Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
J Youth Adolesc. 2011 Sep;40(9):1106-17. doi: 10.1007/s10964-011-9684-0. Epub 2011 Jun 12.
The transition to middle school is considered to be a heightened period for involvement in bullying because the lack of a defined dominance hierarchy is thought to promote jockeying for social positions among students. Accordingly, this study examined bullying in peer ecologies at the beginning of the middle grade years in rural schools that did and did not have a transition to middle school. Thirty-six schools (20 with transitions, 16 without transitions) participated in this research with a sample of 1,800 participants (52% female) who were in sixth grade during the second year of data collection. Overall, 67% were White, 19% African American, 7% Latino, 2% Native American, and 5% other (multi-racial, Asian, unknown). Compared to schools without a transition, schools with a transition had fewer bullies following the move from fifth to sixth grade and the social dynamics in schools with a transition appeared to be less supportive of bullying. Further, students in schools with a transition reported being bullied less frequently in sixth grade and they perceived the sixth grade peer ecology as being more protective against bullying than did students in schools without a transition. In addition, proportionally more youth had controversial sociometric status in schools without a transition during sixth grade than in schools with a transition. Collectively, these findings suggest that risk for involvement in bullying may be elevated in schools that do not have a transition to middle school. They also bring into question the conventional view of the small K-8 or K-12 rural school as a peaceful and supportive peer community.
从小学升入中学被认为是欺凌行为高发期，因为缺乏明确的主导地位层级结构被认为会促进学生为争取社会地位而相互竞争。因此，本研究考察了在有和没有中学过渡的农村学校的初中年级初期的同伴生态系统中的欺凌行为。36 所学校（20 所具有过渡，16 所没有过渡）参与了这项研究，样本中有 1800 名参与者（52%为女性），他们在数据收集的第二年的六年级。总体而言，67%是白人，19%是非裔美国人，7%是拉丁裔，2%是美洲原住民，5%是其他种族（多种族、亚洲人、未知）。与没有过渡的学校相比，从五年级过渡到六年级后，具有过渡的学校中的欺凌者较少，并且学校的社会动态似乎不太支持欺凌行为。此外，具有过渡的学校的学生在六年级时被欺凌的频率较低，他们认为六年级的同伴生态系统比没有过渡的学校更能保护他们免受欺凌。此外，在六年级时，没有过渡的学校中具有争议性社会计量地位的青年比例高于具有过渡的学校。总的来说，这些发现表明，在没有过渡到中学的学校中，参与欺凌行为的风险可能更高。它们也使传统的小 K-8 或 K-12 农村学校作为一个和平和支持性的同伴社区的观点受到质疑。
