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Bullying: a stepping stone to dating aggression?
Wendy L Josephson1, Debra Pepler
1Department of Psychology, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Canada. w.josephson@uwinnipeg.ca
International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health
|August 23, 2012
Summary
Research suggests bullying experiences can predict aggressive behaviors in dating relationships. Understanding risk factors and developmental pathways is key to preventing both bullying and dating aggression through evidence-based interventions.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Sociology
Background:
- Bullying involves power and aggression to distress others.
- Dating aggression shares characteristics with bullying.
- A developmental-contextual perspective is crucial for understanding these behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore if bullying predicts dating aggression.
- To examine risk factors for bullying and dating aggression.
- To review interventions for preventing these behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of research on bullying and dating aggression.
- Analysis of developmental and contextual risk factors.
- Examination of evidence-based intervention strategies.
Main Results:
- Bullying experiences may serve as a precursor to dating aggression.
- Identified risk factors span individual, family, peer, and societal contexts.
- Interventions targeting these factors show promise.
Conclusions:
- Bullying and dating aggression are linked developmental pathways.
- Comprehensive interventions are needed to address risk factors.
- Early intervention can mitigate aggression in relationships.
Related Concept Videos
02:04Bullying
A modern form of aggression is bullying. As you learn in your study of child development, socializing and playing with other children is beneficial for children’s psychological development. However, as you may have experienced as a child, not all play behavior has positive outcomes. Some children are aggressive and want to play roughly. Other children are selfish and do not want to share toys. One form of negative social interactions among children that has become a national concern is bullying.
01:47Aggression
Humans engage in aggression when they seek to cause harm or pain to another person. Aggression takes two forms depending on one’s motives: hostile or instrumental. Hostile aggression is motivated by feelings of anger with intent to cause pain; a fight in a bar with a stranger is an example of hostile aggression. In contrast, instrumental aggression is motivated by achieving a goal and does not necessarily involve intent to cause pain (Berkowitz, 1993); a contract killer who murders for hire...
01:21Secondary Motives: Affiliation Motivation and Aggression Motivation
Affiliation motivation is the intrinsic desire to connect with others and belong to a social group, which plays a crucial role in forming and maintaining personal relationships. This type of motivation is essential for psychological well-being, as it provides individuals with a sense of community and support. An example of this is a student who joins a study group in order to feel a sense of connection. People with high affiliation motivation actively seek social approval, take satisfaction in...
01:28Conduct Disorder
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02:12Relationship Formation
What do you think is the single most influential factor in determining with whom you become friends and whom you form romantic relationships? You might be surprised to learn that the answer is simple: the people with whom you have the most contact. This most important factor is proximity. You are more likely to be friends with people you have regular contact with. For example, there are decades of research that shows that you are more likely to become friends with people who live in your dorm,...
02:09Bystander Effect
The discussion of bullying highlights the problem of witnesses not intervening to help a victim. This is a common occurrence, as the following well-publicized event demonstrates. In 1964, in Queens, New York, a 19-year-old woman named Kitty Genovese was attacked by a person with a knife near the back entrance to her apartment building and again in the hallway inside her apartment building. When the attack occurred, she screamed for help numerous times and eventually died from her stab wounds.