2-213 - Understanding Childhood and Early Adolescent Victimization: Impact of Classroom Norms

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

This symposium presents findings from three studies on the importance of classroom norms in understanding how victimization predicts (social) behavioral outcomes, and our understanding of how classroom norms affect the impact of individual level precursors on children’s experiences of victimization.

The first study focused on victimization as an outcome. In this study, 1,017 students aged 8-13 years in 67 classrooms were followed across one school year. It explored whether classroom norms towards delinquent behavior affect the predictive association of individual level delinquent behavior with the development of victimization across the school year.
The second study focusses on victimization as a predictor of risk-taking behavior. In this study, 784 elementary school children aged 7-9 years at baseline, in 54 classrooms were followed across two school years. It explored whether the impact of individual experiences of relational bullying victimization on the development of risk-taking behavior were affected by the classroom norm towards risk-taking behavior.
The final study focusses on defending behavior towards victimized peers in the classroom. It studied 1,272 elementary schoolchildren aged 8-12 years in 48 classrooms. It explores whether defending behavior of victimized children is affected by whether the defender like the child, and whether this association is stronger in classrooms where bullying behavior is normative.

Together, the findings of these studies suggest that the social classroom norms need to be taken into account when trying to understand why children become victims of bullying, how bullying-victimization affects children’s behavioral outcomes, and how it affects children’s social behavior towards victims.

Sub Unit

• Social Relationships

Chair

• Pol van Lier, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Discussant

• Rene Veenstra, University of Groningen

Individual Presentations

• Link between Delinquent Behavior and Peer Victimization: Do Peer Group Norms Play a Moderating Role? - Presenting Author: Amy Burningham, Université du Québec à Montréal; Non-Presenting Author: Mara Brendgen, University of Quebec at Montreal; Non-Presenting Author: Frank Vitaro, University of Montreal

• Elementary School Children’s Association of Relational Victimization and Risk-Taking in the Context of the Classroom Norm - Presenting Author: Jacintha Tieskens, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Non-Presenting Author: Joanne Marieke Buil, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Non-Presenting Author: Susanne Koot, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Non-Presenting Author: Lydia Krabbendam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Non-Presenting Author: Pol van Lier, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

• Defending Victims When Bullying is Normative: An Individual and Social Network Approach - Presenting Author: Ashwin Rambaran, University of Groningen; Non-Presenting Author: Jan Kornelis Dijkstra, University of Groningen; Non-Presenting Author: Marijtje van Duijn, University of Groningen; Non-Presenting Author: Rene Veenstra, University of Groningen