Social-Psychological Profiles of Early Adolescents Involved in Bullying Activities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2012.01.5Keywords:
Bullying, impulsivity, empathy, social adjustmentAbstract
The purpose of the present study was to examine the differences existing between sub-groups of early adolescents involved in bullying activities at school. Specifically, the study aimed at comparing three identified groups (bullies, passive victims and aggressive victims or bully-victims) as well as uninvolved students in terms of a number of indicators of psycho-social adjustment; namely, empathy, impulsivity, hyperactivity, emotional and behavioral problems and pro-social skills. A representative sample of 454 Greek Cypriot students (mean age of 13.4) was selected from seven different public high schools. The participants completed a revised version of the Bullying and Victimization Questionnaire and based on their scores they were classified into one of four, mutually exclusive categories, those of bullies, victims, aggressive victims, and uninvolved. These groups were then compared regarding their mean scores on the Basic Empathy Scale, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and the Urgency Subscale. Multiple post-hoc comparisons revealed that the aggressive victims group had the most problematic psycho-social profile. Specifically, aggressive victims were significantly more impulsive, less affectively empathic, and had lower prosocial skills, more behavioural problems and more hyperactivity. The results of the present study show that children and adolescents diagnosed as aggressive victims are at higher risk in a number of psychopathological characteristics that endanger typical development.
References
Andreou, E. (2000). Bully/victim problems and their association with coping behaviour in conflictual peer interactions among school-age children. Educational Psychology, 21(1), 59-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410125042 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410125042
Arseneault, L., Walsh, E., Trzesniewski, K., Newcombe, R., Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T.E. (2006). Bullying victimisation uniquely contributes to adjustment problems in young children: A nationally representative cohort study. Pediatrics, 118, 130-138. http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2005-2388 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2005-2388
Austin, S. & Joseph, S. (1996). Assessment of bully/victim problems in 8 to 11 year-olds. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 66, 447-456. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.1996.tb01211.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.1996.tb01211.x
Besag, V. E. (1989). Bullies and victims in schools. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Bryant, B.K. (1982). An index of empathy for children and adolescents. Child Development, 53, 413-425. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1128984 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1128984
Bond, L., Carlin, J. B., Thomas, L., Rubin, K., & Patton, G. (2001). Does bullying cause emotional problems? A prospective study of young teenagers. British Medical Journal, 323, 480 - 484. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.323.7311.480 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.323.7311.480
Boulton, M. J. & Smith, P. K. (1994). Bully/victim problems in middle school children: Stability, self - perceived competence, peer acceptance. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 12, 315-325. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-835X.1994.tb00637.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-835X.1994.tb00637.x
Bowers, L., Smith, P. K. and Binney, V. (1994) ‘Perceived Family Relationships of Bullies, Victims and Bully/Victims in Middle Childhood’, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 11, 215-32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0265407594112004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407594112004
Crapanzano, A. M., Frick, P. J., and Terranova, A. M. (2010). Patterns of Physical and Relational Aggression in a School-Based Sample of Boys and Girls. J Abnorm Child Psychol, 38, 433-445. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10802-009-9376-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-009-9376-3
Crick, N. R. & Gropeter, J. K. (1995). Relational aggression, gender, and social - psychological adjustment. Child Development, 54, 1386-1399. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1131945
Endresen, I.M., & Olweus, D. (2002). Self-reported empathy in Norwegian adolescents: Sex differences, age trends, and relationship to bullying. In A.C. Bohart & D.J. Stipek (Eds.), Constructive and destructive behaviour: Implications for family, school, and society (pp. 147-165). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/10433-007
Georgiou, S. N. (2008). Bullying and victimization at school: The role of mothers. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 78, 109-125. http://dx.doi.org/10.1348/000709907X204363 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1348/000709907X204363
Georgiou, S. N. & Stavrinides, P. (2008). Bullies, Victims and Bully - Victims. Psychosocial Profiles and Attribution Styles. School Psychology International, 29 (5), 574-589. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0143034308099202 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034308099202
Georgiou, S. N., Stavrinides, P., & Kyriakou, M. (2007). Bullying at school: The children’s own perception. Scientia Paedagogica Experimentalis, 1, 103-124.
Gini, G. (2008). Associations between bullying behaviour, psychosomatic complaints, emotional and behavioural problems. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 44, 492-497. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1754.2007.01155.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1754.2007.01155.x
Gini, G., Albiero, P., Benelli, B., & Altoe, G. (2007). Does empathy predict adolescents’ bullying and defending behaviour? Aggressive Behaviour, 33, 467-476. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ab.20204 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.20204
Goodman, R. (1997). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 581-586. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1997.tb01545.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1997.tb01545.x
Hawker, D. S. J. & Boulton, M. J. (2000). Twenty years’ research on peer victimization and psychosocial maladjustment: a meta - analytic review of cross - sectional studies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41(4), 441-455. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00629 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00629
Haynie, D. L., Nansel, T., Eitel, P., Crump, A. D., Saylor, K., Yu, K. & Simons - Morton, B. (2001). Bullies, Victims, and Bully/Victims: Distinct Groups of At - Risk Youth. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 21 (1), 29-49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0272431601021001002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431601021001002
Headley, S. (2004). Bullying and violence. Youth studies in Australia, 23(2), 60.
Jolliffe, D. & Farrington, D. P. (2006). Examining the relationship between low empathy and bullying. Aggressive Behaviour, 32 (6), 540-550. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ab.20154 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.20154
Jolliffe, D. & Farrington, D. (2011). Is low empathy related to bullying after controlling for individual and social background variables? Journal of Adolescence, 34, 59-71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.02.001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.02.001
Junger-Tas, J., & van Kesteren, J. (1999). Bullying and delinquency in a Dutch school population. The Hague: Kugler Publications.
Juvonen, J., Graham, S. & Schuster, M. A. (2003). Bullying among young adolescents: the Strong, the weak, and the troubled. Pediatrics, 112 (6), 1231-1237. http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.112.6.1231 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.112.6.1231
Kaltiala-Heino, R., Rimpela, M., Marttunen, M., Rimpela, A., & Rantanen, P. (1999). Bullying, depression, and suicidal ideation in Finnish adolescents: School survey. British Medical Journal, 319, 348-351. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.319.7206.348 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.319.7206.348
Kaltiala - Heino, R., Rimpela, M., Rantanen, P. & Rimpela, A. (2000). Bullying at School - An Indicator of Adolescents at Risk for Mental Disorders. Journal of Adolescence, 23, 661-674. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jado.2000.0351 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.2000.0351
Karatzias, T., Power, K.G., & Swanson, V. (2002). Bullying and victimization in Scottish secondary schools: Same or separate entities? Aggressive Behaviour, 28(1), 45-61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ab.90005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.90005
Kumpulainen, K., & Räsänen, E. (2000). Children involved in bullying at elementary school age: Their psychiatric symptoms and deviance in adolescence. An epidemiological sample. Child Abuse & Neglect, 24, 1567-1577. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(00)00210-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(00)00210-6
Kumpulainen, K., Rasanen, E., Henttonen, I., Almqvist, F., Kresanov, K., Linna, S., et al. (1998). Bullying and psychiatric symptoms among elementary school-age children. Child Abuse and Neglect, 22, 505-717. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(98)00049-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(98)00049-0
Kyriakides, L., Kaloyirou, C. & Lindsay, G. (2006). An analysis of the revised Olweus bully/victim questionnaire using the Rasch measurement model. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 781-801. http://dx.doi.org/10.1348/000709905X53499 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1348/000709905X53499
Mehrabian, A., Young, A., & Sato, S. (1988). Emotional empathy and associated individual differences. Current Psychology: Research and Reviews, 7, 221-240. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02686670 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686670
Miller, P.A., & Eisenberg, N. (1988). The relation of empathy to aggressive and externalizing/ antisocial behaviour. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 324-344. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.103.3.324 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.103.3.324
Mpimpou-Nakou, I., Stogiannidou, A., & Kisseoglou, G. (2001). Strengths and difficulties of school-age children in the family and school context. Psychologia, 8(4), 506-525.
Natvig, G. K., Albrektsen, G. & Qvarnstrom, U. (2001). School - Related Stress Experience as a Risk Factor for Bullying Behaviour. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 30, 561-575. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1010448604838 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010448604838
Olweus, D. (1993). Bullies on the playground. In C. Hart (Eds.). Children on playgrounds (pp. 85-128). Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at School: What we know and what we can do. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
Olweus, D. (1996). The Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire. Bergen, Norway: Mimeo, Research Center for Health Promotion (HEMIL), University of Bergen.
Olweus, D. (2001). Peer harassment: a critical analysis and some important issues. In Juvonen, J. & Graham, S. (Eds.). Peer Harassment in School: The Plight of the Vulnerable and Victimized (pp. 105-124). New York: Guilford press.
Ostrov, J. M., & Godleski, S. A. (2009). Impulsivity-hyperactivity and subtypes of aggression in early childhood: an observational and short-term longitudinal study. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 18, 477-483. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00787-009-0002-2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-009-0002-2
Parker, G. J. & Asher, S. R. (1987). Peer relations and later personal adjustment: Arelow accepted children ‘at risk’? Psychological Bulletin, 102, 357-389. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.102.3.357 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.102.3.357
Patterson, G. R. (1986). Performance Models for Antisocial Behaviour. American Psychologist, 41, 432-444. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.41.4.432 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.41.4.432
Pellegrini, A. D. (1998). Bullies and Victims in School: A Review and Call for Research. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 19 (2), 165-176. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0193-3973(99)80034-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0193-3973(99)80034-3
Roland, E. (2002). Bullying, depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts. Educational Research, 44, 55-67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00131880110107351 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00131880110107351
Schwartz, D. (2000). Subtypes of Victims and Aggressors in Children’ s Peer Groups. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 28, 181-192. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1005174831561 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005174831561
Schwartz, D., Proctor, L. J. & Chien, D. H. (2001). The Aggressive Victim of Bullying: Emotional and Behavioural Dysregulation as a Pathway to Victimization by Peers. In Juvonen, J. & Graham, S. (Eds.). Peer Harassment in School: The Plight of the Vulnerable and Victimized (pp. 147-174). New York: Guilford Press.
Seals, D., & Young, J., (2003). Bullying and victimization: Prevalence and relationship to gender, grade level, ethnicity, self-esteem and depression. Adolescence, 38(152), 735-747.
Smokowski, P. R., & Kopasz, K. H. (2005). Bullying in school: An overview of types, effects, family characteristics, and intervention strategies. Children & Schools, 27, 101-110. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cs/27.2.101 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/27.2.101
Sourander, A., Helstela, L., Helenius, H. & Piha, J. (2000). Persistence of Bullying From Childhood to Adolescence - Longitudinal 8 - Year Follow - Up Study. Child Abuse and Neglect, 24, 873-881. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(00)00146-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(00)00146-0
Stavrinides, P., Georgiou, S., & Theofanous, V. (2010). Bullying and empathy: a short - term longitudinal investigation. Educational Psychology, 30 (7), 793-802. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2010.506004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2010.506004
Stavrinides, P., Georgiou, St., Nikiforou, M, & Kiteri, E. (2011). Longitudinal investigation of the relationship between bullying and psychosocial adjustment. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 8(6), 730-743. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2011.628545 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2011.628545
Swearer, S. M., Song, S. Y., Cary, P. T., Eagle, J. W., & Mickelson, W. T. (2001). Psychosocial correlates in bullying and victimization: The relationship between depression, anxiety, and bully/victim status. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 2, 95-121. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J135v02n02_07 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1300/J135v02n02_07
Tanaka, T. (2001). The identity formation of the victim of shunning. School Psychology International, 22, 463-476. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0143034301224006 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034301224006
Whiteside, S. P. & Lynam, D. R. (2001). The five factor model and impulsivity: using a structural model of personality to understand impulsivity. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 669-689. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00064-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00064-7
Wolke, D., Woods, S., Bloomfield, L. & Karstadt, L. (2000). The association between direct and relational bullying and behaviour problems among primary school children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 8, 989-1002. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00687 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00687
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2012 Stelios N Georgiou, Panayiotis Stavrinides
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Policy for Journals/Articles with Open Access
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post links to their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work
Policy for Journals / Manuscript with Paid Access
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Publisher retain copyright .
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post links to their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work .