Citation

Ma L, Phelps E, Lerner JV, Lerner RM. J. Early Adolesc. 2009; 29(6): 862-897.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0272431609332667

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

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. Potential contextual and individual variables linked to academic competence were examined in the context of bullying. Data were derived from the Grades 5 and 6 of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, a national longitudinal investigation of adolescents in the United States that began in 2002. Longitudinal random effects hierarchical regression analyses with a subsample of 620 adolescents indicated that being a bully negatively impacted academic competence beyond demographic background, including sex and maternal education, and prior year academic competence. Concurrent random effects hierarchical regression analyses of a subsample of 250 adolescents suggested that educational expectations and school engagement interacted in fostering academic competence for bullies and victims. These findings highlight the importance of addressing academic competence in bullying interventions.