A longitudinal multilevel study of individual characteristics and classroom norms in explaining bullying behaviors

Abstract

This three-wave longitudinal study was set out to examine the interplay between individual characteristics (social standing in the classroom) and descriptive and injunctive classroom norms (behavior and attitudes, respectively) in explaining subsequent bullying behavior, defined as initiating, assisting, or reinforcing bullying. The target sample contained fourth- to sixth-grade students (n = 2,051) who attended the control schools in the Finnish evaluation of the KiVa antibullying program. Random slope multilevel analyses revealed that, over time, higher popularity or rejection, or lower acceptance were associated with increases in bullying behaviors, especially in classrooms with a high descriptive bullying norm. In contrast, the injunctive norm did not moderate the associations between social standing and engagement in bullying, except for children high on popularity. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

RAS ID

21581

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

1-1-2015

Faculty

Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science

School

School of Exercise and Health Sciences

Copyright

subscription content

Publisher

Springer Verlag

Comments

Sentse M., Veenstra R., Kiuru N., Salmivalli C. (2015). A Longitudinal Multilevel Study of Individual Characteristics and Classroom Norms in Explaining Bullying Behaviors. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43, pages 943–955. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-014-9949-7

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1007/s10802-014-9949-7