Classroom bullying norms and peer status: Effects on victim-oriented and bully-oriented defending

• Published in: International journal of behavioral development Vol. 46; no. 5; pp. 401 - 410
• Main Authors: Garandeau, Claire F., Vermande, Marjolijn M., Reijntjes, Albert H. A., Aarts, Emmeke
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.09.2022; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adolescent girls; Bullying; Classroom Environment; Classrooms; Foreign Countries; Girls; Intervention; Norms; Peer Acceptance; Peer Relationship; Popularity; Predictor Variables; Prosocial Behavior; Risk behavior; Victims; Netherlands; Bullying; likability; peer status; perceived popularity; bully-oriented defending; classroom norms; victim-oriented defending
• ISSN: 0165-0254; 1464-0651
• DOI: 10.1177/0165025419894722

Defending a victimized peer is a socially risky behavior that may require high peer status and may depend on how popular or disliked bullies are in the classroom (i.e., within-classroom correlations between bullying and status). Past research has investigated defending as a unidimensional construct, though it can involve confronting the bully (bully-oriented defending) or supporting the victim (victim-oriented defending). This study used multilevel modeling to examine the effects of individual peer status, gender, and bullying as well as two indicators of classroom norms—the bullying-popularity norm and the bullying-rejection norm—on both types of defending. Our sample included 1,460 Dutch adolescents (50% girls; M age 11 years) from 59 classrooms in 50 schools. Likability and popularity were positively associated with both types of defending. Being female and lower in bullying was associated with victim-oriented defending, whereas being male and higher in bullying was associated with bully-oriented defending. In classrooms where bullies were more rejected, both types of defending were more prevalent, and the positive associations of likability and popularity with victim-oriented defending were stronger. The positive effect of the bullying-rejection norm on victim-oriented defending was stronger for girls. Moreover, the effect of popularity on bully-oriented defending was stronger in classrooms where bullies were less popular.