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Victims, bullies, and their defenders: A longitudinal study of the coevolution of positive and negative networks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2014

Gijs Huitsing ,
Tom A. B. Snijders ,
Marijtje A. J. Van Duijn  and
René Veenstra
Gijs Huitsing*
Affiliation:
University of Groningen
Tom A. B. Snijders
Affiliation:
University of Groningen University of Oxford
Marijtje A. J. Van Duijn
Affiliation:
University of Groningen
René Veenstra
Affiliation:
University of Groningen
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Gijs Huitsing, Interuniversity Center for Social Science Theory and Methodology, University of Groningen, Grote Rozenstraat 31, 9712 TG Groningen, The Netherlands; E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

The complex interplay between bullying/victimization and defending was examined using a longitudinal social network approach (stochastic actor-based models). The (co)evolution of these relations within three elementary schools (Grades 2–5 at Time 1, ages 8–11, N = 354 children) was investigated across three time points within a year. Most bullies and defenders were in the same grade as the victims, although a substantial number of bullies and defenders were in other grades (most often one grade higher). Defenders were usually of the same gender as the victims, whereas most bullies were boys, with boys bullying both boys and girls. In line with goal-framing theory, multiplex network analyses provided evidence for the social support hypothesis (victims with the same bullies defended each other over time) as well as the retaliation hypothesis (defenders run the risk of becoming victimized by the bullies of the victims they defend). In addition, the analysis revealed that bullies with the same victims defended each other over time and that defenders of bullies initiated harassment of those bullies' victims. This study can be seen as a starting point in unraveling the relationship dynamics among bullying, victimization, and defending networks in schools.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 26 , Special Issue 3: The Legacy of Nicki R. Crick's Contributions to Developmental Psychopathology , August 2014 , pp. 645 - 659
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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