Individual risk factors or group dynamics? An investigation of the scapegoat hypothesis of victimization in school classes

Abstract

Three studies are reported, which attempt operational and constructive replications of a report by Schuster (1999), supporting a scapegoating model of victimization. Peer nominations of victims, and bullies, were obtained from pupils aged 8 to 13 years in 67 classes. In only 27 classes (40%) were one or two victims identified by Schuster's original criterion, and fewer when using a criterion of approximately one standard deviation above the mean. The distribution of victims over classes approached that expected by a chance model of individual risk factors, possibly moderated (or exacerbated) by the number of bullies in a class, as well as the broader social context within which such risk factors operate. The findings do not support Schuster's scapegoating theory of victimization; the implications for school-based intervention are considered.

Acknowledgments

Study 3 was supported by ESRC grant X204252003. PKS thanks the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Ballarat, Australia, for support during the preparation of this article.

We would like to thank all the participating pupils and schools, Michael Boulton and Helen Cowie for their part in gathering data in Study 3, and Alan Penhall for help in preparation of figures.