A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Decreases in the proportion of bullying victims in the classroom: Effects on the adjustment of remaining victims




AuthorsGarandeau C, Lee I, Salmivalli C

PublisherSAGE journals

Publication year2018

JournalInternational Journal of Behavioral Development

Volume42

Issue1

First page 64

Last page72

Number of pages9

ISSN0165-0254

eISSN1464-0651

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1177/0165025416667492


Abstract

Sharing a classroom environment with other victimized peers has been shown to mitigate the adverse effects of peer victimization on children’s social and psychological adjustment. By extension, this study hypothesized that classroom reductions in the proportion of victims would be harmful for children who remain victimized. Data were collected at the end of 2 subsequent school years from 4,466 fourth- to sixth-graders (mean age = 11 years), as part of the implementation of the Finnish anti-bullying program KiVa (an acronym for Kiusaamista Vastaan, “against bullying”). Multiple regression analyses were conducted on a subsample of 170 stable victims (children reporting being victimized at least 2–3 times a month at both time points) to test whether a decrease in the proportion of victims in their classrooms had an effect on their adjustment at Time 2. Stable victims felt more depressed, more socially anxious and were less liked at Time 2 in classrooms where the proportion of victims had decreased in 1 year compared to stable victims in classrooms where it had increased or remained the same. These effects were not moderated by the intervention status of the classroom. Paradoxically, an improved social environment can be detrimental for some children. These findings point to the necessity to maintain anti-bullying intervention efforts especially when successful.



Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 20:44