Description
School bullying occurs in a social context. Some children might perpetrate, assist or defend against bullying, but we need to consider their wider social bonds. Theories of homophily, peer learning and social identity suggest that children are like their friends, behave in similar ways, and protect their close friendships. The aim of this paper is to examine reciprocity and quality of friendships in relation to bullying roles.Participants were 286 children (age 7-11) attending four primary schools in England. They completed questionnaires about their friends and best friend in their class, and friendship quality with their identified best friend. Children then completed a peer nomination activity for various bullying roles in their class.
Children’s perpetrator and defender nominations were positively associated with number of friends. Perpetrator nominations were positively correlated with best friend nominations for perpetrator, assistant and bystander. Number of defender nominations was significantly different based on reciprocity of friendships, and children with fully reciprocated friendships reported higher levels of being defended. There was a positive association between friendship quality and self-reports of being defended. Most children who reported being defended were defended by their best friend, and there was higher friendship quality in children defended by their best friend.
Results show that children’s reciprocal friendships and the quality of these are aligned with their peer group roles. Perpetrators have friends that are often in shared or complementary roles, and defending is more likely within good quality reciprocal best friendships.
Implications for nurturing good quality reciprocal friendships as a way of increasing peer defending against bullying will be discussed.
| Period | 12 Jun 2025 |
|---|---|
| Event title | World Anti-Bullying Forum |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Stavanger, NorwayShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |