title: Longitudinal Associations Among Bullying, Homophobic Teasing, and Sexual Violence Perpetration Among Middle School Students.
abstract: Bullying perpetration and sexual harassment perpetration among adolescents are major public health issues. However, few studies have addressed the empirical link between being a perpetrator of bullying and subsequent sexual harassment perpetration among early adolescents in the literature. Homophobic teasing has been shown to be common among middle school youth and was tested as a moderator of the link between bullying and sexual harassment perpetration in this 2-year longitudinal study. More specifically, the present study tests the Bully-Sexual Violence Pathway theory, which posits that adolescent bullies who also participate in homophobic name-calling toward peers are more likely to perpetrate sexual harassment over time. Findings from logistical regression analyses (n = 979, 5th-7th graders) reveal an association between bullying in early middle school and sexual harassment in later middle school, and results support the Bully-Sexual Violence Pathway model, with homophobic teasing as a moderator, for boys only. Results suggest that to prevent bully perpetration and its later association with sexual harassment perpetration, prevention programs should address the use of homophobic epithets.
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA espelage@illinois.edu.
authors.forename: Dorothy L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Espelage
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Kathleen C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Basile
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De La Rue
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Merle E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hamburger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D058445:Bullying; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D063509:Homophobia; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012574:Schools; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000523:psychology*; D017406:Sexual Harassment; D013334:Students
keywords: adolescents; bullying; sexual harassment