Bullying, Victimization, and Sexual Harassment During the Transition to Middle School

TLDR

Bullying—physical, verbal, relational, or sexual—escalates during the transition to middle school, yet research and policy have largely ignored the underlying social dynamics of school organization and peer groups. The study argues that school‑ and peer‑level factors jointly drive bullying, victimization, and sexual harassment, and proposes future research directions to inform policy. Adolescents’ search for status and new social roles during the transition to middle school motivates aggression, and adults in schools also play a direct or indirect role in perpetrating these acts.

Abstract

Abstract Bullying, in the form of physically, verbally, relationally, or sexually aversive behaviors, increases as youngsters make the transition to middle school. To date, however, policy and research in education and educational psychology has attended only minimally to the social dynamics of school organization or peer groups that may underlie this crisis. We argue that a combination of school- and peer-level factors contribute to bullying, victimization, and sexual harassment. We suggest that adolescents' exploration of new social roles and their quest for status among peers are factors motivating aggression, especially as students make the transition from primary to middle school. More disturbing, and less studied, is the finding that adults in schools have a hand, either directly or indirectly, in perpetrating these acts. Suggestions for future research to guide policy are made.