ABSTRACT
Exploring the life trajectories of those who bully and those who are targeted by bullying behaviour offers new insights in understanding and addressing the phenomenon of persistent bullying. In relation to those who bully, are victimized or desist, distinct trajectories have been identified. For victims, these trajectories include:
• non-victims: low levels of victimization • desisters: high levels of victimization which decrease over time • late onset: victimization increases over time • stable victims: high levels of victimization over time
(Goldbaum, Craig, Pepler & Connolly 2003)
As previously noted, similar trajectories were found among those who bully (Pepler et al. 2008):
• starts low and increases • starts moderate and desists • starts moderate and remains moderate (persistent) • starts high and remains high (persistent)
Interestingly, of the 871 children involved in Pepler et al.’s (2008) study, 41.6 per cent reported almost never bullying; 35.1 per cent reported bullying at consistently moderate levels; 9.9 per cent reported consistently high levels of bullying; and 13.4 per cent reported moderate levels in adolescence but had desisted to almost no bullying at the end of high school. What are the turning points that influence these
trajectories? While turning points have been considered in relation to the concept of resilience (Johnson & Howard 2007), various elements underpinning this theory can be applied to bullying. Therefore, this chapter aims to highlight the turning points and chain reactions in the lives of the young people who have been the focus of this book.
