Copyright Malvin Porter, Jr. 2010 - acumen - The University of ...

Bullying often occurs within the context of an audience. Bullies may be attempting to try
to impress peers into becoming friends with the bully, to demonstrate power or camaraderie, or
to merely show off (Bare, 2006). Nonbully/nonvictim bystanders have a choice of how to
respond to bullying. They can take the side of the bully, side with the victim, or do nothing.
Other possibilities include attempting to diffuse or mediate the situation. Fights among children
are often mediated by a third child, who stops the fight (Ginsburg, 1977).
Some intervention efforts have included nonbully/nonvictim bystanders because of their
potential for changing the impact of the victimizing situation (Twemlow et al., 2001). One study
found mixed results in that having other people around when a child is being victimized sometimes
lessens the impact of bullying through mediation, other times increases its severity, or may have
little consequence (Tedeschi & Felson, 1994). Tedeschi and Felson (1994) found that a third party
may curtail the use of threats, lies, insults, and other negative actions by a bully. Interestingly,
Menesini et al. (1997) found that younger children were more likely to intervene in a bullying
situation than adolescents.
Peer Victimization (Also known as Peer Aggression)
Peer victimization is an act of aggression in which children are frequently targeted for
verbal and/or physical aggression, or other forms of abuse (Ladd, Kochenderfer, & Coleman,
1997). Research has found that peer victimization has negative outcomes on children’s
development over time (Kochenderfer Ladd & Ladd, 2001; Troup-Gordon & Ladd, 2005).
Children who are regularly victimized experience higher levels of mistrust toward peers,
undermined feelings of security and personal safety, peer rejection, depression, delinquency,
school avoidance, and dissatisfaction with school than their nonvictimized peers (Khatri,
Kupersmidt, & Patterson, 2000; Kochenderfer Ladd & Ladd, 1996; Ladd et al., 1997; Neary &
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