The Effects Of Children’s Power Motivation,Peer Status,and Classroom Structure On Bullying And Victimization

School bullying,one of the worldwide public health problems,is prevalent in primary and secondary schools and exerts a considerably negative impact on students,schools,and the whole society.Thus,it is essential to identify the risk factors and underlying mechanisms of bullying,as well as to conduct antibullying interventions.Bullying is a goal-directed behavior in the context of power imbalance.Its main motivation is to acquire the social dominance position in the peer group.When the social dominance goals are activated,individuals are prone to focus on the power-or status-related cues（e.g.,peer status of bullies and victimization）and evaluate the accessibility of achieving their goals.Classroom status hierarchy which reflects the distribution of status and power in the peer group relates to the costs and benefits of bullying.Therefore,classroom status hierarchy might influence the bullying behavior and responses to the victimization of social dominance goal-aspiring children.Moreover,this study also focused on the effects of classroom size and classroom gender distribution.This dissertation aimed to investigate the effect of power motivation（i.e.,social dominance gorals）and classroom structure（i.e.,classroom size,classroom gender distribution,and classroom status hierarchy）on bullying,victimization,and responses to victimization from middle to late childhood with a 3-wave longitudinal design.The specific research questions include:（1）the transactional associations between social dominance goals,peer status,bullying,and victimization;（2）how classroom status hierarchy influences the peer status of bullies and victims;（3）how and why classroom status hierarchy impacts on the longitudinal association between social dominance goals and bullying;and（4）how the victims’social dominance goals and classroom status hierarchy affect their response to bullying.The sample of this dissertation was 1,174 children attending grade 3(n=558,46.2%girls,M_age=9.33 years,SD=0.44)and grade 4(n=491,45.0%girls,M_age=10.31 years,SD=0.38)from 29 classes in 4 primary schools in Jinan and Tai’an.Three waves of data were collected in the spring semester of 2018,2019,and 2020.Social dominance goals and depressive symptoms were measured by self-report.Peer status（peer acceptance,rejection,and popularity）,bullying,and victimization were assessed via peer nominations.The standard deviation of the proportion score of popularity was computed within each classroom to reflect the classroom status hierarchy.Data analyses were conducted through a cross-lagged panel model and multi-level structural equation model.The main findings of this dissertation were as follows:（1）There were bidirectional associations between social dominance goals,peer status,bullying,and victimization.The social dominance goals predicted increases in peer rejection and boys’bullying behavior;a low level of peer acceptance and popularity led to increases in social dominance goals.Bullying behavior led to decreases in peer acceptance and increases in peer rejection.Victimization resulted in decreases in boys’peer acceptance and popularity,as well as increases in peer rejection;while low levels of peer acceptance and popularity and high level of peer rejection were associated with a high level of victimization.（2）Classroom gender distribution and status hierarchy moderated the longitudinal association between bullying and peer rejection.The positive longitudinal association between bullying and peer rejection was only found in the classrooms with a low proportion of boys and a low level of the status hierarchy,but not in the classrooms with a high proportion and a high level of status hierarchy.Classroom size led to decreases in bullying.（3）Classroom gender distribution and status hierarchy had an impact on the longitudinal association between social dominance goals and bullying.Children who endorse social dominance goals were more likely to bully others in the classrooms with a high proportion of boys and a clear hierarchy.Moreover,the social dominance-hungry children were more likely to reduce their empathy towards victims and develop that blaming victims attributions in the contexts with higher classroom status hierarchy,and low empathy towards victims,in turn,resulted in more bullying.（4）social dominance goals and classroom status hierarchy affected the way children respond to bullying victimization.Compared to their counterparts,the social dominance-aspiring children in the classroom with clear hierarchy were more likely to engage in relational aggression in response to bullying victimization.Furthermore,social dominance goals and classroom status hierarchy did not moderate the effect of bullying victimization on depressive symptoms and physical aggression.The results of this dissertation highlight the goal-directness of bullying and the role of peer interaction in the development of bullying and victimization.This dissertation also revealed how and why social dominance goals and classroom status hierarchy impacted bullying and the response of bullying victimization.According to these findings,the antibullying interventions need to pay attention to children with high social dominance goals,build egalitarian relationships among classmates,and facilitate social-emotional training for children.