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ERIC Number: EJ1478673
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Aug
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0961-205X
EISSN: EISSN-1467-9507
Available Date: 2025-05-19
Rejection or Tolerance of Bullies: The Roles of Descriptive, Injunctive, and Popularity Norms
Social Development, v34 n3 e12806 2025
Using data from a large sample of students (N = 1373; 40% girls; M[subscript age] = 14 years) from 54 classrooms, this study examines how multiple coexisting classroom norms--specifically, descriptive, injunctive, and popularity norms--independently and interactively shape the association between bullying behavior and peer rejection during early adolescence. First, a latent profile analysis identified three subtypes within the popular group: a popularity reference group (48%), a defending popularity group (31%), and a bullying popularity group (21%). Second, a systematic comparison within a multilevel framework revealed that injunctive norms (classroom-level anti-bullying attitudes) and defending popularity norms (classroom-level defending behavior among defending-popular peers) exert a stronger influence on peer rejection of bullying behavior than either descriptive norms (classroom-level average bullying behavior) or bullying popularity norms (classroom-level bullying behavior among bullying-popular peers). Additionally, the impact of defending popularity norms on peer rejection of bullying behavior was maximized in classrooms with strong collective anti-bullying attitudes (injunctive norms). These findings underscore the importance of anti-bullying interventions harnessing the influence of both majority and minority student groups within the classroom.
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305B220021
Department of Education Funded: Yes
Author Affiliations: 1Department of Education, University of California, Los Angeles, USA