the processes under examination develop over a lengthier period of time. Notably significant effects for a humour style at Time 1 and an adjustment variable at Time 2 were lacking.…”

“They Will Find Another Way to Hurt You”: Emerging Adults’ Perceptions of Coping With Cyberbullying

“…For instance, consistent with Parris, Varjas, Meyers, and Cutts (2012), participants suggested approaching the perpetrator in person or online to address interpersonal issues as this may help clarify any ambiguity between the perpetrator and victim, such as misinterpreting the intention of a behavior as hostile and therefore retaliating. In addition, while past studies have examined the use of self-defeating humor in response to traditional bullying (Fox, Hunter, & Jones, 2015), this strategy has been seldom reported among cyberbullying victims. This study identifies its use among emerging adults, and therefore future research should examine the prevalence and effectiveness of this strategy.…”