Internalizing Problems of Youth Involved in Bullying via Different Participant Role Combinations and Gender

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to identify how defending behaviors in bullying overlap with bullying behaviors and victimization experiences using an empirical approach. Furthermore, an additional goal was to examine internalizing problems associated with these bullying role behaviors. Data on students’ defending and bullying behaviors, victimization experiences, anxiety, depression, and self-esteem were collected from 700 sixth- through eighth-grade students using the Bully Participant Behaviors Questionnaire, the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders–Child Version, the Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results of a latent profile analysis identified the following roles: defenders, bully–victim–defenders, and students who had low involvement in bullying, victimization, and defending. Results documented significant differences in internalizing problems among the roles. Specifically, bully–victim–defenders reported higher levels of depression and anxiety and lower levels of self-esteem than did defenders and students who had low involvement with bullying scenarios.

Keywords:

• bullying
• defending
• victimization
• internalizing problems

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENTS

Jaclyn E. Tennant is a school psychology doctoral student at Northern Illinois University and 2016 recipient of a Society for the Study of School Psychology Dissertation Grant Award. 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.

Jacqueline J. Klossing is a school psychology doctoral student at Northern Illinois University. Her areas of research interest include youth victimization and how it relates to both social–emotional and academic functioning. She is interested in identifying amenable factors—including body esteem and social support—that can be targeted to improve child and adolescent functioning in spite of various risk factors such as victimization or internalizing concerns.

Michelle K. Demaray is a professor in the School Psychology Program at Northern Illinois University. She is the current editor of the Journal of School Psychology. She studies social support as a resilience factor for youth. She also studies bullying and victimization in schools, including the role of bystanders and cyberbullying.

Nicole Dorio is a school psychology doctoral student at Northern Illinois University and 2017 recipient of a Society for the Study of School Psychology Dissertation Grant Award. Her research interests include rumination, peer victimization, social support, and depression. She is interested in understanding negative outcomes often associated with victimization experiences as well as potential protective factors to help mitigate these outcomes.

Trevor Bixler is a school psychology doctoral student at Northern Illinois University. His research interests include bystander behavior during bullying scenarios and school climate. He is interested in the factors that contribute to decision making among adolescents who view various forms of bullying within schools.

Caicina Jones is a full-time school psychologist in a suburban school district of Chicago. Her research interests include peer victimization/bullying, gender norms, and associated psychosocial outcomes. She is interested in factors that interact to contribute to likelihood of taking on different bullying roles.