Children’s Positive Peer Relationships and their Bullying Behaviors: A Latent Class Analysis

• In Event: Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Topic - Social Relationships

Abstract

Research suggests some bullies maintain high-status and are well-liked despite engaging in bullying behaviors (e.g., Sentse et al., 2015). It is important to understand these well-liked bullies, who may exert considerable influence over the peer group. Traditionally, explanations for high-status bullies have relied on social dominance theory (Hawley, 1999) which suggests for some children, engaging in acts of aggression and bullying is a social strategy used to acquire and maintain social resources. However, the reverse direction is also possible: Children who have high social status and strong friendship ties may be able to engage in bullying with impunity and therefore their bullying increases over time. In this study, we will investigate the potential of this reverse directionality between peer liking nominations, which are commonly used to index children’s friendships, and bullying behaviors. We plan to conduct a latent class analysis (LCA) involving three types of peer nominations: sent (nominations from a focal child but not reciprocated), received, (nominations of a focal child but not reciprocated), and reciprocated (nominations of a focal child that are reciprocated) nominations and examine these groups trajectories of physical and relational bullying over time.

Participants will include 659 fourth-grade students from 34 classrooms. The average age of the sample is 9.31 years (SD = .50). Girls comprised 50.7% (n = 332) of the sample and ethnic/racial background was as follows: 42.7%, Hispanic; 30.3%, white non-Hispanic; 10%, Pacific Islander; 7.5%, bi/multiracial; and 9.5%, other/unreported. Bullying was assessed via the School Experiences Questionnaire (Kochenderfer-Ladd, 2004). Internalizing symptoms were assessed with the depression and generalized anxiety subscales of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (Chorpita et al., 2000). Peer liking nominations were collected using an peer nomination procedures in which students were asked to select classmates who they “liked to play with the most” (Coie et al., 1982). Mutually endorsed liked most (LM) nominations were counted as reciprocated friendship. LM nominations from children that were not reciprocated were counted as sent nominations and LM nominations to children that were not reciprocated were counted as received nominations (e.g., Scholte et al., 2009; Wei & Jonson-Reid, 2011).

The first primary aim will be to determine if meaningful groups of children exist as a function of their positive peer liking nomination types (i.e., reciprocated, received, and sent) via a series of LCAs. The second aim of this study involves concurrently and prospectively examining between-group differences and trajectories of bullying behaviors for groups uncovered by the LCA. Between-group differences on measures of depression, anxiety, social preference and social impact will be investigated through the use of ANOVAs. Chi-Square tests will be used to test for differences between group demographic variables (i.e., race, ethnicity, and gender). Finally, path models will explore future trajectories of bullying behaviors between groups. Overall, this study will aid in understanding well-liked bullies and in turn, inform bullying prevention and intervention efforts.

Authors

• Lauren Mutignani, University of Rochester Medical Center
  Presenting Author

• Meredith Scafe, University of Arkansas
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tim A. Cavell, University of Arkansas
  Non-Presenting Author