Bullies and Victims in the Peer Ecology: Four Questions for Psychologists and School Professionals

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to synthesize recent work on aggression and victimization in educational settings from an ecological perspective. Four questions directed towards school psychologists and bullying researchers guide this review: (a) How do bullies fit into their peer ecologies? (b) How do victims fit into their peer ecologies? (c) How can teachers impact bullying and victimization? (d) How can parents impact bullying and victimization? Our goal is to encourage school service professionals, prevention and intervention researchers, developers of antibullying curricula, and child development researchers to consider the implications of these questions as part of their effort to confront victimization and understand its contextual roots.