The Social Contexts of Bullying and Victimization

Abstract

This article examines the amount of middle school students' bullying and nonbullying behaviors observed in three less-structured school venues: the monthly school dance, the cafeteria, and the locker/hall area. Two questions guided our analysis: (a) How do students' bullying and victimization behaviors and nonbullying social behaviors vary by context? (b) How does social status as a bully or target of bullying influence students attendance at school dances? Findings revealed that, although one school showed much higher incidences of aggression, overall the amount of bullying behavior observed was low compared to nonbullying behaviors. When bullying behavior was observed, it was most often in the cafeteria and least often at the school dances, and there were very few incidences of aggression at the school dances. Rates of dance attendance showed that although students classified as bullies by peer nomination data were likely to attend dances at both schools, students classified as victims were likely to attend dances only at the school with almost no incidences of aggression. Implications for working with children who bully and the victims of their behavior, as well as further research, are discussed.