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. 2022 Sep;37(17-18):NP15095-NP15129.
doi: 10.1177/0886260521997949. Epub 2021 Mar 14.

Challenging the "'Mean Kid"' Perception: Boys' and Girls' Profiles of Peer Victimization and Aggression from 4th to 10th Grades

Elizabeth Olivier  1   2 , Alexandre J S Morin  1   2 , Frank Vitaro  3 , Benoit Galand  4
Affiliations

Challenging the "'Mean Kid"' Perception: Boys' and Girls' Profiles of Peer Victimization and Aggression from 4th to 10th Grades

Elizabeth Olivier et al. J Interpers Violence. 2022 Sep.

Abstract

Student involvement in peer aggression is assumed to include the uninvolved, victims, aggressors, and victim-aggressor groups. Yet, evidence supporting this four-group configuration is equivocal. Although most studies report the four groups, several of the aggressor groups could have been labeled as moderate victim-aggressors. This study first reviews studies identifying subgroups of students involved in verbal, relational, and physical aggression. The study then assesses students' perceived involvement in elementary (n = 2,071; Grades 4-6) and secondary school (n = 1,832; Grades 7-10), as well as the associations with outcomes (school belonging, depressive thoughts, and perceived school violence). Latent profile analysis identified three profiles (uninvolved, victim-only, and victim-aggressor) across all grades and genders. In primary school, the uninvolved, victim, and victim-aggressor respectively included 54.56%, 37.51%, and 7.83% of the girls, and 44.23%, 31.92%, and 23.85% of the boys. In secondary school, the uninvolved, victim, and victim-aggressor respectively included 80.16%, 14.93% and 4.91% of the girls, and 64.31%, 22.95% and 12.74% of the boys. Victims and victim-aggressors reported poorer adjustment than uninvolved students. Victims and victim-aggressors reported lower levels of school belonging and higher levels of depressive thoughts than uninvolved students. Also, victim-aggressors perceived more violence in their school than victims and uninvolved students, and victims perceived more violence than uninvolved students. These findings question the existence of an aggressor-only profile, at least, according to student perception, suggesting the need for a new perspective when intervening with students involved in peer aggression.

Keywords: bullying; latent profile analysis; peer aggression; perpetrators; victims.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Most similar three profile latent profile solution in the elementary and secondary school samples.
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