Patricia McDougall

Bullying Is Power: Implications for School-Based Intervention Strategies

ABSTRACT The present investigation examines subtypes of bullies, distinguished on the basis of social power, some of whom fit the traditional characterization of bullies as poorly accepted, psychologically troubled, marginal members of the peer group and others who exhibit a much more positive set of social characteristics and who are afforded high status within the peer group. In a sample of 555 grade 6 to 10 Canadian students, the associations between bullying, power, and social status were examined, as well as variability in bullies across behavioral and non-behavioral characteristics, self-perceptions, and mental health functioning. Peer nominations were used to assess bullying, social status, aggressive behavior, competencies and assets, and self-reports were used to assess social self-perceptions and internalizing difficulties. Results indicated that, although generally viewed by peers as disliked and aggressive, a substantial number of bullies were also seen as both popular and powerful with leadership qualities, competencies and assets. In terms of their own social self-perceptions, bullies reported feeling good about themselves and their peer interactions. When subgroups of bullies were distinguished in terms of varying levels of perceived social power, powerful bullies were perceived by peers to be more popular, better liked and more physically and relationally aggressive than low power bullies. Additionally, powerful bullies were viewed as exhibiting more competencies and assets such as being physically attractive, wearing stylish clothing, and being good athletes. Findings are discussed in terms of the perpetuation of bullying behavior and the implications of the present findings for anti-bullying interventions.

Longitudinal links between childhood peer victimization, internalizing and externalizing problems, and academic functioning: Developmental cascades

Developmental cascade models linking childhood peer victimization, internalizing and externalizing problems, and academic functioning were examined in a sample of 695 children assessed in Grade 3 (academic only) and Grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. Results revealed several complex patterns of associations in which poorer functioning in one domain influenced poorer outcomes in other areas. For example, a symptom driven pathway was consistently found with internalizing problems predicting future peer victimization. Support for an academic incompetence model was also found— lower GPA in Grade 5, 6, and 7 was associated with more externalizing issues in the following year, and poor writing performance in Grade 3 predicted lower grades in Grade 5, which in turn predicted more externalizing problems in Grade 6. Results highlight the need to examine bidirectional influences and multifarious transactions that exist between peer victimization, mental health, and academic functioning over time.

Optimizing Population Screening of Bullying in School-Aged Children

A two-part screening procedure was used to assess school-age childrens experience with bullying. In the first part 16,799 students (8,195 girls, 8,604 boys) in grades 4 to 12 were provided with a definition of bullying and then asked about their experiences using two general questions from the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (1996). In the second part, students were asked about their experiences with specific types of bullying: physical, verbal, social, and cyber. For each form of bullying, students were provided with several examples of what constituted such behavior. Results indicated that the general screener has good specificity but poor sensitivity, suggesting that the general screening questions were good at classifying noninvolved students but performed less well when identifying true cases of bullying. Accordingly, reports from the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the United Nations may underestimate the prevalence of bullying among school-aged children world-wide.

Places to Avoid: Population-Based Study of Student Reports of Unsafe and High Bullying Areas at School

Students’ perceptions of school safety and experiences with bullying were examined in a large Canadian cohort of 5,493 girls and 5,659 boys in Grades 4 to 12. Results indicate notable differences in when and where students felt safe based on their own perceptions of safety and their own experiences with bullying, particularly across elementary and secondary schools. For elementary students, especially those involved in bullying, the playground/school yard and outside recess/break time were particularly hazardous, whereas for secondary students involved in bullying, the hallways, school lunchroom/cafeteria, and outside recess/break were considered especially dangerous. The commonality across student-identified unsafe areas is that they tend to not be well supervised by school personnel. Accordingly, the present results underscore the need to increase adult supervision in areas in which an overwhelming majority of students report feeling unsafe. Une analyse de la perception des élèves vis-à-vis de la sécurité à l’école et des expériences en rapport avec l’intimidation a été effectuée dans une cohorte d’étudiants canadiens de la 4e à la 12e année, qui comporte 5493 filles et 5659 garçons. Les résultats ont montré des différences remarquables en ce qui a trait aux lieux et aux moments où les étudiants se sentent en sécurité. Ces derniers se basent sur leurs propres perceptions de la sécurité ainsi que sur leurs expériences en rapport avec l’intimidation, principalement à travers les écoles élémentaires et secondaires. Selon les élèves qui fréquentent les niveaux élémentaires (en particulier ceux qui sont impliqués dans l’intimidation), la cour de récréation et les périodes de pause à l’extérieur du bâtiment scolaire sont particulièrement risquées. Les élèves impliqués dans l’intimidation et qui fréquentent les niveaux secondaires, quant à eux, considèrent que les couloirs, la salle de déjeuner/cafétéria à l’école et les périodes de pause à l’extérieur du bâtiment scolaire, sont dangereux. Le point commun entre tous les secteurs décrits par les élèves comme peu sécuritaires, est le manque de supervision par le personnel de l’école. En conséquence, les résultats actuels soulignent la nécessité d’augmenter la surveillance adulte dans les secteurs où une la grande majorité des élèves éprouvent le sentiment d’insécurité.

Same-Gender versus Cross-Gender Friendship Conceptions: Similar or Different?

This study compared same- and cross-gender friendship conceptions and explored the cross-gender friendship experiences of 174 students in grades 3, 6, 9, and 12. Preliminary information about the nature and extent of cross-gender friendship experiences is presented. Variability in responses to questions about beliefs and expectations in both same- and cross-gender friendships was examined to investigate three theoretically derived hypotheses: (1) cross-gender and same-gender friendships are different types of personal relationships, (2) distinctions between same- and cross-gender conceptions vary across age, and (3) conceptions vary as a function of the friendships of girls versus the friendships of boys. The strongest support was obtained for the first hypothesis, although some support was obtained for the notion that friendships involving girls are viewed to differ stereotypically from friendships with boys. Finally, potential challenges and benefits that emerge in conceptions of cross-gender friendship are discussed.

The Biological Underpinnings of Peer Victimization: Understanding Why and How the Effects of Bullying Can Last a Lifetime

Recent research in the areas of neuroscience, neuroendocrinology, and genetics is reviewed providing convincing evidence for why and how the effects of bullying can last a lifetime. Specifically, the research reviewed herein indicates that (a) the brain experiences peer victimization in a similar way to physical pain, (b) peer victimization is robustly linked to dysregulation of the neuroendocrine response to stress, (c) certain genetic profiles place bullied children at greater risk for poorer sequelae, and (d) the experiences of peer victimization become biologically embedded in the physiology of the developing person, placing him or her at risk for life-long mental and physical health problems. These studies highlight the urgent need to prioritize the reduction of bullying.

Gender Nonconformity and Peer Victimization in Pre- and Early Adolescence

This study investigated whether peer victimization and gender nonconformity are connected for both preand early adolescent boys and girls. 462 predominantly white, middle-class students from Grade 5-9 provided self-reports of victimization (physical, verbal, and relational) and gender nonconformity, as well as peer nominations of gender nonconformity and victimization. Multiple regression analyses showed that for both boys and girls peer-reported gender nonconformity was uniquely predictive of peer-reported victimization. The relationship between peerand self-reported gender nonconformity and physical and relational victimization was moderated by sex, however, in reverse patterns. The association between gender nonconformity and peer victimization varied as a function of the type of victimization being experienced (physical, verbal, relational) and the source of ratings of victimization and gender nonconformity (self or peers).

Predicting borderline personality disorder symptoms in adolescents from childhood physical and relational aggression, depression, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Developmental cascade models linking childhood physical and relational aggression with symptoms of depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; assessed at ages 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14) to borderline personality disorder (BPD) features (assessed at age 14) were examined in a community sample of 484 youth. Results indicated that, when controlling for within-time covariance and across-time stability in the examination of cross-lagged relations among study variables, BPD features at age 14 were predicted by childhood relational aggression and symptoms of depression for boys, and physical and relational aggression, symptoms of depression, and symptoms of ADHD for girls. Moreover, for boys BPD features were predicted from age 10 ADHD through age 12 depression, whereas for girls the pathway to elevated BPD features at age 14 was from depression at age 10 through physical aggression symptoms at age 12. Controlling for earlier associations among variables, we found that for girls the strongest predictor of BPD features at age 14 was physical aggression, whereas for boys all the risk indicators shared a similar predictive impact. This study adds to the growing literature showing that physical and relational aggression ought to be considered when examining early precursors of BPD features.

The Link Between Childhood Exposure to Violence and Academic Achievement: Complex Pathways

Exposure to violence, which includes peer victimization (i.e., bullying), family violence (i.e., child maltreatment and witnessing intimate partner abuse), and community violence (e.g., being physically assaulted, witnessing gunfire, etc.), is a pressing global public health issue that affects far too many children and youth who experience violence directly, or as witnesses, in their schools, homes, and communities. For example, a recent study examining national estimates of exposure to multiple types of violence among American children aged 0 to 17 years of age, indicated that over 60 % had been exposed to violence and that 10 % had experienced an injury as a result of their victimization (Finkelhor et al. 2009). Studies on the negative effects of exposure to violence suggest that it interferes in a substantial way with healthy development. Exposure to violence in childhood and adolescence is strongly linked to internalizing and externalizing problems across all forms of abuse (see meta-analyses by Fowler et al. 2009; Hawker and Boulton 2000; Paolucci et al. 2001; Reijntjes et al. 2010; Reijntjes et al. 2011; Wolfe et al. 2003). What is particularly alarming about this literature is that the negative effects tend to persist into adulthood (e.g., Wolke et al. 2013), and confer risks beyond mental health problems. Indeed, recent studies on the neurobiology of victimization suggest that the experience of being abused can become biologically embedded in the physiology of the developing person, placing him/her at risk for poor health and earlier death (see review by Vaillancourt et al. 2013b). For instance, growing evidence suggests that early adversity, which includes exposure to violence, is associated with changes to the DNA methylation. This epigenetic process is in turn implicated in how the individual responds to future stresses and/or whether or not he/she becomes ill (see Bick et al. 2012; Vaillancourt et al. 2013b for reviews). It is clear from the extant literature that exposure to violence poses a significant health risk to children and youth. Accordingly, it seems intuitive that a direct relationship would similarly exist between exposure to violence and poorer academic outcomes (e.g., grade point average [GPA], school attendance, and school liking), given how stubbornly exposure to violence interferes with mental health functioning. In truth however, most researchers report small effect sizes or an inconsistent pattern of findings, especially with regard to peer victimization, which tends to show indirect associations, when associations are even found (Beran 2008; Hanish and Guerra 2002; Kochenderfer and Ladd 1996). Perhaps the inconsistent link between exposure to violence and poor academic functioning should be expected in that there are “multiple contributors to adaptive or maladaptive outcomes in any individual”, which may vary among individuals in terms of their relative contribution or in terms of their developmental course (Cicchetti and Rogosch 1996, p. 597). Additionally, perhaps the key to understanding complex associations between exposure and academic outcomes is to focus on processes and mechanisms rather than simple bivariate concurrent or short-term longitudinal associations. In this special section on violence exposure and academic achievement, studies that identify some of the mechanisms underlying the complex link between exposure to violence and academic achievement are included. In Lepore and Kliewer’s (2013) study, a novel mediator, sleep disturbances, was examined vis-a-vis exposure to community violence and peer victimization in a short-term longitudinal study. Results indicated that for 7th grade American youth, community violence was associated with lower GPA, both directly and indirectly, via sleep problems; whereas for peer victimized youth, lower GPA occurred only indirectly in a T. Vaillancourt (*) Counselling, Faculty of Education and School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada e-mail: tracy.vaillancourt@uottawa.ca

Predicting Psychosocial Maladjustment in Emerging Adulthood From High School Experiences of Peer Victimization

The aim of the present study was to compare recollections of sexual, physical, verbal, social, and cyber peer victimization experienced in high school in terms of depressed affect, self-esteem, and loneliness experienced in university. In all, 247 university students (70 males and 177 females; M = 20.62, SD = 2.54) completed online measures assessing retrospective accounts of their experiences of different forms of peer victimization during high school (i.e., sexual, physical, verbal, social, and cyber) and their current psychosocial adjustment (i.e., self-esteem, depressed affect, and loneliness). Three separate hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted to determine whether different indices of negative psychosocial adjustment are more strongly predicted by experiencing sexual or nonsexual forms of peer victimization. Although many university students recalled experiencing sexual peer victimization in high school at least once at an even higher percentage than verbal and social forms of peer victimization, the results of the present study suggest that social peer victimization in high school predicts higher levels of depressed affect and loneliness in university students than sexual peer victimization experienced in high school. Surprisingly, the young adults reporting higher levels of cyber peer victimization in high school were less lonely in university. Although the hypothesized relationships between each form of peer victimization and specific indices of psychosocial functioning were not consistently supported, these findings suggest that the form of peer victimization matters and may be differentially associated with well-being in emerging adulthood. It is important that future research explores how individual characteristics may further predict varied experiences of peer victimization and the long-term impact of those experiences.