Risk and Protective Factors for Patterns of Bullying Involvement in Middle School Students

Research has identified at least three patterns of direct involvement in bullying and victimization: bullying, bullying-victimized, and predominantly victimized. However, little is known about risk and protective factors for these patterns. As such, the goals of the present study were to establish these patterns and examine risk and protective factors. Participants were 775 middle school students in grades 5-8. Latent profile analysis revealed three groups: a bullying-victimized group (5.2%), a predominantly victimized group (8.9%), and an uninvolved group (85.9%). Emotion dysregulation and beliefs in support of aggression conferred risk for membership in the bullying-victimized group, whereas internalizing problems conferred risk for membership in the predominantly victimized group. One aspect of school culture - willingness to seek help - buffered risk for membership only in the bullying-victimized group. Given these differential patterns, researchers and practitioners may wish to further consider the utility of targeted interventions and treatments.