Bully Victimization and Academic Achievement in Middle School

Abstract

This study examined the stability of bully victimization experiences over three years of middle school in a cohort of 126 students. Students were assessed by self-report survey in the fall and spring of grades 6, 7, and 8. Three groups were created to identify victim status: approximately 50% of students were (1) never categorized as bullied, 30% were (2) bullied one year only, and 20% were (3) bullied two years or more. As expected, increasing victimization was associated with depressive reactions and increased risk behaviors. There were no group differences in GPA, Math scores, or Reading scores on state-mandated tests. An unexpected finding was that when surveys were screened for students who responded inappropriately to validity items (e.g., answering False to “I am telling the truth on this survey”), the group differences were no longer statistically significant. These results suggest that screening self-report surveys can have a substantial impact on study findings. Rationale Studies that use a single cross-sectional assessment cannot demonstrate the course of bullying and how more persistently bullied students are affected. The present study was designed to examine the stability of bully victimization and distinguish students who were persistently bullied during middle school. A recent study (Cornell, Klein, Konold, & Huang, in press) recommended the use of validity screening items for adolescent self-report surveys, so we compared the results of this study before and after validity screening.