Dating Experiences of Bullies in Early Adolescence

Abstract

In this study, 196 young adolescents who reported that they bullied their peers were identified out of a sample of 1,758 students in Grades 5 through 8. After selecting from the total sample a group of nonbullying youth who were matched on gender, school, and grade, a comparison was made of the groups' dating experiences, quality of friend and boyfriend or girlfriend relationships, and acts of physical and social aggression. The results indicated that bullies started dating earlier and engaged in more advanced dyadic dating than comparison adolescents. Bullies were highly relationship oriented, yet their views of their friends and boyfriends or girlfriends were less positive and less equitable than the comparison adolescents. Finally, bullies were more likely to report physical and social aggression with their boyfriends or girlfriends. Although the bullies reported more advanced pubertal development, this factor did not fully account for their dating precocity and negative romantic relationships. The results confirmed our hypotheses that adolescents whose peer relationships are characterized by bullying are at risk in their development of healthy romantic relationships.

Testing predictions from the male control theory of men's partner violence

“…Marvell and Moody (1999) found that men who were violent to their female partners typically had prior criminal records. Connolly et al (2000) found that adolescents who reported bullying their peers at school were more likely to report physical aggression to their partners. Thornton, Graham-Kevan, and Archer (2010) found that IPV and general violence showed moderate associations for both sexes in a student sample.…”

“…Two further assumptions are that such values produce attitudes supportive of men's violence to women, and that IPV should be studied independently of general aggression research, since general models of aggression do not characterize this form of violence (e.g., Browne, 1987). In particular, men's control is viewed as resulting from patriarchal values (e.g., Dobash & Dobash, 1979) rather than as part of an interpersonal style that can exist in either sex (e.g., Connolly, Pepler, Craig, & Taradash, 2000).…”

Childhood bullying as a predictor for becoming a teenage mother in Finland

“…The social position and quality of peer relations may also be reflected in bullies' romantic relationships and their sexual behaviour. Bullies seem to start dating earlier and participate in more advanced forms of dating, but their relationships also tend to be less supportive and more violent relationships [45]. It may be that girls who bully others have learnt that aggression is a way of forming interpersonal relations.…”

“…It is also possible that bullies are more willing to have a child than their non-bullying peers. A study by Connolly et al [45], suggested that bullies are prepared to engage in undesirable activities to keep their partners and consider their relationships very important. The desire for intimacy may also be related to positive attitudes toward parenthood.…”

Evolutionary Perspectives on Violence, Homicide, and War

“…Th is phenomenon can even be found in the United States, particularly among gangs, in which the most violent gang members often have the highest status (Campbell, 1993) and the most sexual partners (Buss, 2011;Ghiglieri, 1999;Palmer & Tilly, 1995). Even among children and adolescents who do not engage in criminal behavior, the (Vaillancourt, Hymel, & McDougall, 2003), resources ranging from lunch money and books to leather jackets and designer sneakers (Buss, 2011;Olweus, 1978), and dating or mating opportunities (Connolly, Pepler, Craig, & Taradash, 2000). Th e importance that men place on status, and perceived threats to one's status, makes sense when we consider the small groups in which humans lived for the majority of our evolutionary history.…”