Measuring Bullying, Victimization, Perpetration, and Bystander ...

4
Future Considerations
Since the 1980s, researchers investigating bullying
have made a great deal of progress. The three
hallmarks of bullying are (a) aggressive behavior
(either physical or relational/verbal) that is (b)
repeated over time and (c) involves a real or
perceived imbalance of power or strength. All of
the bullying measures included in this compendium
assess the aggressive nature of the bullying behavior.
Many of the measures assess the frequency with
which these aggressive behaviors occur. Almost
none of the measures, however, address the power
differential in the relationship between a bully
and his or her victim. With the exception of those
measures that specifically define or reference
bullying, most of the measures in this compendium
could as likely be classified as assessing youth
violence and/or aggression as they are classified as
assessing bullying. Future measures of bullying need
to better assess the power differential between the
bully perpetrator and his or her victim.
Future measures also need to better assess
bullying of a sexual nature and bullying that
occurs electronically. Bullying has been defined
as physical or nonphysical bullying behavior
that is based on a person’s sexual life or gender.
Homophobic bullying, teasing, threats, harassment,
and assault based on negative beliefs, attitudes, and
stereotypes about gays and lesbians, is an example
of sexualized bullying that is prevalent among
adolescents but remains largely unstudied. Much of
the research on homophobic bullying focuses on
homosexual respondents (e.g., Rivers, 2001); less
research investigates its use among heterosexual
respondents, who are also likely victims of
homophobic bullying (e.g., Kimmel & Mahler, 2003).
Only one measure was identified for inclusion in the
compendium that assesses homophobic bullying.
It is estimated that more than 9 in 10 adolescents
use some form of online communication (Center
for the Digital Future, 2009), leading to increased
opportunities for youth to use and be exposed
to bullying online. This electronic aggression, or
cyberbullying, is typically defined as intentional
and repeated harm inflicted through the use of
computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices
(Hinduja & Patchin, 2009). Although research
indicates that adolescents are more likely to be
bullied in person rather than online (e.g., Li, 2007),
the effects of these online bullying experiences are
not trivial and are often similar to those associated
with in-person bullying (Hinduja & Patchin, 2009).
Only two measures of electronic aggression were
identified for inclusion in this compendium. Future
work is needed to expand our knowledge and
measurement of electronic aggression.
It is our hope that this document will provide a
starting point for researchers and others who are
interested in studying bullying behavior and serve
as a guide for developing future measures that can
assess all types of bullying behavior as well as the
interpersonal dynamics (e.g., power differentials)
that are so important when assessing bullying.