Publication year
2003
Citation Title
Bullying among young adolescents: The strong, the weak, and the troubled
Journal Name
Pediatrics
Journal Volume
112
Issue Number
6
Page Numbers
1231-1237
DOI
10.1542/peds.112.6.1231
Summary
Being a bully and being bullied are both associated with problems (e.g., mental health concerns, violence) among youth. Sixth-grade students who were bullies, victims of bullying, and bully-victims (i.e., were both bullied and victimized) were compared on social, emotional, and academic well-being. Bullies had high psychological and social well-being, while victims had poor well-being across domains and bully-victims were at especially high risk for poor adjustment and future outcomes.
Key Findings
Bullies reported the lowest psychological distress (i.e., depression, anxiety, loneliness), while victims reported the highest levels and bully-victims reported moderately elevated levels.
Peers rated bullies highest and victims lowest in social status; however, they avoided all students involved in bullying (i.e., bullies, victims, bully-victims), especially bully-victims.
All students involved in bullying had somewhat elevated teacher-reported conduct problems and school disengagement, but bullies, and especially bully-victims, had the highest levels.
Boys were much more likely than girls to be bullies (10% vs. 5%), victims (10% vs. 3%), and bully-victims (12% vs. 7%).
Implications for Military Professionals
Facilitate support groups for military youth experiencing bullying
Collaborate with school programs to develop school-wide anti-bullying campaigns to raise awareness about bullying and change student bystander responses to bullying
Implications for Program Leaders
Provide training in both emotion management and social skills for military youth being bullied
Offer workshops for military youth engaging in bullying on anger management and effective communication
Implications for Policy Makers
Encourage education for professionals working with military youth about the risks associated with bullying and victimization
Recommend anonymous reporting or routine screening for bullying in Department of Defense (DoD) schools to increase victims and bystanders reporting and standing up to bullies
Methods
Sixth-grade students were recruited through 11 public middle schools in diverse, low-income Los Angeles neighborhoods.
Students and their teachers completed surveys regarding each students’ psychological distress, social and academic well-being, and involvement in bullying.
Bullies and victims of bullying were identified by peers; psychological, social, and academic well-being were compared between groups of students with different bullying statuses.
Participants
Participants included 1,985 sixth-grade students (46% male) with an average age of 11.5 years.
Students identified as Latino (45%), Black (26%), Asian American (11%), White (10%), or another race (8%), and 47-87% of students at each school qualified for free or reduced lunch programs.
Students were identified by peers as bullies (7%), victims (9%), bully-victims (6%), not involved in bullying (56%), or having borderline involvement in bullying (22%).
Limitations
Generalizability is limited since special education, gifted, and non-English students were excluded and could have been bullied specifically for these characteristics.
Arbitrary cut-off points were used for bullying group classification, but analyses suggest they did not influence the pattern of results, limiting threats to validity.
Due to the cross-sectional study design, directions of effects cannot be inferred.
Avenues for Future Research
Examine how bullying status changes longitudinally across the course of students’ schooling
Explore whether school bullying status influences social, emotional, employment, or higher education outcomes in adulthood
Investigate how peer perceptions of students’ demographics (e.g., socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity) could influence their perceptions or interpretations of peer bullying behavior
Focus
Civilian
Target Population
Population Focus
Abstract
Objectives. Bullying and being bullied have been recognized as health problems for children because of their association with adjustment problems, including poor mental health and more extreme violent behavior. It is therefore important to understand how bullying and being bullied affect the well-being and adaptive functioning of youth. We sought to use multiple data sources to better understand the psychological and social problems exhibited by bullies, victims, and bully victims. Design, Setting, and Participants. Analysis of data from a community sample of 1985 mostly Latino and black 6th graders from 11 schools in predominantly low socioeconomic status urban communities (with a 79% response rate). Main Outcome Measures. Peer reports of who bullies and who is victimized, self-reports of psychological distress, and peer and teacher reports of a range of adjustment problems. Results. Twenty-two percent of the sample was classified as involved in bullying as perpetrators (7%), victims (9%), or both (6%). Compared with other students, these groups displayed school problems and difficulties getting along with classmates. Despite increased conduct problems, bullies were psychologically strongest and enjoyed high social standing among their classmates. In contrast, victims were emotionally distressed and socially marginalized among their classmates. Bully-victims were the most troubled group, displaying the highest level of conduct, school, and peer relationship problems. Conclusions. To be able to intervene with bullying, it is important to recognize the unique problems of bullies, victims, and bully-victims. In addition to addressing these issues directly with their patients, pediatricians can recommend school-wide anti bullying approaches that aim to change peer dynamics that support and maintain bullying.
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