School Bullying in Adolescence and Personality Traits A Person-Centered Approach

• Published in: Journal of interpersonal violence Vol. 29; no. 4; pp. 736 - 757
• Main Authors: Kodžopeljić, Jasmina, Smederevac, Snežana, Mitrović, Dušanka, Dinić, Bojana, Čolović, Petar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.03.2014; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Aggression; Bullying; Bullying - psychology; Emotional Abuse; Female; High School Students; Humans; Male; Males; Neuroticism; Peer Group; Personality; Personality Assessment; Personality Traits; Schools; Secondary school students; Teenagers; Victimization; Victims; Young Adult; Serbia; victimization; peer violence; Big Seven; bullying
• ISSN: 0886-2605; 1552-6518
• DOI: 10.1177/0886260513505216

This study examined the differences in personality traits between the clusters reflecting the roles in violent interactions among high school students. The sample included 397 students (51.1% male) of Serbian nationality from the first to the fourth grades of different high schools. Based on scores of five dimensions related to peer violence (Physical Aggression, Psychological Aggression, Victimization, Adapted Behavior, and Risky Behavior), three clusters were extracted: Adapted Adolescents, Victims, and Bullies. These three clusters were compared with respect to lexical Big Seven personality traits, and the results indicate that the clusters differ significantly on Aggressiveness, Neuroticism, and Negative Valence. The Adapted Adolescents have the lowest scores on all three dimensions, while the Victims score highest on Neuroticism, and the Bullies on Aggressiveness. The potential importance of certain Extraversion facets for the roles in violent interaction was discussed.