The Interrelationships of Behavioral Indices of Bully and Victim Behavior

Abstract

SUMMARY The interrelations of three behavioral indices of bully and victim behavior were examined. Each measure is assumed to represent a different reporting perspective of the bully and victim experience: a peer derived point of view, a self-referential report, and a newly developed self-report measure of one's perceptions of how he/she is perceived by his/her peers, specifically with regard to bully and victim behavior. As a part of a larger study, 120 children from grades 5 and 6 completed all three behavioral indices of bully and victim behavior. The interrelations among the victim behavior indices supported the notion that victimized children tended to both recognize how they were perceived by others and agree with the perceptions of their peer group. The interrelations among the bully behavior indices suggested that bullies were somewhat aware of how they were perceived by their peer group and yet disagreed with or disregarded this characterization. The additional descriptive information, provided by including a measure of children's perceived peer perspective, and the clinical implications of using all three behavioral indices in concert are discussed.