The hypothesis that there is a constellation of qualities that predisposes certain children to be chronically victimized is supported by three forms of evidence. First, children who are victims have qualities in common that differentiate them from other children. Some of these qualities exist before the child is victimized; others develop because of the victimization. Second, children who are victimized early in life remain victims for a long period of time, even though the bullies and situations may differ. Third, other children are able to identify potential victims with high reliability. To clarify why these victims are chronically harassed, this article examines qualities of victims, bullies, and the environment that support bully/victim problems.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Ainsworth, M.D.S. , Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the Strange Situation.Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
2.
American Psychological Association. (1993). Violence and youth: Psychology's response: Vol. I. Summary of the American Psychological Association Commission on Violence and Youth.Washington, DC: Author.
3.
Besag, V. E. (1989). Bullies and victims in schools.Philadelphia: Open University Press.
4.
Chazen, M. (1989). Bullying in the infant school. In D. Tattum & D. Lane (Eds.), Bullying in schools (pp. 33-43). Stoke-on-Trent, UK: Trentham.
5.
Coie, J. D. , Dodge, K. A., Terry, R., & Wright, V. (1991). The role of aggression in peer relations: An analysis of aggression episodes in boys' play groups.Child Development, 62, 812-826.
6.
Deluty, R. H. (1981). Alternative-thinking ability of aggressive, assertive, and submissive children.Cognitive Therapy and Research, 5, 309-312.
7.
Deluty, R. H. (1985). Cognitive mediation of aggressive, assertive, and submissive behavior in children.International Journal of Behavioral Development, 8, 355-369.
8.
Dodge, K. A. (1986). A social information processing model of social competence in children. In M. Perlmutter (Ed.), Minnesota symposium on child psychology (pp. 77-125). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
9.
Farrington, D. P. (1991). Childhood aggression and adult violence: Early precursors and later life outcomes. In D. J. Pepler & K. H. Rubin (Eds.), The development and treatment of childhood aggression (pp. 5-29). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
10.
Farrington, D. P. (1993). Understanding and preventing bullying. In M. Tonry (Ed.), Crime and justice: A review of research (pp. 381-458). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
11.
Goleman, D. (1987, April 7). The bully: New research depicts a paranoid, lifelong loser.The New York Times, p. C1.
12.
Herbert, G. (1989). A whole-curriculum approach to bullying. In D. Tattum & D. Lane (Eds.), Bullying in schools (pp. 73-80). Stoke-on-Trent, UK: Trentham.
13.
Hoover, J. H. , & Hazler, R. J. (1991). Bullies and victims.Elementary School Guidance and Counselling, 25, 212-219.
14.
Junger, M. (1990). Intergroup bullying and racial harassment in the Netherlands.Sociology and Social Research, 74, 65-72.
15.
Lowenstein, L. F. (1978). The bullied and non-bullied child.Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, 31, 316-318.
16.
Olweus, D. (1977). Aggression and peer acceptance in adolescent boys: Two short-term longitudinal studies of ratings.Child Development, 48, 1301-1313.
17.
Olweus, D. (1978). Aggression in the schools: Bullying and whipping boys.Washington, DC: Hemisphere.
18.
Olweus, D. (1980). Familial and temperamental determinants of aggressive behavior in adolescent boys: A causal analysis.Developmental Psychology, 16, 644-660.
19.
Olweus, D. (1993a). Bullies on the playground: The role of victimization. In C. H. Hart (Ed.), Children on playgrounds: Research perspectives and applications (pp. 85-128). Albany: State University of New York Press.
20.
Olweus, D. (1993b). Bully/victim problems among schoolchildren: Long-term consequences and an effective intervention program. In S. Hodgins (Ed.), Mental disorder and crime (pp. 317-349). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
21.
Olweus, D. (1993c). Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do.Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell.
22.
Olweus, D. (1993d). Victimization by peers: Antecedents and long-term consequences. In K. H. Rubin & J. B. Asendorpf (Eds.), Social withdrawal, inhibition, and shyness in childhood (pp. 315-341). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
23.
Perry, D. G. , Kusel, S. J., & Perry, L. C. (1988). Victims of peer aggression.Developmental Psychology, 24, 807-814.
24.
Perry, D. G. , Williard, J. C., & Perry, L. C. (1990). Peers' perception of the consequences that victimized children provide aggressors.Child Development, 61, 1310-1325.
25.
Roland, E. (1989). Bullying: The Scandinavian research tradition. In D. P. Tattum & D. A. Lane (Eds.), Bullying in Schools (pp. 21-32). Stoke-on-Trent, UK: Trentham.
26.
Schwartz, D. , Dodge, K. A., & Coie, J. D. (1993). The emergence of chronic peer victimization in boys' play groups.Child Development, 64, 1755-1772.
27.
Slaby, R. G. (1994). Aggressors, victims, & bystanders: An assessment-based middle school violence prevention curriculum (Final Report). Newton, MA: Education Development Center.
28.
Slaby, R. G. , & Roedell, W. C. (1982). The development and regulation of aggression in young children. In J. Worell (Ed.), Psychological development in the elementary years (pp. 97-149). New York: Academic Press.
29.
Smith, P. K. (1991). The silent nightmare: Bullying and victimization in school peer groups.Psychologist: Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, 4, 243-248.
30.
Troy, M. , & Sroufe, L. A. (1987). Victimization among preschoolers: Role of attachment relationship history.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 26, 166-172.
