Social Network Approaches to Bullying and Victimization

Does having vulnerable friends help vulnerable youth? The co‐evolution of friendships, victimization, and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents' social networks

“…Last, caution is necessary when interpreting the results given the relatively small numbers at the classroom level, the small coefficients, and the fact that effect sizes cannot be calculated using RSiena analyses. However, our findings were in line with those of several other studies which used other analytical methods (e.g., Schacter & Juvonen, 2017) or social network analysis (Veenstra & Huitsing, 2021).…”

“…The findings regarding the development of victimization were consistent with the vulnerability-enhancing hypothesis: vulnerable (i.e., depressive or victimized) adolescents who had vulnerable friends were more likely to increase in victimization over time. These results are in line with the findings of previous social network research in late childhood and early adolescence, indicating that having victimized friends increases the likelihood of victimization over time (Veenstra & Huitsing, 2021), and prior work indicating that adolescents' depressive symptoms and friends' average depressive symptoms jointly predict characterological self-blaming attributions, which in turn increase adolescents' victimization (Schacter & Juvonen, 2017).…”

The relation between defending, (dis)liking, and the classroom bullying norm: A cross-sectional social network approach in late childhood

“…Additionally, we lack information concerning why students engage in defending behavior. Information about the characteristics of the victims and defenders might provide additional information about why defending relationships between victims and defenders are formed (Veenstra & Huitsing, 2021). This investigation would benefit from taking a broader perspective, by not only asking the victim about their defenders but also asking bullies about their victims and asking defenders which victims they support.…”

Friendships

“…Concerning positive behaviors, research shows that adolescents who engage in positive-risk taking, such as engaging in political protests, are influenced by peers who take similar risks (Youngblade et al 2007). There further is evidence for peer influence effects on improvement of academic achievement (Gremmen et al 2017), happiness (van Workum et al 2013, and defending others in bullying situations (Veenstra and Huitsing 2021). Conformity to peer influence is adaptive for individuals because it helps to fulfil the needs of belonging and protects against ostracism, and helps to reduce uncertainty.…”