Inger M. Endresen

Bullies and victims at school: Are they the same pupils?

BACKGROUND The reported prevalence of bully-victims and aggressive/provocative victims varies quite considerably in previous research, and only a few studies have reported prevalence rates across grades. There is also a lack of detailed analyses of the extent to which victims are also bullies, and bullies are also victims. AIMS To study the prevalence of male and female bully-victims across grade/age and to establish the degree of overlap or relative size of the bully-victim group by relating them to all victims, all bullies and all involved students. SAMPLES Participants in Study 1 were 5,171 pupils in grades 5-9 from 37 schools. Study 2 comprised 12,983 pupils in grades 4-10 from 66 schools. METHODS The Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire was administered to the pupils in their ordinary classrooms. RESULTS The prevalence of bully-victims was low and mainly declined across grades. There were far more boys than girls in the bully-victim group. Bully-victims resembled victims only (pure victims) in terms of age-trends and bullies only (pure bullies) in terms of sex composition. The overlap of bully-victims with the total victim group was fairly small (10-20%) in all grades. In primary grades, bully-victims constituted about 30-50% of the total bully group, whereas in higher grades these proportions were considerably lower. CONCLUSION Our analyses and overview of previous research suggest that the bully-victim group is small, and that the large variations across studies are mainly due to differences in choice of cutoff point. Bully-victims should generally be seen and treated statistically as a distinct subgroup. The relatively larger proportion of bully-victims in lower grades should be explored further.

The Importance of Sex-of-Stimulus Object: Age Trends and Sex Differences in Empathic Responsiveness

The main goals of the study were to examine age trends and sex differences in empathic responsiveness, particularly empathic concern for others in distress. It was based on four cohorts of Norwegian students aged 13 to 16, comprising a total of 1193 boys and 1093 girls. The key measurement instrument was a partly new questionnaire on empathic responsiveness in which sets of items were differentiated according to sex-of-stimulus object. The empirical analyses showed convincingly that differentiation of the items with regard to sex-of-stimulus object was of critical importance for the discovery of the age trends that were present for boys and girls. Girls showed the most straightforward development, with an increase over age in empathic concern towards both girl and boy stimuli. The boys evinced a similar developmental pattern with regard to girls as stimuli but showed a clearly deviating, decreasing trend in emphatic concern for other boys in distress. Failure to consider sex-of-stimulus object is probably the main explanation for the inconsistent results previously reported for developmental trends in empathic responsiveness from age 11. In addition, and in agreement with previous research, we found very marked sex differences, with a strong predominance of low-empathic boys and a similarly marked predominance of high-empathic girls. Finally, the empirical analyses indicated the meaningfulness of partly separating out another facet of empathic responsiveness, i.e. empathic distress in which the emotional reaction is assumed to be more oriented toward the self than to the other, while the opposite is true of empathic concern. The results are discussed within an evolutionary perspective.

Variety and frequency scales of antisocial involvement: Which one is better?

Purpose. The aim of this study was to examine whether a scale including frequency scores of antisocial behaviour is a more sensitive and better measure of antisocial involvement than a variety scale. Methods. Data from a representative sample of 1,292 Norwegian students aged 13 and 14 years was used to compare a 17-item variety scale with two versions of a frequency scale covering the same 17 items. Internal consistency of the scales, stability coefficients (for 1-year and 2-year intervals), and associations with conceptually related variables (e.g. aggression, opposition, alcohol consumption) were examined. Results. Results indicated that using a scale including the (raw) frequencies of antisocial acts committed instead of a variety scale would result in reduced internal consistency, lower stability over time, smaller group differences and weaker associations with conceptually related variables. Similarly, in regression analyses the (raw) frequency scale contributed little to the explained variance in conceptually related variables over and beyond that contributed by the variety scale. Conclusions. Although the results for a log-transformed frequency scale were about as good as for the variety scale, both practical, methodological, and to some extent, conceptual considerations argued against replacing the variety scale with the transformed frequency scale. However, there may be some minor benefits from using an appropriately transformed frequency scale as a supplement to a variety scale, and there are also situations where inclusion of frequency scores in antisocial scales may be essential.

Joining and Leaving Gangs Selection and Facilitation Effects on Self-Reported Antisocial Behaviour in Early Adolescence

Gang membership is repeatedly reported to be one of the strongest predictors of antisocial behaviour. However, whether this association primarily reflects a selection effect or whether it primarily is related to a facilitation of antisocial behaviour within the gang has scarcely been an object of empirical study. This paper examines how antisocial behaviour and gang membership are associated among adolescents across time, using longitudinal data from a representative sample of Norwegian adolescents (N= 1203). Initial cross-group comparisons revealed that gang members were markedly more involved in general antisocial behaviour than non-gang members not only during periods of active gang membership but also during other periods, thereby supporting the theory that there is a selection effect. This effect was smaller for violence than for other forms of antisocial behaviour. Results from longitudinal analyses that compared behavioural changes among gang members and non-gang members during periods when the gang members joined and left a gang demonstrated that active gang affiliation strongly facilitated general antisocial behaviour as well as violent behaviour. Taken together, the results give strong support to the theory that both selection and facilitation processes contribute to the association between gang membership and antisocial involvement.

Psychological stress-factors and concentration of immunoglobulins and complement components in Norwegian nurses

Abstract Psychological stress produces immunological changes in animals, and increasing evidence suggests that this may also be true for humans. In the present study of 34 nurses in a busy ward of a Norwegian hospital, significant relationships have been demonstrated between die plasma levels of immunoglobulins and complement components and work-related ‘stress’, anxiety, and cognitive defence strategies. The main components of die work-related stress experience were role-stress and nonparticipation in decision-making. The results indicate chat immunological parameters may perhaps be used as a psychological stress indicator, but the relationships are complex and can best be understood if individual coping and defence mechanisms are considered. Health symptoms were also examined, but these were not related to stress experience or immunological measures.

Back pain and the experience of stress, efforts and moods

Abstract Ninety-six female office employees were recruited on the basis of their responses to the Standardised Nordic Questionnaire (SNQ) for assessment of musculoskeletal complaints. They presented mild to severe symptoms in one or more of the areas defined as neck, shoulders, and low back. These subjects also completed the Tension and Effort Stress Inventory (TESI) for assessment of subjective exposure to stressors, efforts to cope and experience of eight pleasant and eight unpasant moods/emotions. Product-moment correlations and stepwise multiple regression analyses tested the relations between TESI-scores and SNQ-scores. A particularly significant association emerged for resentment, guilt and effort with back pain. Age and length of employment were positively correlated with low back complaints, whereas they were unrelated to scores for shoulder complaints. The results lent support to the view that efforts to cope and unpleasant interpersonal relations (resentment, guilt) are of importance to the expe...

Brief uncontrollable stress and psychological parameters influence human plasma concentrations of IgM and complement component C3.

Thirty-eight men participated in a study of immunological, hormonal, and psychological parameters before and after acute stress situations. A brief but acute stress was repeated daily for 4 days. This exposure caused the plasma levels of IgM and C3 to increase from Basal Day to Experimental Day 4. Significant correlations between endocrine and immunological parameters, and also between psychological measures and immunological parameters, were found. Use of psychological defense was related both to endocrine and immunological changes. The authors concluded that psychological stress may influence immunological functions both indirectly, by hormonal changes, and directly, by nervous regulation during brief but acute stress periods.

Personality and coping strategies during submarine missions.

Relations between personality profiles, measured by the Personality Characteristics Inventory (PCI), and habitual coping strategies, measured by the Utrecht Coping List (UCL), were investigated in a sample of submarine personnel and office employees. The predictive validity of these instruments were examined for reported stress, health complaints, and salivary cortisone measures during 3 submarine missions. PCI and UCL were completed before the missions, and questionnaires and saliva were collected weekly. The results showed no significant relations between PCI profiles and coping strategies. Interpersonal orientation, achievement motivation, and habitual coping strategies were predictors for coping during the submarine missions. Problem-directed strategies and interpersonal sensitivity combined with strong achievement motivation were related to low indicated stress from social factors (lack of privacy, interpersonal tension, and crowding) and homesickness. The findings suggest that interpersonal characteristics need to be considered in the selection of submariners and personnel for other military settings in which units are exposed to prolonged stress and isolation.