1. Bullies have feelings too: The role of empathy and self-esteem on bullying Jessica Peterson and Casey Dwyer Advisor: Ellen S. Cohn, Ph.D.
Introduction
Results
Discussion
Support for Our Hypothesis
Prior research has found that empathy was negatively associated with bullying, regardless of gender. However, we found that empathy is significantly positively correlated with bullying in males.
In females, lower self-reported levels of self-esteem were correlated with higher levels of bullying.
In females, although not significant, empathy was positively correlated with bullying.
Implications
Consistent with prior research6, we found that self-esteem was linked to higher levels of bullying and the correlation between high empathy and low levels of bullying4
Although not significant, the positive correlation between empathy and bullying seen in females contradicts previous research, which states that empathy was negatively associated with bullying3
These findings suggest the possible need to evaluate how empathy is utilized in males. While many assume that empathy is a pro-social trait, this suggests that this may not always be the case
Limitations
The NHYS is a self-report survey, so participants are vulnerable to the self-report bias
The study was conducted in New Hampshire, which limits the diversity of the sample
The survey neglected to differentiate between cognitive and affective empathy, which past research has done
Future Directions
Differentiate between cognitive and affective empathy
Study the reasons why people bully, get at the reasons behind why males higher in empathy tend to bully
1Byrne, H., Dooley, B., Fitzgerald, A., & Dolphin, L. (2015). Adolescents’ definitions of bullying: The contribution of age, gender, and experience of bullying. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 31(3), doi: / s
2Jolliffe, D., & Farrington, D. P. (2006). Examining the relationship between low empathy and bullying. Aggressive Behavior, 32(6), doi: /ab
3Mitsopoulou, E., & Giovazolias, T. (2015). Personality traits, empathy and bullying behavior: A meta-analytic approach. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 21, doi: /j.avb
4Noorden, T. H., Haselager, G. J., Cillessen, A. H., & Bukowski, W. M. (2015). Empathy and involvement in bullying in children and adolescents: A systematic review. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(3), doi: s
5S. (2013, September 13). Facts About Bullying. Retrieved April 16, 2017, from
6Simon, J. B., Nail, P. R., Swindle, T., Bihm, E. M., & Joshi, K. (2016). Defensive egotism and self-esteem: A cross-cultural examination of the dynamics of bullying in middle school. Self and Identity, 16(3), doi: /
Bullying
About 49% of children in grades 4-12 reported being bullied by other students at school at least once during the past month5
Adolescents’ definition of bullying differs, with younger students describing the nature of bullying as mean, while older students display a heightened awareness of the feelings associated with being a victim of bullying1
Empathy
Highly empathetic individuals are less likely to bully others4
Low empathy is related to violent bullying in males and to indirect bullying by females2
Self-Esteem
Low levels of self-esteem are associated with bullying behavior, while high levels of self-esteem are associated with defending bulled victims6
Figure 1. Standardized predictors of bullying behavior in males.
Self-Esteem
Empathy
Bullying
.189*
-.106
R2 =.029
F = 3.743
p = .025
Hypotheses
Hypothesis 1: Self-esteem and empathy will be negatively correlated with bullying in males.
Hypothesis 2: Self-esteem and empathy will be negatively correlated with bullying in females.
Method
Figure 2. Standardized predictors of bullying behavior in females.
Our data comes from the New Hampshire Youth Study (NHYS), a longitudinal study focusing on the reasons for adolescents’ rule violating behavior. Data presented was collected over the course of two years.
Spring of 2007 (T2)
Spring of 2009 (T3)
Participants
N = % female, 38.4% male
Measures
Empathy (T2)
Asked participants to rate how much they agree with a statement on a scale of 0 (strongly disagree) to 3 (strongly agree)
Other people’s sadness does not disturb me too much.
Mean = (SD = .644) Cronbach’s alpha = .739
Self-esteem (T2)
Most people do not realize how easily they can hurt my feelings.
Mean = (SD = .630) Cronbach’s alpha = .777
Bullying (T3)
Asked participants to rate on a scale of 0 – 6+
During the past 30 days, how many times did you call a kid from your school a bad name?
Mean = .326 (SD = .614) Cronbach’s alpha = .856
Self Esteem
Empathy
Bullying
R2 = .033
F = 7.112
p = .001
-.121*
.012
References
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