Social, Emotional, and Cognitive Factors Associated With Bullying

Abstract.

The purpose of the current study was to understand the association between bullying experiences (i.e., bullying, victimization, and defending) and social, emotional, and cognitive factors. The social factor was social skills (i.e., empathy, assertion, cooperation, responsibility); the emotional factor was emotional difficulties (i.e., personal adjustment, internalizing problems, school problems), and the cognitive factor was executive functioning skills (i.e., self-monitoring, inhibitory control, flexibility, emotional regulation). Data on students' perceptions of their own social skills, emotional difficulties, and bullying role behavior were collected from 246 sixth- through eighth-grade students. Teachers provided reports of students' executive functioning skills. Results indicated that (a) emotional difficulties were significantly and positively associated with victimization for boys and girls, (b) emotional difficulties were significantly and positively associated with defending for girls, (c) executive functioning was significantly and negatively associated with defending for boys, and (d) social skills were significantly and positively related to defending behavior for boys and girls. These results emphasize the importance of examining the social, emotional, and cognitive factors associated with bullying. Social skills and emotional and executive functioning appear to vary systematically across bullying roles and should be considered when developing targeted social–emotional interventions to stop bullying, increase defending, and support victims or those at risk for victimization.

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lyndsay N. Jenkins

Lyndsay N. Jenkins, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Eastern Illinois University. Her research interests focus on reducing or preventing maladaptive peer interactions, bullying role measurement, understanding characteristics of individuals who engage in bullying roles, and assessing the role of peer and adult bystanders in bullying prevention.

Michelle K. Demaray

Michelle K. Demaray, PhD, is a professor in the School Psychology Program at Northern Illinois University and is editor of the Journal of School Psychology. She conducts research on social support, as well as bullying and victimization in schools. Her research on bullying includes cyber-victimization and the role of bystanders in the bullying situation.

Jaclyn Tennant

Jaclyn Tennant is a school psychology doctoral student at Northern Illinois University. Her research interests include peer victimization, emotion regulation, social support, and social–emotional well-being. She is interested in social, emotional, and cognitive factors that differentiate active from passive bystanders as well as factors that promote resiliency for students involved in bullying and other types of adversity.