![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
We tested the hypothesis that early adolescents’ (N = 951) knowledge of who bullies whom is differentially distributed across peers. Knowledge of bullying was assessed by asking middle school students to nominate grademates who bullied or were bullied using physical or relational means. We hypothesized that peers who were closer to bullies and victims in the grade-level friendship network, such as bullies, victims, their friends, and socially central youth, would be more knowledgeable than would peers who were socially distant. Findings revealed that approximately half of the adolescents were able to identify bullies and victims, and those who were most able to do so were socially closer, particularly victims and their friends. Bullies and their friends were less likely to name peers as bullies or victims.
Keywords bullying, victimization, peer relationships, networks, knowledge
References
Section:
|
Aboud, F., Miller, L. (2007). Promoting peer intervention in name-calling. South African Journal of Psychology, 37, 803-819. doi:10.1177/008124630703700409 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Adams, R. E., Bukowski, W. M., Bagwell, C. (2005). Stability of aggression during early adolescence as moderated by reciprocated friendship status and friend’s aggression. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29, 139-145. doi:10.1080/01650250444000397 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Ahn, H.-J., Garandeau, C. F., Rodkin, P. C. (2010). Effects of classroom embeddedness and density on the social status of aggressive and victimized children. Journal of Early Adolescence, 30, 76-101. doi:10.1177/0272431609350922 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Ahn, H.-J., Rodkin, P. C., Gest, S. D. (2013). Teacher-student agreement on “bullies and kids they pick on” in elementary school classrooms: Gender and grade differences. Theory Into Practice, 52, 257-263. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Bonacich, P. (1987). Power and centrality: A family of measures. American Journal of Sociology, 92, 1170-1182. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Bradshaw, C. P., Sawyer, A. L., O’Brennan, L. M. (2007). Bullying and peer victimization at school: Perceptual differences between students and school staff. School Psychology Review, 36, 361-382. Google Scholar | ISI | |
|
Caravita, S. C. S., DiBlasio, P., Salmivalli, C. (2009). Unique and interactive effects of empathy and social status on involvement in bullying. Social Development, 18, 140-163. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2008.00465.x Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Card, N. A., Hodges, E. V. E. (2009). It takes two to fight in school, too: A social relations model of the psychometric properties and relative variance of dyadic aggression and victimization in middle school. Social Development, 19, 447-469. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Card, N. A., Rodkin, P. C., Garandeau, C. F. (2010). A description and illustration of the Triadic Relations Model: Who perceives whom as bullying whom? International Journal of Behavioral Development, 34, 374-383. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Cialdini, R. B. (2003). Crafting normative messages to protect the environment. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12, 105-109. doi:10.1111/1467-8721.01242 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Cillessen, A. H. N., Mayeux, L. (2004). From censure to reinforcement: Developmental changes in the association between aggression and social status. Child Development, 75, 147-163. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00660.x Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Cohen, R., Hsueh, Y., Russell, K. M., Ray, G. E. (2006). Beyond the individual: A consideration of context for the development of aggression. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 11, 341-351. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2005.10.004 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Coie, J. D., Cillessen, A. H. N., Dodge, K. A., Hubbard, J. A., Schwartz, D., Lemerise, E. A., Bateman, H. (1999). It takes two to fight: A test of relational factors and a method of assessing aggressive dyads. Developmental Psychology, 35, 1179-1188. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Craig, W. M., Pepler, D. J. (1998). Observations of bullying and victimization in the school yard. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 13(2), 41-60. doi:10.1177/082957359801300205 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Craig, W. M., Pepler, D. J., Atlas, R. (2000). Observations of bullying in the playground and in the classroom. School Psychology International, 21, 22-36. doi:10.1177/0143034300211002 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Cross, R., Parker, A., Prusak, L., Borgatti, S. P. (2001). Knowing what we know: Supporting knowledge creation and sharing in social networks. Organizational Dynamics, 30, 100-120. doi:10.1016/S0090-2616(01)00046-8 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Cuadrado-Gordillo, I. (2012). Repetition, power imbalance, and intentionality: Do these criteria conform to teenagers’ perception of bullying? A role-based analysis. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 27, 1889-1910. doi:10.1177/0886260511431436 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Dodge, K. A. (2006). Translational science in action: Hostile attributional style and the development of aggressive behavior problems. Development and Psychopathology, 18, 791-814. doi:10.1017/S0954579406060391 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Dodge, K. A., Murphy, R. R., Buchsbaum, K. (1984). The assessment of intention-cue detection skills in children: Implications for developmental psychopathology. Child Development, 55, 163-173. doi:10.2307/1129842 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Espelage, D. L., Green, H. D., Polanin, J. (2012). Willingness to intervene in bullying episodes among middle school students: Individual and peer-group influences. Journal of Early Adolescence, 32, 776-801. doi:10.1177/0272431611423017 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Garandeau, C. F., Ahn, H.-J., Rodkin, P. C. (2011). The social status of aggressive students across contexts: The role of classroom status hierarchy, academic achievement, and grade. Developmental Psychology, 47, 1699-1710. doi:10.1037/a0025271 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Gest, S. D. (2006). Teacher reports of children’s friendships and social groups: Agreement with peer reports and implications for studying peer similarity. Social Development, 15, 248-259. doi:10.1046/j.1467-9507.2006.00339.x Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Gini, G. (2006). Social cognition and moral cognition in bullying: What’s wrong? Aggressive Behavior, 32, 528-539. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Greenhoot, A. F., Tsethlikai, M., Wagoner, B. J. (2006). The relation between children’s past experiences, social knowledge, and memories for social situations. Journal of Cognition and Development, 7, 313-340. doi:10.1207/s15327647jcd0703_6 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Hanish, L. D., Bradshaw, C. P., Espelage, D. L., Rodkin, P. C., Swearer, S. M., Horne, A. (2013). Looking toward the future of bullying research: Recommendations for research and funding priorities. Journal of School Violence, 12, 283-295. doi:10.1080/15388220.2013.788449 Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Hawley, P. H. (1999). The ontogenesis of social dominance: A strategy-based evolutionary perspective. Developmental Review, 19, 97-132. doi:10.1006/drev.1998.0470 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Henry, D., Guerra, N. G., Huesmann, R., Tolan, P. H., Van Acker, R., Eron, L. (2000). Normative influences on aggression in urban elementary school classrooms. American Journal of Community Psychology, 28, 59-81. doi:10.1023/A:1005142429725 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Hodges, E. V. E., Boivin, M., Vitaro, F., Bukowski, W. M. (1999). The power of friendship: Protection against an escalating cycle of peer victimization. Developmental Psychology, 35, 94-101. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.35.1.94 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Holt, M. K., Espelage, D. L. (2007). Perceived social support among bullies, victims, and bully-victims. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36, 984-994. doi:10.1007/s10964-006-9153-3 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Huesmann, L. R., Guerra, N. G. (1997). Children’s normative beliefs about aggression and aggressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 408-419. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.72.2.408 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Huitsing, G., Veenstra, R. (2012). Bullying in classrooms: Participant roles from a social network perspective. Aggressive Behavior, 38, 494-509. doi:10.1002/ab.21438 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Hymel, S., Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Bonanno, R. A., Vaillancourt, T., Henderson, N. R. (2010). Bullying and morality: Understanding how good kids can behave badly. In Jimerson, S. R., Swearer, S. M., Espelage, D. L. (Eds.), Handbook of bullying in schools: An international perspective (pp. 101-118). New York, NY: Routledge. Google Scholar | |
|
Juvonen, J., Nishina, A., Graham, S. (2001). Self-views versus peer perceptions of victim status among early adolescents. In Juvonen, J., Nishina, A., Graham, S. (Eds.), Peer harassment in school: The plight of the vulnerable and victimized (pp. 105-124). New York, NY: Guilford. Google Scholar | |
|
Kärnä, A., Voeten, M., Little, T. D., Poskiparta, E., Kaljonen, A., Salmivalli, C. (2011). A large-scale evaluation of the KiVa antibullying program: Grades 4-6. Child Development, 82, 311-330. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01557.x Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Kenny, D. A., West, T. V., Cillessen, A. H. N., Coie, J. D., Dodge, K. A., Hubbard, J. A., Schwartz, D. (2007). Accuracy in judgments of aggressiveness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 1225-1236. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Krantz, M. (1982). Sociometric awareness, social participation, and perceived popularity in preschool children. Child Development, 53, 376-379. doi:10.2307/1128979 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
LaFontana, K. M., Cillessen, A. H. N. (1999). Children’s interpersonal perceptions as a function of sociometric and peer-perceived popularity. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 160, 225-242. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Nansel, T. R., Overpeck, M., Pilla, R. S., Ruan, J., Simons-Morton, B., Scheidt, P. (2001). Bullying behaviors among US youth: Prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment. Journal of the American Medical Association, 285, 2094-2100. doi:10.1001/jama.285.16.2094 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Newcomb, A. F., Bagwell, C. (1995). Children’s friendship relations: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 306-347. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.117.2.306 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Olweus, D. (1991). Bully/victim problems among schoolchildren: Basic facts and effects of a school based intervention program. In Pepler, D. J., Rubin, K. H. (Eds.), The development and treatment of childhood aggression (pp. 411-448). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Google Scholar | |
|
Parault, S. J., Davis, H. A., Pellegrini, A. D. (2007). The social contexts of bullying and victimization. Journal of Early Adolescence, 27, 145-174. doi:10.1177/0272431606294831 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Pellegrini, A. D., Bartini, M., Brooks, F. (1999). School bullies, victims, and aggressive victims: Factors relating to group affiliation and victimization in early adolescence. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 216-224. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.91.2.216 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Pellegrini, A. D., Long, J. D. (2002). A longitudinal study of bullying, dominance, and victimization during the transition from primary school through secondary school. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 20, 259-280. doi:10.1348/026151002166442 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Pepler, D. J., Craig, W. M. (1995). A peek behind the fence: Naturalistic observations of aggressive children with remote audiovisual recording. Developmental Psychology, 31, 548-553. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.31.4.548 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Polanin, J., Espelage, D. L., Pigott, T. D. (2012). A meta-analysis of school-based bullying prevention programs’ effects on bystander intervention behavior and empathy attitude. School Psychology Review, 41, 47-65. Google Scholar | ISI | |
|
Pöyhönen, V., Juvonen, J., Salmivalli, C. (2010). What does it take to stand up for the victim of bullying? Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 56, 143-163. doi:10.1353/mpq.0.0046 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Rivers, I., Poteat, V. P., Noret, N., Ashurts, N. (2009). Observing bullying at school: The mental health implications of witness status. School Psychology Quarterly, 24, 211-223. doi:10.1037/a0018164 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Rock, P. F., Cole, D. J., Houshyar, S., Lythcott, M., Prinstein, M. J. (2011). Peer status in an ethnic context: Associations with African American adolescents’ ethnic identity. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 32, 163-169. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Rodkin, P. C., Berger, C. (2008). Who bullies whom? Social status asymmetries by victim gender. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 32, 473-485. doi:10.1177/0165025408093667 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Rodkin, P. C., Espelage, D. L., Hanish, L. D. (2015). A relational framework for understanding bullying: Developmental antecedents and outcomes. American Psychologist, 70(4), 311-321. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Rodkin, P. C., Farmer, T. W., Pearl, R., Van Acker, R. (2006). They’re cool: Social status and peer group supports for aggressive boys and girls. Social Development, 15, 175-204. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Rodkin, P. C., Hanish, L. D., Wang, S., Logis, H. A. (2014). Why the bully/victim relationship is so pernicious: A gendered perspective on power and animosity among bullies and their victims. Development and Psychopathology, 26, 689-704. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Sainio, M., Veenstra, R., Huitsing, G., Salmivalli, C. (2010). Victims and their defenders: A dyadic approach. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 35, 144-151. doi:10.1177/0165025410378068 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Scholte, R. H. J., Overbeek, G., ten Brink, G., Rommes, E., de Kemp, R. A. T., Goossens, L., Engels, R. C. M. E. (2009). The significance of reciprocal and unilateral friendships for peer victimization in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38, 89-100. doi:10.1007/s10964-008-9287-6 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Sijtsema, J. J., Rambaran, A. J., Ojanen, T. J. (2013). Overt and relational victimization and adolescent friendships: Selection, de-selection, and social influence. Social Influence, 8, 177-195. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Slaby, R. G., Guerra, N. G. (1988). Cognitive mediators of aggression in adolescent offenders: I. Assessment. Developmental Psychology, 24, 580-588. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.24.4.580 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Swann, W. B., Stephenson, B., Pittman, T. S. (1981). Curiosity and control: On the determinants of the search for social knowledge. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40, 635-642. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.40.4.635 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Terasahjo, T., Salmivalli, C. (2003). “She is not actually bullied.” The discourse of harassment in student groups. Aggressive Behavior, 29, 134-154. doi:10.1002/ab.10045 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Tomarken, A. J., Serlin, R. C. (1986). Comparison of ANOVA alternatives under variance heterogeneity and specific noncentrality structures. Psychological Bulletin, 99, 90-99. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.99.1.90 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Trope, Y., Liberman, N. (2003). Temporal construal. Psychological Review, 110, 403-421. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.110.3.403 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Tversky, A., Kahneman, D. (1973). Availability: A heuristic for judging frequency and probability. Cognitive Psychology, 5, 207-232. doi:10.1016/0010-0285(73)90033-9 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Vaillancourt, T., McDougall, P., Hymel, S., Krygsman, A., Miller, J., Stiver, K., Davis, C. (2008). Bullying: Are researchers and children/youth talking about the same thing? International Journal of Behavioral Development, 32, 486-495. doi:10.1177/0165025408095553 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Vaughn, B. E., Colvin, T. N., Azria, M. R., Caya, L., Krzysik, L. (2001). Dyadic analyses of friendship in a sample of preschool-age children attending Head Start: Correspondence between measures and implications for social competence. Child Development, 72, 862-878. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00320 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Veenstra, R., Lindenberg, S., Zijlstra, B. J. H., De Winter, A. F., Verhulst, F. C., Ormel, J. (2007). The dyadic nature of bullying and victimization: Testing a dual-perspective theory. Child Development, 78, 1843-1854. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01102.x Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Visconti, K. J., Troop-Gordon, W. (2010). Prospective relations between children’s responses to peer victimization and their socioemotional adjustment. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 31, 261-272. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2010.05.003 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Wasserman, S., Faust, K. (1994). Social network analysis: Methods and applications. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Wyer, R. S. (1980). The acquisition and use of social knowledge: Basic postulates and representative research. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 6, 558-573. doi:10.1177/014616728064007 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Zimmerman, D. W., Zumbo, B. D. (1993). Rank transformations and the power of the student t test and Welch t’ test for non-normal populations with unequal variances. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 47, 523-539. doi:10.103/h0078850 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI |
Author Biographies
Laura D. Hanish, PhD, T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University. Research interests include aggression and victimization, gender, peer relationships, and school-related contexts and outcomes.
Naomi C. Z. Andrews, MS, T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University. Research interests include aggression, gender, and social networks.
Olga Kornienko, PhD, Department of Psychology and Institute for Interdisciplinary Bioscience Research, Arizona State University. Research interests include peer networks and network dynamics.
Carlos E. Santos, PhD, Department of Counseling and Counseling Psychology, Arizona State University. Research interests include identity development and social contexts.
Philip C. Rodkin, PhD, died during completion of this article. We acknowledge his contribution to the article and his leadership in advancing understanding of the social dynamics of adolescence.
Kristen L. Granger, MS, T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University. Research interests include teacher influences on peer relationships.
