Bully/victim problems in middle‐school children: Stability, self‐perceived competence, peer perceptions and peer acceptance

Abstract

On the basis of peer nominations, around 13 per cent of our sample of 8‐ and 9‐year‐old children (N=158) could be defined as bullies, and 17 per cent as victims. Boys were more likely to be nominated as bullies, but not as victims, than girls. Bully/ victim status was, in the main, stable over three assessment periods in a school year and at the start of the next school year. On Harter's Self‐Perception Profile for Children, victims scored significantly lower than non‐victims on the athletic competence, social acceptance and global self‐worth dimensions. Bullies, victims and not‐involved children were perceived differently by peers on several behavioural descriptions (starts fights, seeks help, leader, cooperates, disrupts). Sociometrically rejected children received more bully, and more victim, nominations than other sociometric status groups, and both bullies and victims were less likely to belong to the popular group, and more likely to belong to the rejected group, than non‐bullies and non‐victims. Some implications of these results for the development of bully/victim problems are discussed.

Who's Who in the Pecking Order?: Aggression and 'Normal Violence' in the Lives of Girls and Boys

“…For others who were usually less prominent in school, the 'middlewomen' and the lowest echelon of the diamond, the in-group would be avoided wherever possible because they were viewed as troublemakers, but they were also regarded as being somewhat pathetic and cowardly since their position relied on acting as a member of a powerful group rather than as an individual. This fits well with the findings from studies of bullying, which reveal average or above average popularity ratings of bullies by peers, teachers, and in terms of bullies' own perceptions of self-worth (Johnson and Lewis 1999; 11 Boulton and Smith 1994). The concept of the in-group or pecking order thus captures notions of violence and danger for outsiders, but also safety for the in-group or its supporters, as the in-group might also act as a source of protection to fend off attack.…”

Schoolchildren's social representations on bullying causes

“…The victim is labeled as deviant, which results in social rejection and further peer abuse as well as the victim's risk of developing a negative self-image. For instance, victims of bullying tend to be lower in several measures of self-esteem (Boulton & Smith, 1994;Rigby, 2003;Roland, 2002), seeing themselves as more troublesome, more anxious, less popular, less physically attractive, and as having lower intellectual and school status than their peers (Hawker & Boulton, 2000;O'Moore & Kirkham, 2001;Rigby, 2003), and they tend to have low self-concept and low self-esteem, and experience depression in adulthood (Boulton & Underwood, 1992;Olweus, 1993).…”

Victimización de Pares y Satisfacción con la Vida: La Influencia del Apoyo de Profesores y Compañeros de la Escuela

“…En este sentido, se ha encontrado que los estudiantes que viven victimización entre pares tienen niveles más bajos de salud mental y física, aceptación social y autoconcepto (Boulton & Smith, 1994;Rigby, 2000) y pueden sufrir problemas de comportamiento y actitudes, mal funcionamiento en la escuela, síntomas de depresión y ansiedad, dificultad para hacer amigos, malas relaciones con los compañeros de clase y una alta sensación de soledad (Bond, Carlin, Thomas, Rubin & Patton, 2001;Graham & Bellmore, 2007).…”