Participant Roles In Bullying Research Articles

Perceived and Actual Norms, and Norm Misperceptions in Explaining Participant Roles in Bullying.

Bullying norms have been shown to affect adolescents' decisions on different behaviors in bullying situations, but little is known about the differential contribution of perceived and actual bullying norms as well as their agreement. The present study investigated the effects of perceived and actual norms, along with norm misperceptions in participant roles in bullying. A sample of 890 students (337 fourth-, 223 fifth-, and 320 sixth-graders; Female 48%; Mage = 11.98, SDage = 0.82) from 34 classrooms in South Korean elementary schools was assessed at two time points: at the beginning (Wave 1) and at the end of the semester (Wave 2). Multilevel modeling results indicated that empathy as well as perceived and actual anti-bullying norms had unique effects on different participant roles in bullying. The agreement between perceived and actual norms also varied across classes, and bullying, victimization, and bystanding were found to be higher in classes where individuals misperceived the actual anti-bullying norms. Adolescents were more likely to defend in response to their empathy in classes with higher anti-bullying norms, while they were less likely to bystand in response to their empathy in classes where individuals accurately perceived the actual anti-bullying norms. These findings underscore that intervention programs can focus on correcting adolescents' erroneous perceptions and convictions about peers' anti-bullying attitudes to alleviate bullying and its negative consequences.

Deconstructing bullying roles: A longitudinal latent profile analysis of bullying participant behaviors for students in grades 4 through 12

Bullying behavior is understood as a complex social phenomenon that includes many, and sometimes overlapping, bullying participant behaviors. The current study utilized latent profile analysis (LPA) at two time points approximately one year apart and examined what bullying participant behavior groups emerged based on students' reported levels of bullying, assisting, victimization, defending, and outsider behavior. Additionally, longitudinal latent profile analyses (LLPA) were utilized to examine potential changes in groups over time. Results suggested four groups found at two timepoints: (a) Uninvolved-Occasional Defending, with defending at a monthly rate and infrequent engagement in other behaviors; (b) Frequent Defending-Occasional Victimization, with monthly victimization and weekly defending behaviors; (c) Frequent Victimization-Occasional Broad Involvement, with weekly levels of victimization and monthly bullying, defending, and outsider behaviors; and (d) Frequent Broad Involvement, with weekly engagement in all of the bully participant behaviors (i.e., bullying, assisting, victimization, defending, and outsider behavior). The largest proportion of students (more than half) were in the Uninvolved-Occasional Defending group, which was also the most stable group over time. The smallest group (7%) was Frequent Broad Involvement, which was the least stable group over time, with students in this group typically moving to groups with at least occasional broad involvement of bullying participant behaviors. More male students than female students were in both broad involvement groups (i.e., Frequent Victimization-Occasional Broad Involvement; Frequent Broad Involvement) and more female students than male students, as well as more elementary students than secondary students, were in the Frequent Defending-Occasional Victimization group. The current study suggests that researchers should use caution when categorizing or conceptualizing simple bullying participant roles such as bully or victim, or even “bully-victim,” especially if the other bullying participant behaviors are not assessed. Practitioners should develop interventions that capitalize on the high proportions of students engaging in some level of defending and account for the complex social ecology that suggests that students are engaging in complex overlapping patterns of bullying participant behaviors.

Psychometric Properties of the Bullying Participant Behaviors Questionnaire (BPBQ) among Chinese Middle School Students

The Bullying Participant Behaviors Questionnaire (BPBQ) is an efficient self-report measure for investigating bullying participant role behaviors. The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the BPBQ in a Chinese middle school sample. A total of 516 middle school students (47.7% girls; age range = 12–14 years) were recruited from an urban middle school in China. Results revealed that a five-factor model fit the data best. Correlations between the BPBQ subscale scores and the external criterion variables, including empathy and sympathy, moral disengagement, and trait anger, provided evidence of criterion validity. Furthermore, the BPBQ had good alpha reliability and moderate to good test-retest reliability. In conclusion, the BPBQ is a promising assessment tool to measure bullying participant behaviors among Chinese middle school students.

A multilevel analysis of the influence of bullying participant roles upon the trajectories of adolescents’ social and emotional competencies

This study analyzed how social and emotional competencies evolved according to adolescents’ involvement in bullying, and whether gender influenced social and emotional competencies’ development. Five-hundred-fourteen students ( Mage = 12.71; SD = 1.09) were assessed through self-reports at three different time points for one year. Results showed that students involved in the three analyzed bullying roles displayed a more negative trajectory in all but one social emotional competence analyzed compared to students not involved in bullying. The exception was students who bullied others for responsible decision making. Additionally, gender differences were only found in self-esteem trajectories; boys displayed a more pronounced decrease. In larger classes, students displayed higher levels of self-control, social awareness and responsible decision-making. These results showed that reduced social and emotional competencies were a consequence of bullying involvement for every bullying role analyzed.

충청지역 ‘정신건강 전문가 학교방문지원사업’에 참여한 초등학생 중 학교폭력 경험군의 임상적 특성

Objectives: This study examined the characteristics of elementary school students who were referred to the Professional school visits outreach project in 2017 and 2018 and analyzed the emotional and behavioral characteristics of the students who experienced school violence. Methods: 160 elementary students were included in the analysis and the participant’s parents were asked to complete the Child Behavior Checklist 6-18. To obtain general information and experience of bullying, a semi-structured interview with the student, parents and the teacher was conducted. Results: The participants had a high proportion of vulnerable groups, and the main presumptive diagnoses were ADHD and depression, which were similar to those of the clinical group. Experiences of child abuse increased the risk of experiencing bullying (OR=2.16, p,0.5). The median scores of rule-breaking (p=.03) and aggressive behaviors (p=.01), externalization (p=.01) and conduct problems (p<.01) were significantly different among bullying participant roles. Bullies exhibited the most serious emotional behavior problems. Conclusion: The group with experience of school violence had more social immaturity and behavior problems, and less social and adaptability than the group without experience. Bullies had severe rule-breaking, aggression, externalization, and behavior problems, and showed the most problems in emotional behavior, and victims showed a tendency to have poor social and adaptation skills.

Perceived Teacher Responses to Bullying Influence Students' Social Cognitions.

Teachers’ responses to bullying incidents are key in bullying intervention at school. Scholars have suggested that teacher responses can predict student cognitions that are associated with their bullying behaviors. However, little is known about whether and how teacher responses affect these cognitions. Therefore, the current study investigated the effects of four immediate teacher responses on four bullying-related student cognitions, using an experimental vignette design. Additionally, it was examined whether students’ own participant role behaviors in actual bullying moderated these effects. The investigated teacher responses were non-response, comforting the victim, correcting the bully, and a combination of comforting the victim and correcting the bully. The investigated student cognitions were perceived teacher attitudes toward bullying, perceived teacher moral disengagement regarding bullying, student willingness to report bullying to the teacher and student expectations regarding bullying participant role behaviors in the classroom. Fourth-to-sixth grade students (N = 910; 47% boys; Mage = 11.04 years, SD = 0.91) read a vignette describing a hypothetical teacher’s response to a same bullying incident, following random assignment to one of eight conditions (i.e., four teacher responses × two genders of bully and victim in the vignette). Afterward, students completed questionnaires about their social cognitions and manipulation checks. ANOVA demonstrated that students perceived stronger teacher anti-bullying attitudes and less teacher moral disengagement when the hypothetical teacher displayed an active response. These effects were even stronger when the teacher corrected the bully compared to when only the victim was comforted. Further, students were more willing to report bullying when the teacher corrected the bully than when the teacher only comforted the victim. Finally, students expected less pro-bullying behaviors, more defending and less victimization in the vignette’s classroom following active teacher response compared to non-response. The effects of teacher responses on student cognitions were not moderated by students’ own participant roles in bullying. Taken together, these findings emphasize the importance of active teacher responses to bullying, and especially, responses that clearly show that bullying is not tolerated. Teachers are encouraged to be aware that students can deduce beliefs from teacher responses which can, in turn, affect bullying processes in the classroom.

The Relationship Between Universal Values and Bullying Participant Roles: Mediating Effects of Moral Emotions and Moral Disengagement

본 연구는 보편적 가치와 집단따돌림의 참여 행동과의 관계에서 도덕적 정서와 도덕적 이탈의 매개 효과를 검증함으로써, 보편적 가치로부터 집단따돌림 참여 행동으로 이어지는 일련의 심리적 과정에 대한 통합적 이해를 제시하고자 하였다. 이를 위해 남녀 고등학생 521명을 대상으로 Schwartz의 가치묘사질문지(PVQ-R), 집단따돌림 참여행동 척도(BPBQ), 공감, 감사, 도덕적 분노 및 도덕적 이탈 기제 척도를 사용하여 각각의 변인을 측정하고, 3개의 가설적 매개 모형을 구조방정식 모형을 통해 검증하였다. 그 결과, 자기초월 가치와 방어 행동 간의 관계에서 도덕적 정서(공감, 감사, 도덕적 분노)의 매개효과, 자기고양 가치와 가해/동조 행동 간의 관계에서 도덕적 이탈의 매개효과, 개인적 초점 가치와 방관 행동 간의 관계에서 도덕적 이탈의 매개효과가 각각 지지되었다. 추가적인 탐색적 분석 결과, 보편주의 가치는 공감을 통해, 박애 가치는 도덕적 분노를 통해 적극방어 행동을 더 잘 예측할 수 있다는 것을 관찰하였다. 끝으로 본 연구의 의의, 교육적·임상적 함의, 제한점 및 미래의 연구 방향 등에 대하여 논의하였다.

Bystander Intervention in Bullying: Differences Across Latent Profiles

The current study used latent profile analysis to find subgroups of youth based on bullying participant roles and then compared subgroups on the five bystander intervention steps (Notice, Interpret as an emergency, Accept Responsibility, Know how to Intervene, and Act). The sample included 641 fourth–eighth grade students (44.6% boys) who completed two self-report measures of their bullying role involvement and engagement in the five steps of the bystander intervention model. A four-class solution emerged in the latent profile analysis: Victimized Defenders (VD, 46% of the sample, high scores on victim and defender roles), Moderate Involvement (MI, 46% of the sample, involved in all five bullying roles), Bully-Victim-Defenders (BVD, 6%, high scores on bully, victim, and defender), and High Involvement (HI, 2%, high levels of involvement in all roles). These four classes were compared in terms of self-reported engagement in the bystander intervention process. A notable finding is that Victimized Defenders had the lowest level of all bystander steps. A discussion of the findings and directions for future research is provided.

Bullying immigrant versus non-immigrant peers: Moral disengagement and participant roles

This study examined (1) whether self-justifying bullying (i.e., moral disengagement) differs in hypothetical bullying situations of a newcomer peer depending on his or her immigrant status; and (2) whether the respondent's immigration status, age, gender, real life bullying participant role (as bully, assistant, reinforcer, defender, victim or outsider) and moral disengagement proneness moderate the differences in moral disengagement between non-immigrant vs. immigrant victims. Altogether, 342 ten-year olds (54% immigrants) and 292 twelve-year olds (45% immigrants) answered peer-report measures to assess participation in bullying and peer status, and self-report measures to assess moral disengagement proneness and situational moral disengagement related to vignettes in which the target of bullying was a non-immigrant vs an immigrant new classmate. For both non-immigrant and immigrant participants both types of moral disengagement were higher for non-immigrant than immigrant victims in the vignettes independent of the respondents' own immigration status. However, different participant bullying roles predicted the differences in moral disengagement between non-immigrant versus immigrant hypothetical victims among non-immigrant and immigrant students. Results suggest that, besides being a trait dimension, moral disengagement is also influenced by situational characteristics that need to be taken into account in order to prevent and tackle bullying effectively.

Coolness and social vulnerability: Swedish pupils’ reflections on participant roles in school bullying

ABSTRACT The aim of the study was to examine Swedish school pupils’ perspectives on why some pupils engage in bullying, support bullying or avoid standing up for the one(s) being bullied, despite a shared understanding that bullying is wrong. Through the use of focus group interviews combined with two bullying vignettes, a total of 74 pupils from grades 5 and 6 (i.e. 11–12 years of age) from two public primary schools in socioeconomically diverse areas were asked for their perspectives on various participant roles in bullying. In interpreting the vignette scenario, the participants emphasised the importance of perceived coolness, as well as the risk of being bullied. In seeking to avoid becoming a ‘victim’ of bullying, the situational roles of ‘bully’, ‘assistant’, ‘reinforcer’ and ‘outsider’ were understood as potential means for promoting, maintaining or protecting one’s own social position. The findings of the study challenge previous understandings of bullying as an act of harmful or aggressive intentionality and rather highlight the relational and situational aspects of bullying.

A developmental perspective on popularity and the group process of bullying

Bullying is a group process in which youths have different roles (bully, assistant, reinforcer, defender, outsider, victim). Although many studies have examined the group process of bullying in childhood, few have examined the group process of bullying in adolescence. This paper addresses how the group process of bullying is different in adolescence than in childhood due to the greater importance of popularity in adolescence. We review studies on the prevalence of the bullying participant roles in adolescence and the social status and behaviors associated with them. We discuss practical implications for anti-bullying programs in secondary school and provide suggestions for further research.

Participant roles in preschool bullying: The impact of emotion regulation, social preference, and quality of the teacher–child relationship

AbstractThe present work investigated whether emotion regulation and social preference were associated with participant roles in bullying as a function of the quality of the relationship with teachers. Participants were 332 children (172 boys), in the age of 42–76 months (M = 58.74;SD = 7.84). Peer nominations were employed to assess social preference and participant roles (bullying, victimization, defending the victim, and outsider behavior). Teachers completed the Emotion Regulation Checklist, which yields the dimensions of emotion regulation and lability/negativity, and the Student–Teacher Relationships Scale, to evaluate conflict and closeness with the teacher. Multilevel models highlighted that emotional lability was positively associated with bullying and outsider behavior, emotion regulation was positively related to bullying and defending behavior, and social preference was negatively associated with bullying and victimization and positively with defending behavior. Interactions indicated that lability and low social preference were associated with bullying, and emotion regulation with outsider behavior, in children with a conflictual relationship with the teacher whereas social preference was related to defending behavior in children with a close relationship with the teacher. Results are discussed highlighting the importance of the quality of teacher–child relationship and the relevance of intervention programs aimed at promoting social wellbeing in preschool.

The participant roles of bullying in different grades: Prevalence and social status profiles

AbstractThis study examined grade differences in the social status profiles and prevalence of bullying participant roles. Participants were 598 primary school students (grades 4–6), 545 students in the lower‐grades of secondary school (grades 7–8), and 1491 students in the upper‐grades of secondary school (grades 9–11). Students' participant roles, popularity, and social preference were measured with peer nominations. Bullies, assistants, and reinforcers (i.e., bullies/followers) were as popular as defenders in primary school, but more popular than defenders in secondary school. These differences depended on the gender of the reference group. Bullies/followers were more popular than defenders among other‐gender peers in the lower‐grades of secondary school but not among same‐gender peers. In the upper‐grades of secondary school, bullies/followers were more popular than defenders among all peers. Grade differences in social preference were small. The grade differences in popularity profiles of the roles were in line with grade differences in prevalence rates. Bully/follower roles were more common in secondary school than primary school among girls and the defender role was less common in secondary school among boys. This suggests that bully/follower roles are more rewarded with social status in secondary school than in primary school.

Executive functioning and bullying participant roles: Differences for boys and girls

ABSTRACTBullying is a process of direct (i.e., youth who bully and are victimized) and indirect (i.e., bystanders) social exchanges. Though researchers often examine social and emotional correlates of bullying role behaviors, it is important to also consider the underlying cognitive processes associated with different bullying roles such as socially oriented cognitive processes associated with executive functions. The goal of the current study was to examine executive functions associated with types of bullying role behavior (aggression, victimization, defending, assisting, and outsider behavior) and differences between boys and girls within a sample of 689 third- to eighth-grade students (51% male, 49% female). Victimization was significantly and negatively associated with each executive function. Defending was positively associated with emotion regulation for upper elementary school students, but not for middle school students. Outsider behavior was significantly and negatively associated with self-monitoring, flexibility, and initiation.

Predicting Adolescents' Bullying Participation from Developmental Trajectories of Social Status and Behavior.

The aim of this study was to determine how trajectory clusters of social status (social preference and perceived popularity) and behavior (direct aggression and prosocial behavior) from age 9 to age 14 predicted adolescents' bullying participant roles at age 16 and 17 (n=266). Clusters were identified with multivariate growth mixture modeling (GMM). The findings showed that participants' developmental trajectories of social status and social behavior across childhood and early adolescence predicted their bullying participant role involvement in adolescence. Practical implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.

A "Defender Protective Effect" in Multiple-Role Combinations of Bullying Among Chinese Adolescents.

Although existing research has advanced our understanding of participant roles in bullying, it is limited by its focus on a single participant role and reliance on samples of children or adolescents in Western nations. Under a "multiple participant roles" perspective based on adaptive strategy hypothesis, the current study used a modified version of the Participant Role Scale approach to identify participant roles in 523 Chinese eighth graders (47.0% boys; M = 14.43) based on peer ratings using two role classification methods: single participant role (using standardized scores) and multiple participant role (using raw scores). First, the single-role method was used. Second, primary, secondary, and tertiary roles were assigned to each adolescent according to his or her three highest scores; they also were assigned to various combinations of roles. Associations between variation in bullying roles and peer social preference (i.e., peer acceptance and rejection) were examined. Overall, the results regarding single-role classification showed that the distribution of and gender differences in roles were consistent with previous studies of Western adolescents. Results regarding multiple-role classification revealed wide variation: primary roles, 85.3% of the sample; secondary roles, 54.2%; tertiary roles, 43.2%. Girls tended to occupy only one role, whereas boys occupied multiple roles. Furthermore, 11 role combinations were identified (e.g., probully-defender; probully-defender-outsider) that were dominated by boys, but also included some girls. Youth whose combination included the role of defender had higher peer acceptance and lower rejection, compared with those without the defender role-a "defender protective effect." The findings have important implications for understanding and reducing bullying.

Adolescents’ explicit and implicit evaluations of hypothetical and actual peers with different bullying participant roles

This study examined how adolescents evaluate bullying at three levels of specificity: (a) the general concept of bullying, (b) hypothetical peers in different bullying participant roles, and (c) actual peers in different bullying participant roles. Participants were 163 predominantly ethnic majority adolescents in The Netherlands (58% girls; Mage=16.34years, SD=0.79). For the hypothetical peers, we examined adolescents’ explicit evaluations as well as their implicit evaluations. Adolescents evaluated the general concept of bullying negatively. Adolescents’ explicit evaluations of hypothetical and actual peers in the bullying roles depended on their own role, but adolescents’ implicit evaluations of hypothetical peers did not. Adolescents’ explicit evaluations of hypothetical peers and actual peers were different. Hypothetical bullies were evaluated negatively by all classmates, whereas hypothetical victims were evaluated relatively positively compared with the other roles. However, when adolescents evaluated their actual classmates, the differences between bullies and the other roles were smaller, whereas victims were evaluated the most negatively of all roles. Further research should take into account that adolescents’ evaluations of hypothetical peers differ from their evaluations of actual peers.

Bullying participant roles and gender as predictors of bystander intervention.

Although the importance of peer bystanders in bullying has been recognized, there are few studies that examine the phenomenon in relation to Latané and Darley's (1970) classic Bystander Intervention Model, which states that there are five stages of bystander intervention: (i) notice the event; (ii) interpret the event as an emergency that requires assistance; (iii) accept responsibility for intervening; (iv) know how to intervene or provide help; and (v) implement intervention decisions. This study examined preliminary evidence of reliability and validity of the Bystander Intervention Model in Bullying (Nickerson, Aloe, Livingston, & Feeley, 2014), and the extent to which bullying role behavior (bullying, assisting, victimization, defending, and outsider behavior) and gender predicted each step of the model with a sample of 299 middle school students. Results of a Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported a five-factor structure of the measure corresponding to the steps of the model. There was evidence of convergent validity and Cronbach alpha for each subscale exceeded .75. In addition, students who reported defending their peers were more likely to also engage in all five steps of the bystander intervention model, while victims were more likely to notice events, and outsiders were less likely to intervene. Gender differences and gender interactions were also found. Aggr. Behav. 43:281-290, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Stability &amp; Changes of Participant Roles in Bullying and Associated Environmental Characteristics：With a Focus on Peer Bystanders

The purpose of the present study was to explore the stability and changes of participant roles in the bullying process, namely, bullies, victims, followers, outsiders, and defenders. In addition, this study examined associated environmental characteristics of both followers and defenders in sixth graders among peer bystanders in the fifth grade. The participants consisted of 461 children from grades 5 to 6(male: 239, female: 222). Data were collected at one year intervals for two data points. The results indicated a moderate consistency in the participant roles the children take across time. Followers and outsiders tended to change differently in their roles one year later. On the other hand, defenders, bullies, and victims tended to keep the same role. The defenders group generally had higher levels of peer attachment, teacher attachment and community’s supervision than the followers group. The implications for future research and intervention in bullying were also discussed. 색인어: 또래괴롭힘 참여자 ì—­í• , 주변또래, 가해동조자, 방관자, 방어자 Keywords: participant roles in bullying, peer bystanders, followers, outsiders, defenders

Associations Among Middle School Students’ Bullying Roles and Social Skills

This study explored the relations among self-reported bully participant role behaviors (i.e., bullying, assisting, experiencing victimization, defending, and outsider behavior) and self-reported social skills (i.e., cooperation, assertion, empathy, and self-control) among boys and girls. The sample consisted of 636 middle school students (52% boys, 84% White). Results indicated several significant relations between bullying participant behaviors and social skills with some gender differences in those relations as well. Most notably, defenders have higher levels of multiple social skills. Future research should seek out additional information regarding inter- and intra-personal characteristics in order to be able to better understand bullying participant role behaviors.