Wendy M. Craig

Observations of Bullying in the Playground and in the Classroom

The present study employed naturalistic observations to compare bullying and victimization in the playground and in the classroom. The results indicated that there were more opportunities to observe aggression and receive and initiate aggression in the playground than in the classroom. The frequency of bullying was higher in the playground (4.5 episodes per hour) than in the classroom (2.4 episodes per hour). The nature of bullying reflected the constraints of the context (i.e. direct bullying was more prevalent in the playground and indirect bullying was more prevalent in the classroom). Being at the receiving end of aggression was more likely to occur in the playground as compared to the classroom. Nonaggressive children were more likely to bully in the playground, whereas aggressive children were more likely to bully in the classroom. There was no difference across context in the proportion of episodes of reinforcement with peers present or in the rate of peer and teacher intervention. The results highlight the necessity of a systemic intervention programme that addresses not only the individual characteristics of bullies and victims, but also the roles of the peer group, teachers and the school.

Naturalistic Observations of Peer Interventions in Bullying

This study examined peer intervention in bullying using naturalistic observations on school playgrounds. The sample comprised 58 children (37 boys and 21 girls) in Grades 1 to 6 who were observed to intervene in bullying. Peers were present during 88% of bullying episodes and intervened in 19%. In 47% of the episodes, peers intervened aggressively. Interventions directed toward the bully were more likely to be aggressive, whereas interventions directed toward the victim or the bully-victim dyad were more likely to be nonaggressive. The majority (57%) of interventions were effective in stopping bullying. Boys were more likely to intervene when the bully and victim were male and girls when the bully and victim were female. The implications for anti-bullying interventions are discussed.

Observations of Bullying and Victimization in the School Yard

The purpose of this research was to describe bullying on the playground The subjects were children observed either bullying or being victimized on the playground. Bullying episodes were identified with 90% inter-rater agreement. Bullying occurred regularly on the playground, approximately once every seven minutes and was of short duration, 38 seconds. The majority of bullying episodes (68%) occurred within 120 feet of the school building. Adults were found to have intervened in 4% of the episodes, while peers intervened in 11% of the episodes. However, adults were more likely to intervene than peers if they were present. Peers were involved in some capacity in 85% of the episodes. Boys bullied more than girls and were more likely to bully victims of the same-sex and repeatedly target the same victim. There were no gender differences in the type of bullying and aggression. Children in the primary and junior grades were equally likely to be involved in bullying and tended to bully students from the same grade level. The results are discussed from an individual difference, socialinteractional, and ecological perspective.

Prospective Teachers' Attitudes toward Bullying and Victimization.

In the present study, the effects of both contextual and individual factors on attitudes toward bullying among prospective teachers were examined. Contextual factors included type of aggression and the condition of having witnessed bullying. Individual factors included sex, age, empathy, sex role orientation and belief in a just world. A MANCOVA revealed no sex differences, but there was a significant main effect of the contextual factors on (a) the extent to which acts were labelled as bullying, (b) the perceived seriousness of bullying and (c) the likelihood of intervention. Physical types of aggression were labelled more often as bullying, were viewed more seriously and were more likely to warrant intervention than verbal aggression. Multiple regression analysis revealed that type of aggression, witnessing the interaction, empathy, masculinity and femininity predicted intolerant attitudes toward bullying. The results are discussed with reference to intervening in the problem of bullying.

Peer to peer sexual harassment in early adolescence: A developmental perspective

The goal of this study was to examine sexual harassment in early adolescence. Available data indicate that peer to peer sexual harassment is prevalent in high school and is associated with psychosocial problems for both victims and perpetrators. For the present study, we adopted a developmental contextual model to examine the possibility that this behavior develops during the late elementary and middle school years and is linked to the biological and social changes that occur at this time. Youths from Grades 6-8 (N = 1,213) enrolled in seven elementary and middle schools in a large south-central Canadian city were asked to report on their sexual harassment behaviors with same- and cross-gender peers; their pubertal development, and the gender composition of their peer network. The results revealed that cross-gender harassment was distinct from same-gender harassment, increased in frequency from Grade 6 to Grade 8, and was linked to pubertal maturation and participation in mixed-gender peer groups. The implications of a developmental contextual model for understanding the emergence of this problematic behavior in adolescence are discussed.

Emotional Regulation and Display in Classroom Victims of Bullying: Characteristic Expressions of Affect, Coping Styles and Relevant Contextual Factors

Research suggests that victims of bullying may lack skills in emotional regulation, a process which facilitates coping with provocative situations to lessen the stress of negative emotions (Cicchetti, Ackerman, & Izard, 1995). The present study examined the emotional regulation and display patterns of victims during classroom bullying episodes. Children in grades one through six were observed during free play in the winter and spring of three consecutive school years. Results of the study indicated that the coping styles observed in victims of bullying can be grouped into two distinct clusters: 1) problem-solving strategies that are associated with the de-escalation and resolution of bullying episodes; and 2) aggressive strategies that tend to perpetuate and escalate the bullying interaction. Parallels were found between victims’ and bullies’ emotional displays. Results are discussed in the context of how maladaptive emotional regulation processes may act as risk factors for chronic victimization.

Identifying and Targeting Risk for Involvement in Bullying and Victimization

Bullying is a relationship problem in which power and aggression are used to cause distress to a vulnerable person. To assess and address bullying and victimization, we need to understand the nature of the problem, how the problem changes with age and differs for boys and girls, the relevant risk factors (those individual or environmental indicators that may lead to bullying and victimization), and the protective factors that buffer the impact of risk. For children involved in bullying, we need to assess its extent and the associated social, emotional, psychological, educational, and physical problems. Bullying is a systemic problem; therefore, assessments of bullying need to extend beyond the individual child to encompass the family, peer group, school, and community. We recommend that assessments at each of these levels reflect the scientific research on bullying and victimization. With attention to the problems associated with bullying, we can work collectively to make schools and communities safer for children and youth.

Developmental Crime Prevention

Prevention experiments with children have targeted the development of antisocial behavior and confirm the hypothesis that early childhood factors are important precursors of delinquent behavior and that a cumulative effect model best fits the data. Experiments have aimed to prevent criminal behavior or one of three important delinquency risk factors: socially disruptive behavior, cognitive deficits, and poor parenting. Experiments with juvenile delinquency as an outcome demonstrate that positive results are more likely when interventions are aimed at more than one risk factor, last for a relatively long period of time, and are implemented before adolescence. Experiments featuring early childhood interventions with socially disruptive behavior, cognitive deficits, or parenting as an outcome generally have positive effects. The majority of studies, small-scale confirmation or replication experiments, need to be followed by large-scale field experiments that test the efficacy and cost of implementation in regular service systems.

Income Inequality and School Bullying: Multilevel Study of Adolescents in 37 Countries

PURPOSE To examine the association between income inequality and school bullying in an international sample of preadolescents and to test for mediation of this association by the availability of social support from families, peers, and schools. METHODS The study used economic data from the 2006 United Nations Development Program Human Development Report and survey data from the 2005/2006 Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study which included 66,910 11-year-olds in 37 countries. Ecological correlations tested associations between income inequality and bullying among countries. Multilevel linear and ordinal regression analyses tested the effects of income inequality on perceived social support and bullying others at school. RESULTS Income inequality was associated with rates of bullying among the 37 countries (r = .62). Multilevel analyses indicated that each standard deviation increase in income inequality corresponded with more frequent bullying by males (odds ratio = 1.17) and females (odds ratio = 1.24), less family support and school support but more peer support. Social support from families and schools was associated with less bullying after differences in wealth were taken into account; however, social support did not account for the association between income inequality and bullying. CONCLUSIONS Countries with high income inequality have more school bullying among preadolescents than countries with low income inequality. Further study is needed to understand the mechanisms that account for this association. Findings suggest that adolescents in areas of wide income inequality-not only those in deprived schools and neighborhoods- should be a focus of anti-bullying campaigns.

Evidence of a Taxon Underlying Serious Antisocial Behavior in Boys

It has recently been argued from studies of adults that chronically antisocial offenders constitute a discrete class of individuals. If this is true, it is likely that the class can be identified in childhood. Taxometric analyses were applied to items assessing antisociality in children. These items were similar in content to several established measures of antisocial behavior in children: the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, Conduct Disorder; the Psychopathy Checklist–Youth Version; and the Childhood and Adolescent Taxon Scale. Participants were 1,111 school-age boys from a community sample of students. Taxometric analyses using each of the three measures of antisocial behavior yielded evidence of an underlying taxon. In addition, two other tests of consistency strengthened the conclusion that a taxon underlying serious antisocial behavior can be demonstrated in children.