Speaker
Description
Introduction: School bullying is associated with poorer well-being and mental health for both bullies and victims (e,g,,Smith, 2016). Bully-victims (or victim-bullies), in particular, face greater risk of psychological distress (e.g., Lereya et al., 2015). The present study examined the dynamic interplay between bully and victim roles through peer nominations and their associations with coping strategies which have been considered to be critical to handle distressful experiences (e.g., Xie et al., 2020).
Method: Three hundred twelve students in elementary schools in Western Canada (14 classes, grades 5-7; 48% boys) completed questionnaires measuring four coping strategies: active, avoidance, distraction, and seeking support. Peer nominations identified classmates involved in bullying and victimization. Peer network analyses were used to assess the overlap between bullying and victimization networks. The relationships between the networks and coping strategies were subsequently explored.
Results: Peer network analyses revealed that bullying and victimization overlapped on average by 46.5%. The greater bully-victim overlap was negatively associated with support-seeking coping (Est = -0.92, p = .002), indicating that students in classrooms identified as greater bully-victim overlap were less likely to seek for support or help. No sex differences were observed.
Conclusion: The present results suggest that adolescents in classrooms with a higher prevalence of bully-victims may struggle to seek support, possibly due to the normalization of these behaviours and a lack of supportive peer environment. The findings underscore the importance of considering peer social network context in designing interventions to address bullying and support coping mechanisms.
| Please indicate what type of scientific contribution it is | Quantitative method study |
|---|---|
| Please also indicate what kind of contribution it is: | Scientific |
