Who escapes or remains a victim of bullying in primary school?
The stability of both direct and relational victimization and factors that contribute to remaining, escaping or becoming a victim of bullying were investigated. 663 children at baseline aged 6-9 (years 2-4) were interviewed about their bullying experiences and parents completed a behaviour and health measure. Children's perception of the degree of social hierarchical structuring and social prominence in their class was determined by peer nominations. 432 children participated in the follow-up either 2 or 4years after baseline aged 10-11 (year 6) and completed a bullying questionnaire. Relational victims and children from classes with a high hierarchical structure were more likely to have dropped out of the study compared to neutral children, and children from classes with a low hierarchical structure. Relative risk analyses indicated a twofold increased risk of remaining a direct victim at follow-up, compared to a child not involved at baseline becoming a victim over the follow-up period. In contrast, relational victimization increased but was not found to be stable. Logistic regression analyses revealed that being a girl, and receiving few positive peer nominations predicted remaining a direct victim. Becoming a relational victim at follow-up was predicted by a strong class hierarchy. The implications for future study of early recognition of likely long term victims and early preventative bullying initiatives are discussed.
Wolke
Dieter
D
Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Warwick Medical School, Coventry, UK. Wolke@warwick.ac.uk
Woods
Sarah
S
Samara
Muthanna
M
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology*; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006608:Hierarchy, Social; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012059:Rejection, Psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012919:Social Behavior; D012933:Social Identification; D012963:Sociometric Techniques; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology