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Beyond the Deficit Model: Bullying and Trajectories of Character Virtues in Adolescence

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Abstract

Previous work on peer victimization has focused primarily on academic outcomes and negative indicators of youth involved in bullying. Few studies have taken a strength-based approach to examine attributes associated with bullies and victims of bullying. As such, we examined developmental trajectories of moral, performance, and civic character components, and their links to bully status using data from 713 youth (63 % female) who participated in Wave 3 (approximately Grade 7) through Wave 6 (approximately Grade 10) of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development. Latent growth curve analyses indicated that moral character was stable across waves, whereas civic character increased slightly by Wave 6. Trajectories for performance character varied; some youth alternatively displayed positive versus negative growth. Youth who reported bullying behavior reported lower initial levels of moral, performance, and civic character as compared to youth not involved in bullying. Bully–victims reported lower initial levels of moral and civic character as compared to youth not involved in bullying. Implications for future work examining character-related components in the context of peer victimization are discussed.

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Notes

  1. In this article, we use the term “character virtues,” and not “character strengths,” although the latter term has been used in the literature as well (e.g., see Lapsley and Narvaez 2006). However, in the PYD literature, strengths are defined as developmental assets (Benson et al. 2011), and we elected not to assume that the attributes of character we were assessing were strengths. We chose to test their empirical relationships with indicators of positive development.

  2. All analyses initially included tests for gender differences. None were found, and therefore we report no results linked to gender.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by grants from the National 4-H Council, the Altria Corporation, the Thrive Foundation for Youth, and the John Templeton Foundation.

Author contributions

L.J.H. conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, and drafted the manuscript; E.P.B. participated in the design, interpretation of the data, and writing of the manuscript; K.N.G. participated in the design and helped draft the manuscript; R.M.H. participated in the design and helped draft the manuscript; G.J.G. performed the statistical analysis and helped draft the manuscript; S.A.G. helped draft the manuscript; J.V.L. is the scientific director of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, helped conceive this article, and participated in the design; R.M.L. is the PI of the 4-H Study, helped conceive this article, and assisted in drafting the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, Tufts University, 309 Lincoln-Filene Building, Medford, MA, 02155, USA

    Lacey J. Hilliard, Edmond P. Bowers, Kathleen N. Greenman, Rachel M. Hershberg, Samantha A. Glickman & Richard M. Lerner

  2. Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA

    G. John Geldhof

  3. Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA

    Jacqueline V. Lerner

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  1. Lacey J. Hilliard
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Hilliard, L.J., Bowers, E.P., Greenman, K.N. et al. Beyond the Deficit Model: Bullying and Trajectories of Character Virtues in Adolescence. J Youth Adolescence 43, 991–1003 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-014-0094-y

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