Peer victimization in Dutch school classes of four- to five-year-olds: Contributing factors at the school level

This research was designed to examine how factors within young children's environment (e.g., school factors, neighborhood) contribute to explaining peer victimization. The sample comprised 2,003 children (between 4 and 5 years of age) from 98 classrooms in 23 elementary schools in the Netherlands. Teachers were asked to complete a questionnaire on exposure to victimization for each child. Multilevel analyses revealed that gender and social climate of the school were directly related to victimization. Furthermore, results indicated that peer victimization in boys was less prevalent when they attended smaller schools. In low-SES neighborhoods victimization scores were significantly lower when schools had implemented clear antibullying policies. Finally, variation among school classes appeared to be strongly associated with victimization, even more so than variation among schools. These findings support broadening the focus beyond the individual child at risk. © 2009 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved

Links between social information processing in middle childhood and involvement in bullying. [IF 0.95]

The aim of this study was to investigate the way in which bullies, victims, bully/victims, and those not involved process social information. A peer nomination measure of bullying and victimization was administered twice over an interval of one year. The sample consisted of 236 (126 girls and 110 boys) children at the beginning of the study (TI) and 242 children one year later (T2) (mean age: 8 years). To test how children responded when provoked, both spontaneously and after prompting, we used provocation scenarios, and to test their attributional interpretations we used ambiguous scenarios. The results showed that children not involved in bullying responded in an assertive way to provocation more often than bullies and victims, but not more than bully/victims. In general, aggressive answers diminished after prompting and irrelevant answers increased. Appealing for the help of an adult or a peer was the strategy most often chosen. When the intent of the perpetrator was ambiguous, bully/ victims attributed more blame, were angrier, and would retaliate more than those not involved. Partly similar results were obtained when stably involved children were compared with those unstably involved. Suggestions for intervention are presented. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Guest editors' introduction to the special issue: Attachment in mental health institutions

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