Can Bullies Be Popular? Developmental Insights

描述（由申请人提供）：童年欺凌是一个日益增长的美国公众关注，长期调整健康相关的严重问题的侵略者和受害者。最近的研究中最令人不安的发现之一是声称欺凌者很受欢迎。如果欺负者很受欢迎，儿童可能更有可能内化关于攻击的积极信息，并容忍或促进同伴受害。广泛使用的反欺凌项目往往认为欺凌者不受欢迎，被他们的非攻击性同龄人拒绝。因此，目前的反欺凌计划没有识别出受欢迎的欺凌者，也没有为这些孩子提供有效的治疗。 这项调查将提供一个全面的评估“受欢迎的欺负者”的假设。该研究旨在：（a）引入新的概念和方法来评估受欢迎程度，（B）详细说明欺凌者与同龄人形成的各种关系，（c）绘制欺凌与受欢迎程度之间关系的发展趋势。样本将包括就读于8所不同族裔学校的600名三年级和四年级儿童。之所以选择这个年龄组，是因为在对欺凌行为的主要调查中，青春期前的儿童往往被忽视，而青少年则更受青睐，但欺凌行为的发展起源即使不是在此之前，也是在童年中期。数据将通过社会计量学调查、教师关于参与儿童及其课堂社会动态的信息以及学校人口统计和纪律记录来收集。三组研究问题推动了这项调查：（1）除了讨人喜欢之外，是否还有更多的受欢迎程度？过去的研究可能低估了欺负者的受欢迎程度，因为他们过分强调了受欢迎程度，而不是被认为很酷或有影响力。(2)欺负者会和非攻击性的孩子建立关系吗？欺负者通常被描绘成越轨的同龄人群体的成员，但受欢迎的欺负者可能会与非攻击性儿童建立友谊并加入群体。(3)发展问题至关重要。随着童年中期的发展，欺凌者更有可能还是更有可能受到欢迎？变得更受欢迎的孩子会更多还是更少欺负人？成为欺凌者的孩子会获得还是失去声望？这项调查的目的是了解受欢迎程度和同伴关系如何增强欺凌行为。将认真关注男孩和女孩群体内部和之间的欺凌行为。长期目标是开始建立干预措施的过程，这些干预措施对那些很好地融入同伴社会生活的欺凌者来说是有效的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Bullying in childhood is a growing American public concern, long-term adjustment heath related to serious problems for aggressors and victims. Among the most troubling findings from recent research is the claim that bullies are popular. If bullies are popular, children may be more likely to internalize positive messages about aggression and to tolerate or promote peer victimization. Widely-used anti-bullying programs tend to assume that bullies are unpopular and rejected by their nonaggressive peers. As a result, current antibullying programs do not identify bullies who are popular or provide these children with effective treatments. This investigation will provide a comprehensive evaluation of the "popular bully" hypothesis. The study aims to: (a) introduce new concepts and methods for assessing popularity, (b) detail the variety of relationships that bullies form with their peers, and (c) chart developmental trends in the relationship between bullying and popularity. The sample will consist of 600 third and fourth grade children attending eight ethnically diverse schools. This age group was selected because preadolescents are often passed by in favor of adolescents in major investigations of bullying, but the developmental origins of bullying lie in the middle childhood years if not before. Data will be collected through sociometric surveys, teacher information about participating children and their classroom social dynamics, and school demographic and disciplinary records. Three sets of research questions drive this investigation: (1) Is there more to popularity than likeability? Past research may have underestimated the popularity of bullies by overemphasizing likeability as opposed to being perceived as cool or influential. (2) Do bullies form relationships with nonaggressive children? Bullies are often portrayed as members of deviant peer groups, but popular bullies may form friendships and affiliate in groups with nonaggressive children. (3) Developmental questions are critical. Are bullies more or less likely to be popular as middle childhood proceeds? Do children who become more popular then bully more, or less? Do children who become bullies gain or lose popularity? The goal of this investigation is to understand how popularity and peer relationships can enhance bullying behavior. Careful attention will be paid to bullying within and between boys' and girls' groups. The long-term objective is to begin the process of building interventions that can be effective for bullies who are well-integrated into peer social life.