Reactions to Bullying and Peer Victimization: Narratives, Physiological Arousal, and Personality

A mediational model of bullying and victimization is proposed and tested. Ninety-nine 10- to 13-year-old children provided two oral narratives of their victimization experiences, as perpetrator and victim, with their physiological arousal being measured while they told the narratives. The children and one of their parents also completed a variety of questionnaires, including a Big 5 measure of personality and measures of bullying and victimization tendencies. Mediational analyses indicated that children who score low on Conscientiousness and high on Neuroticism are more likely to experience negative affect during peer conflict, such as feeling angrier, blaming the bully more, and forgiving less, and that these reactions are related to higher levels of victimization. For bullies, relations among Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and bullying appear to be mediated by lesser feelings of guilt and gains in physiological arousal while telling a bullying narrative. Advantages of a mediational model of peer victimization processes and implications for interventions are discussed

A Friend in Need: The Role of Friendship Quality as a Protective Factor in Peer Victimization and Bullying

This study examined friendship quality as a possible moderator of risk factors in predicting peer victimization and bullying. Children (50 boys and 49 girls, ages 10 to 13 years) reported on the quality of their best friendship, as well as their bullying and victimization tendencies. Parents reported on their child’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors, in addition to bullying and victimization tendencies. Results indicated that externalizing problems were related to bullying behavior; however, friendship quality moderated this relation such that among children with externalizing behaviors, a high-quality friendship significantly attenuated bullying behavior. Internalizing problems and low friendship quality were significantly related to victimization; however, friendship quality did not moderate the relation between internalizing problems and victimization. Implications for interventions based on these findings are discussed

A Friend in Need: The Role of Friendship Quality as a Protective Factor in Peer Victimization and Bullying

This study examined friendship quality as a possible moderator of risk factors in predicting peer victimization and bullying. Children (50 boys and 49 girls, ages 10 to 13 years) reported on the quality of their best friendship, as well as their bullying and victimization tendencies. Parents reported on their child’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors, in addition to bullying and victimization tendencies. Results indicated that externalizing problems were related to bullying behavior; however, friendship quality moderated this relation such that among children with externalizing behaviors, a high-quality friendship significantly attenuated bullying behavior. Internalizing problems and low friendship quality were significantly related to victimization; however, friendship quality did not moderate the relation between internalizing problems and victimization. Implications for interventions based on these findings are discussed

What Do You Say to Teasers? Parent and Child Evaluations of Responses to Teasing

Teasing is a common and sometimes problematic event in childhood that has received little empirical attention. In the current study, target responses to teasing were manipulated by editing an ignore, empathy-inducing, humorous, or hostile reaction to a child\u27s teasing into a videotaped story. Parents (n = 117) and their children (n = 147) rated these responses and gave information about their own teasing experiences. Parents and children both approved of the nonhostile responses more than the hostile response but disagreed on several of the open-ended items about their experiences with teasing. Response preferences varied by the child\u27s gender and his or her experiences with teasing. Implications for parental advice about teasing are discussed

What Do You Say to Teasers? Parent and Child Evaluations of Responses to Teasing

Teasing is a common and sometimes problematic event in childhood that has received little empirical attention. In the current study, target responses to teasing were manipulated by editing an ignore, empathy-inducing, humorous, or hostile reaction to a child\u27s teasing into a videotaped story. Parents (n = 117) and their children (n = 147) rated these responses and gave information about their own teasing experiences. Parents and children both approved of the nonhostile responses more than the hostile response but disagreed on several of the open-ended items about their experiences with teasing. Response preferences varied by the child\u27s gender and his or her experiences with teasing. Implications for parental advice about teasing are discussed