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Challenging Conventions of Bullying Thresholds: Exploring Differences between Low and High Levels of Bully-Only, Victim-Only, and Bully-Victim Roles

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Abstract

Using a commonly accepted threshold of 2 to 3 times per month as a marker of bullying-involvement from noninvolvement, approximately 30% of U.S. students report being a bully, victim, or both. Although variation in the frequency of involvement exists, infrequent engagement (less than 2 to 3 times a month) is generally considered noninvolved. However, the question remains: Do these differences have implications for behavioral health patterns, including substance use, depression and school connectedness? The present study used a district-wide random cluster sample of 66 middle and high schools in a mid-size city. The study population consisted of 3,221 middle school (53.4%) and high school (45.6%) students, with 48.7% females, 44.6 males, and 6.7% youth identifying with another gender category. These youth were racially diverse, with the modal category being Black (36.0%). Based on student survey response, we report, (a) the frequency and intensity of bullying behaviors, (b) common patterns of involvement, and (c) demographic and individual-level risk factors associated with these patterns. Analyses resulted in nine bully types, with substantial differences in bullying-involvement intensity based on gender, race, school connectedness, and mental health. Perhaps most striking, the majority of youth (70.9%) were involved in some level of bullying perpetration, victimization, or both, when accounting for the accumulation of low frequency involvement (e.g., once, twice, or a few times) across multiple bullying behaviors. Implications for adolescent development and prevention are described.

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Funding

This study was conducted without funding to the investigators.

Authors’ Contributions

J.T.G. & P.R.S. made substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data and interpretation of findings. They were both involved in drafting the manuscript and revising it critically for intellectual content. M.J.S. contributed to the analysis and interpretation of data and contribution to the methods, analysis, results and interpretation of findings. All authors have given final approval of the version to be published.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Jeremy T. Goldbach

  2. School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Paul R. Sterzing & Marla J. Stuart

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  1. Jeremy T. Goldbach
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  2. Paul R. Sterzing
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Correspondence to Jeremy T. Goldbach.

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Data Sharing Declaration

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was reviewed by the PI’s institutional review board (IRB) prior to being conducted.

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A passive parental consent was used, and youth provided an unsigned verbal consent for their participation in the study to ensure anonymity of data that collected sensitive information.

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Goldbach, J.T., Sterzing, P.R. & Stuart, M.J. Challenging Conventions of Bullying Thresholds: Exploring Differences between Low and High Levels of Bully-Only, Victim-Only, and Bully-Victim Roles. J Youth Adolescence 47, 586–600 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-017-0775-4

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