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Academic Competence for Adolescents Who Bully and Who Are Bullied: Findings From the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development

NCJ Number
228896
Journal
Journal of Early Adolescence Volume: 29 Issue: 6 Dated: December 2009 Pages: 862-897
Author(s)
Lang Ma; Erin Phelps; Jacqueline V. Lerner; Richard M. Lerner
Date Published
December 2009
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This study examined potential contextual and individual variables linked to academic competence in the context of bullying.
Abstract
Consistent with results from previous investigations, results of this study found that being a bully predicted lower academic competence. It revealed that the negative predictive effect of bullying on academic competence was retained even when the influences of demographic background and baseline academic competence were taken into account. In addition, results suggest that educational expectations and school engagement interacted in fostering academic competence for both bullies and victims. The findings of this research study highlight the importance of addressing academic competence in bullying interventions. School bullying has negative implications for adolescent academic competence, making it important to explore what factors promote such competence for adolescents who bully and who are bullied. This study consisted of data from 620 adolescents involved in a 2002 national longitudinal study (the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development) and explored whether contextual variables, such as parent support, teacher support, and peer support, and individual variables, such as educational expectations and school engagement, promoted academic competence among adolescents who were bullies and victims. Figures, tables, and references