Multidisciplinary Approaches to Research on Bullying in Adolescence
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Adolescent Res Rev (2017) 2:1–10 DOI 10.1007/s40894-016-0041-0 NARRATIVE REVIEW Multidisciplinary Approaches to Research on Bullying in Adolescence 1 1 2 3 Melissa K. Holt • Jennifer Greif Green • Mina Tsay-Vogel • Joanna Davidson • Claire Brown1 Received: 7 July 2016 / Accepted: 10 September 2016 / Published online: 15 September 2016 Ó Springer International Publishing 2016 Abstract Bullying is a significant public health problem in Keywords Bullying Á Adolescence Á Multidisciplinary the United States that affects youth functioning in multiple domains. Much of the research on bullying to date has focused on children, however, leaving gaps in the literature Introduction with respect to understanding bullying among adolescents. In particular, less is known about how adolescents con- Bullying remains a pressing public health problem in the ceptualize bullying, what predicts and is associated with United States. Increasingly, scholars have considered pre- bullying involvement among adolescents, and how pre- cursors, predictors, and consequences of bullying involve- vention programs might address the unique needs of mid- ment, as well as examined how to bolster the effectiveness dle and high school students. This special issue proposes of bullying prevention programs. Coupled with the research that a multidisciplinary perspective might be particularly attention to bullying in the last few decades, there has been useful in better understanding bullying among adolescents a significant expansion of states with laws mandating K-12 and determining how to design more effective interven- schools address bullying; whereas in 1999 only one state tions and prevention programs for this age-group. The had enacted legislation (Georgia), as of 2015 all 50 states current article introduces the special issue by briefly dis- passed anti-bullying legislation. Despite these efforts from cussing what is known about bullying in adolescence and research and legal perspectives, there remain gaps in considering three disciplines (computer science, big data, researchers’ understanding of bullying. In particular, and virtual communities; media studies; anthropology) that intervention research on bullying among adolescents, in are particularly well situated to move the field forward. contrast to children, remains limited. To date, research on Next, this article reviews teen pregnancy prevention bullying has been conducted primarily in the fields of efforts, as an example of another adolescent public health psychology and education, but it is possible that other concern that has been addressed successfully using a disciplines might offer novel and innovative approaches to multidisciplinary approach. The article concludes with an understanding bullying and effective bullying interven- overview of the three manuscripts that are part of the tions. As such, the purpose of this special issue is to suggest special issue. that one potentially fruitful approach to move research on adolescent bullying forward is to draw from disciplines that have been less central to, or to date not involved in, the discourse around bullying. & Melissa K. Holt In this introductory article, we first provide a brief over- [email protected] view of what is known about why bullying in adolescence 1 School of Education, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA should be a specific focus of research by describing: bullying 2 College of Communication, Boston University, Boston, MA, rates and correlates; the overlap between bullying and other USA victimization exposures that increase among adolescents; 3 Department of Anthropology, Boston University, Boston, and what is known about the effectiveness of bullying pre- MA, USA vention efforts in this age group. We next discuss how 123 2 Adolescent Res Rev (2017) 2:1–10 multidisciplinary perspectives might advance research on psychological, health behaviors, academic) (Copeland et al. bullying in adolescence, with attention to one discipline 2013; Fekkes et al. 2006; Holt et al. 2015; Swearer and (computer science, big data, and virtual communities) that Hymel 2015). However, a handful of researchers have has already provided novel findings on bullying, and to two suggested that bullying victimization might have differ- disciplines (media studies and anthropology) that have the ential effects based on the age at which it occurs potential to shape how we investigate and understand bul- (McDougall and Vaillancourt 2015). For example, Ttofi lying. Third, to illustrate how other public health problems et al. (2011) found that the link between bullying victim- have been successfully addressed through multidisciplinary ization and depression later in life was strongest when the approaches, we provide the example of teenage pregnancy victimization occurred in childhood, rather than adoles- prevention and highlight how efforts from a range of disci- cence. Among adolescents, however, bullying is linked to plines have cumulatively and successfully contributed to risk factors that specifically increase among this age group, declines in teenage pregnancy. We close with a brief sum- including sexual risk taking (Holt et al. 2013), substance mary of the origins of the special issue and an overview of the use (Radliff et al. 2012), and suicidality (Holt et al. 2015). included articles. Another study found that high school students classified as having experienced ongoing victimization at baseline had Rates and Correlates lower school attendance 2 years later (Smith et al. 2004). Current US national data indicate that 20 % of all youth have Conceptualization of Bullying in Adolescence been bullied on school property and 15 % have experienced and Relevance of Other Victimization Forms cyberbullying within the past year (CDC 2013). In addition, 8 % of students report being bullied on a daily basis (Robers As youth move from childhood into adolescence, their et al. 2015). However, research on bullying prevalence sug- conceptualizations of bullying changes, and in fact, as gests the importance of attending specifically to the experi- described in more detail in Bellmore et al. (this issue) the ences of adolescents. In particular, there have been consistent term ‘‘bullying’’ itself might feel less relevant for adoles- findings showing that bullying increases throughout elemen- cents (Allen 2015). Qualitative work by Guerra and col- tary school, peaks in middle school, and declines in high leagues (Guerra et al. 2011) highlights, for instance, that school (Espelage and Swearer 2003). For instance, in a while elementary school students conceive of bullying as recently published Institute of Educational Statistics (IES) involving physical altercations or property destruction, report, 37 % of 6th grade students reported bullying victim- adolescents are more likely to attend to components such as ization in contrast to 22 % of 12th grade students (US power imbalance and jealousy. Similarly, adolescents were Department of Education 2015). These developmental trends less likely than children to mention physical aggression suggest a unique opportunity to study both the increase in when asked to define bullying (Vaillancourt et al. 2008). undesirable behaviors, and also a subsequent decrease in the This research suggests that fundamental conceptualizations very same behaviors. Also of note, although findings pre- of the definition of ‘‘bullying’’ might shift over time. sented in this same IES report indicated that rates of cyber- Further, other forms of victimization emerge during bullying did not vary significantly between 6th and 12th grade, adolescence, and these victimization forms are associated cyberbullying is more relevant to and common in the period of in complex ways with bullying involvement. For example, adolescence than in childhood (Kowalski et al. 2014). by high school 10 % of youth have experienced physical Researchers additionally find that the forms of bullying dating violence victimization (Miller et al. 2013). In turn, reported by adolescents differ from those reported by children. research has indicated that youth involved in bullying are In particular, adolescents report increases in indirect and more likely to experience teen dating violence (Debnam relational aggression and decreases in physical aggression et al. 2016; Holt et al. 2007). Given shifts in victimization (Robers et al. 2012). This finding suggests the possibility that experiences among adolescents, with bullying becoming that the behaviors associated with bullying and their conse- less common and other peer-based victimization exposures quences shift over time. Research also finds that gender dif- emerging, scholars have set forth theories on aggression ferences in rates of these forms of aggression are more that address its developmental progression. For instance, pronounced in adolescence than in childhood (Salmivalli and Wolfe et al. (2009) suggest that, for some youth, teasing Kaukiainen 2004), indicating a need for research and practice builds to bullying which in turn leads to dating violence. to further attend to gender roles. Further, bullying related to Similarly, Espelage et al. (2012) proposed the bully-sexual sexual relationships (Pepler et al. 2006) and sexual orientation violence pathway theory, in which it is posited that per- (Birkett et al. 2009) peak during adolescence. petrators of bullying who also use homophobic teasing For youth of all ages, bullying victimization is associ- might later engage as perpetrators of sexual violence. ated with deleterious effects in multiple domains (e.g., Given