Research on Bullying

Ashbaugh, L., & Cornell, D. (2008). Sexual harassment and bullying behaviors in sixth graders. Journal of School Violence, 7, 21-38.

Sexual harassment is widely viewed as a form of bullying, but has received little attention in studies of middle school students. A survey of 109 6 th grade students found that 29% of students reported at least one sexual harassment experience in the past 30 days, with 11% reporting harassment once per week or more. Although boys and girls reported similar rates of harassment, there were important gender differences—boys were more likely than girls to try to ignore sexual harassment, but girls were more likely to tell someone about their experience and to tell the perpetrator to stop. There was high concordance between sexual harassment and bullying for both boys and girls. These findings indicate the need to recognize the role of sexual harassment in bullying in middle school.

Branson, C., & Cornell, D. (in press). A comparison of self and peer reports in the assessment of middle school bullying. Journal of Applied School Psychology.

Researchers examining the effectiveness of schoolwide anti-bullying programs typically use student self-reports to measure reductions in bullying. In contrast, researchers who study peer aggression frequently employ peer nominations. This study compared self-reports of bullying with peer nominations in a sample of 355 middle school students. Self-report demonstrated low to moderate correspondence with peer nominations for bullying others (r = .18) and for victimization (.32). More than twice as many students were categorized as bullies using peer nomination (11%) as compared to self-report (5%). Despite their limited agreement, both self and peer-reported bullying/victimization were associated with school maladjustment. These results raise concern about the reliance on self or peer reports alone to assess the prevalence of middle school bullying.

Brockenbrough, K., Cornell, D., & Loper, A. (2002). Aggressive victims of violence at school. Education and Treatment of Children, 273-287.

Some victims of violence at school hold aggressive attitudes which may place them at risk for involvement in high-risk behaviors. Based on a survey of 10,909 7th-, 9th-, and 11th-grade students, this study compared four groups of students: victims with aggressive attitudes (n = 152), victims with nonaggressive attitudes (n = 359), nonvictims with aggressive attitudes (n = 478), and nonvictims with nonaggressive attitudes (n = 2556). Victims with aggressive attitudes were more likely than students in the other three groups to report they had carried weapons, used alcohol, and engaged in physical fights at school. Both victims and nonvictims with aggressive attitudes reported lower academic grades and fewer supportive adults at school than the nonaggressive attitude groups. This study highlights the fact that victims with aggressive attitudes are a vulnerable group of students. Interventions for victims of school violence should be enhanced to address the needs of victims with aggressive attitudes.

Cole, J., Cornell, D., & Sheras, P. (2006). Identification of school bullies by survey methods. Professional School Counseling.

Cornell, D., & Bandyopadhyay, S. (in press). The assessment of bullying. In S. R. Jimerson, S. M. Swearer, & D. L. Espelage (Eds.). The international handbook of school bullying. New York : Routledge.

Cornell, D., & Brockenbrough, K. (2004). Identification of bullies and victims: A comparison of methods. Journal of School Violence, 63-87 .

Bullying studies frequently rely on student self-report to identify bullies and victims of bullying, but research in the broader field of peer aggression makes greater use of other informants, especially peers, to identify aggressors and victims. This study compared self, peer, and teacher identification of bullies and bully victims in a sample of 416 middle school students. Overall, there was poor correspondence between self-reports and reports made by peers or teachers, but consistently better agreement between peers and teachers, in identifying both bullies and victims of bullying. Peer and teacher identification of bullies were more consistently associated with subsequent school disciplinary infractions than were self-reports. These results raise concern about reliance on student self-reports of bullying and bully victimization.

Cornell, D, Sheras, P., & Cole, J. (2006). Assessment of bullying. In S.R. Jimerson & M.J. Furlong (Eds.), The handbook of school violence and school safety: From research to practice (pp. 191-210). Mahwah , New Jersey : Erlbaum.

Thompson, W., & Cornell, D. (in press). Differences between persistent and desistent middle school bullies. School Psychology International.

This study investigated differences in aggressive attitudes, academic achievement, and discipline referrals between bullies and non-bullies in a sample of 261 6 th and 7 th grade students over a two year period. Through the use of a peer nomination survey, 16 students were identified as bullies both years (persistent) and 21 were identified only in the first year (desistent). Across all students, aggressive attitudes were associated with poorer grades and more discipline infractions, but persistent bullies had the most aggressive attitudes and were more likely to get into trouble in school than desistent bullies or control students. Desistent bullies were more similar to control students than persistent bullies. These findings support the need to differentiate among middle school bullies and to focus attention on the aggressive attitudes of persistent bullies.

Thunfors, P., & Cornell, D. (2008). The popularity of middle school bullies. Journal of School Violence, 7, 65-82.

This study investigated the peer popularity of middle school students involved in bullying . Bullying was assessed by peer report using the School Climate Bullying Survey (SCBS) and popularity was assessed through peer nominations from a student roster. In a sample of 379 middle school students, bullies were among the most popular students in the school, receiving more peer nominations on average (21) than students uninvolved in bullying (13) or victims (4). Comparisons of p opular and non-popular bullies found few differences, except that a) popular bullies were less likely to be victimized and b) female bullies had a greater likelihood of being popular than their male counterparts.

Unnever, J., & Cornell, D. G. (2003). Bullying, self control, and ADHD. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18, 129-147.

We investigated the influence of low self-control and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on bullying and bully victimization in a sample of 1,315 middle school students using a school survey. Students who reported taking medication for ADHD were at increased risk for bullying as well as victimization by bullies. The correlation between ADHD status and bullying could be explained by low self-control, a construct theorized by Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) to be the most important determinant of criminality. In contrast, the correlation between ADHD status and bullying victimization was independent of self-control. Subsequent analyses found that self-control influenced bullying victimization through interactions with student gender and measures of physical size and strength. These findings identify low self-control and ADHD as potential risk factors for bullying and victimization, and have implications for research on self-control in young adolescents.

Unnever, J. & Cornell, D. (2003). The culture of bullying in middle school. Journal of School Violence, 2, 5-27.

The purpose of this study was to assess the nature and extent of student attitudes toward bullying. We investigated the consistency and prevalence of student attitudes across gender, race, socioeconimic status, and grade level. We also assessed whether students wit positive attitudes toward peer aggression and students with higher trait anger were especially prone to support a normative structure that encourages bullying. Based on a data set including 6 middle schools and over 2,400 students, our results indicate that aculture of bullying is a pervasive phenomenon among middle school students and should be an important consideration in bullying prevention efforts.

Unnever, J. & Cornell, D. (2004). Middle school victims of bullying: Who reports being bullied? Aggressive Behavior, 30, 373-388.

This study examined factors that influence a student's decision to report being bullied at school. An anonymous survey of 2,437 students in six middle schools identified 898 students who had been bullied, including 25% who had not told anyone that they were bullied and 40% who had not told an adult about their victimization. We investigated chronicity and type of bullying, school climate, familial, demographic, and attitudinal factors that influenced victim reporting to anyone versus no one, to adults versus no one, and to adults versus peers. Logistic regression analyses indicated
that reporting increased with the chronicity of victimization. Reporting was generally more frequent among girls than boys, and among lower grade levels. Students who perceived the school climate to be tolerant of
bullying, and students who described their parents as using coercive discipline were less likely to report being bullied. Implications for improving victim reporting of bullying are discussed.

Williams, F., & Cornell, D. (2006). Student willingness to seek help for threats of violence. Journal of School Violence, 5, 35-49.

This study examined factors that influence a student’s willingness to seek help for a threat of violence. The sample consisted of 542 middle school students who completed an anonymous survey that asked students how likely they would be to seek help in response to being bullied or threatened. The survey also included measures of type of bullying, attitudes toward aggressive behavior, and perceptions of teacher tolerance for bullying. Stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated that willingness to seek help is lower in higher grade levels and among males. Students who hold aggressive attitudes and perceive the school climate to be tolerant of bullying were less likely to report a willingness to seek help. Implications for improving student willingness to seek help are discussed.