The Meaningful Roles Intervention: An Evolutionary Approach to Reducing Bullying and Increasing Prosocial Behavior

Journal of Research on Adolescence

Volumn 26, Issue 4, 2016, Pages 622-637

  Ellis, Bruce J ^a   Volk, Anthony A ^b   Gonzalez, Jose Michael ^a   Embry, Dennis D ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA   (United States)

^b BROCK UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

^c PAXIS Institute   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ADOLESCENT; BULLYING; EVOLUTION; HUMAN; PEER GROUP; SCHOOL; SOCIAL BEHAVIOR;

ADOLESCENT; BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION; BULLYING; HUMANS; PEER GROUP; SCHOOLS; SOCIAL BEHAVIOR;

EID: 84952360835     PISSN: 10508392     EISSN: 15327795     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/jora.12243     Document Type: Article

References (92)

1. Allen, J. P., Philliber, S., Herrling, S., & Kuperminc, G. P. (1997). Preventing teen pregnancy and academic failure: Experimental evaluation of a developmentally based approach. Child Development, 68, 729–742. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1997.tb04233.x
2. American Psychological Association Zero Tolerance Task Force. (2008). Are zero tolerance policies effective in the schools? An evidentiary review and recommendations. American Psychologist, 63, 852–862. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.63.9.852
3. Anderson, C. M., & Kincaid, D. (2005). Applying behavior analysis to school violence and discipline problems: Schoolwide positive behavior support. The Behavior Analyst, 28, 49–63. PMCID:PMC2755344
4. Ashton, M. C., Lee, K., & de Vries, R. E. (2014). The HEXACO Honesty-Humility, Agreeableness, and Emotionality Factors: A review of research and theory. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 18, 139–152. doi:10.1177/1088868314523838
5. Barker, R. G., & Gump, P. V. (1964). Big school, small school: High school size and student behavior. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
6. Barrish, H. H., Saunders, M., & Wolf, M. M. (1969). Good behavior game: Effects of individual contingencies for group consequences on disruptive behavior in a classroom. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2, 119–124. doi:10.1901/jaba.1969.2-119
7. Biglan, A., Flay, B. R., Embry, D. D., & Sandler, I. N. (2012). The critical role of nurturing environments for promoting human well-being. American Psychologist, 67, 257–271. doi:10.1037/a0026796
8. Blum, R. (2005). School connectedness: Improving students' lives. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
9. Book, A. S., Volk, A. A., & Hosker, A. (2012). Adolescent bullying and personality: An adaptive approach. Personality and Individual Differences, 52, 218–223. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2011.10.028
10. Briggs, J. L. (1970). Never in anger. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
11. Caravita, S. C. S., Di Blasio, P., & Salmivalli, C. (2009). Unique and interactive effects of empathy and social status on involvement in bullying. Social Development, 18, 140–163. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2008.00465.x
12. Catalano, R. F., Berglund, M. L., Ryan, J. A., Lonczak, H. S., & Hawkins, J. D. (2004). Positive youth development in the United States: Research findings on evaluations of positive youth development programs. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 591, 98–124. doi:10.1037/1522-3736.5.1.515a
13. Celio, C. I., Durlak, J. A., & Dyminicki, A. (2011). Helping others and helping oneself: A meta-analysis of service-learning programs. Journal of Experiential Learning, 3, 164–181.
14. Cihak, D. F., Kirk, E. R., & Boon, R. T. (2009). Effects of classwide positive peer “tootling” to reduce the disruptive classroom behaviors of elementary students with and without disabilities. Journal of Behavioral Education, 18, 267–278. doi:10.1007/s10864-009-9091-8
15. Ciucci, E., & Baroncelli, A. (2014). The emotional core of bullying: Further evidence of the role of callous–unemotional traits and empathy. Personality and Individual Differences, 67, 69–74. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2013.09.033
16. Connolly, J., Pepler, D., Craig, W., & Taradash, A. (2000). Dating experiences of bullies in early adolescence. Child Maltreatment, 5, 299–310. doi:10.1177/1077559500005004002
17. Copeland, W. E., Wolke, D., Angold, A., & Costello, E. J. (2013). Adult psychiatric outcomes of bullying and being bullied by peers in childhood and adolescence. JAMA Psychiatry, 70, 419–426. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.504
18. Copeland, W. E., Wolke, D., Lereya, S. T., Shanahan, L., Worthman, C., & Costello, E. J. (2014). Childhood bullying involvement predicts low-grade systemic inflammation into adulthood. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111, 7570–7575. doi:10.1073/pnas.1323641111
19. Craig, W. M., & Pepler, D. J. (1998). Observations of bullying and victimization in the school yard. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 13, 41–59.
20. Cunningham, H. (2005). Children and childhood in Western society since 1500 (2nd ed.). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
21. Daly, M., & Wilson, M. (1988). Homicide. Mahwah, NJ: Aldine Transaction.
22. Daly, M., Wilson, M., & Vasdev, S. (2001). Income inequality and homicide rates in Canada and the United States. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 43, 219–236.
23. Dishion, T. J., Spracklen, K. M., Andrews, D. W., & Patterson, G. R. (1996). Deviancy training in male adolescent friendships. Behavior Therapy, 27, 373–390. doi:10.1016/S0005-7894(96)80023-2
24. Dodge, K. A., Price, J. M., Coie, J. D., & Christopoulos, C. (1990). On the development of aggressive dyadic relationships in boys' peer groups. Human Development, 33, 260–270. doi:10.1159/000276523
25. Due, P., Holstein, B. E., Lynch, J., Diderichesen, F., Gabhain, S. N., Scheidt, P., & Currie, C. (2005). Bullying and symptoms among school-aged children: International comparative cross sectional study in 28 countries. European Journal of Public Health, 15, 128–132. doi:10.1093/eurpub/cki105
26. Ellis, B. J., Del Giudice, M., Dishion, T. J., Figueredo, A. J., Gray, P., Griskevicius, V., … Wilson, D. S. (2012). The evolutionary basis of risky adolescent behavior: Implications for science, policy, and practice. Developmental Psychology, 48, 598–623. doi:10.1037/a0026220
27. Embry, D. D., Flannery, D. J., Vazsonyi, A. T., Powell, K. E., & Atha, H. (1996). PeaceBuilders: A theoretically driven, school-based model for early violence prevention. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 12, 91–100.
28. Espelage, D. L. (2013). Why are bully prevention programs failing in U.S. schools? Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, 10, 121–124. doi:10.1080/15505170.2013.849629
29. Estell, D. B., Farmer, T. W., & Cairns, B. D. (2007). Bullies and victims in rural African American youth: Behavioral characteristics and social network placement. Aggressive Behavior, 33, 145–159. doi:10.1002/ab.20176
30. Faris, R., & Felmlee, D. (2011). Status struggles: Network centrality and gender segregation in same-and cross-gender aggression. American Sociological Review, 76, 48-73. doi:10.1177/0003122410396196.
31. Farrell, A. H., Della Cioppa, V., Volk, A. A., & Book, A. S. (2014). Predicting bullying heterogeneity with the HEXACO Model of personality. International Journal of Advances in Psychology, 3, 30–39. doi:10.14355/ijap.2014.0302.02
32. Flannery, D. J., Vazsonyi, A. T., Liau, A. K., Guo, S., Powell, K. E., Atha, H., Vesterdal, W., & Embry, D. (2003). Initial behavior outcomes for the PeaceBuilders universal school-based violence prevention program. Developmental Psychology, 39, 292–308. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.39.2.292
33. Frazier, K. N. (2011). Academic bullying: A barrier to tenure and promotion for African-American faculty. Florida Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 5, 1–13.
34. Garandeau, C. F., Lee, I. A., & Salmivalli, C. (2014). Differential effects of the KiVa anti-bullying program on popular and unpopular bullies. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 35, 44–50. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2013.10.004
35. Gini, G., Pozzoli, T., & Hauser, M. (2011). Bullies have enhanced moral competence to judge relative to victims, but lack moral compassion. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 603–608. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2010.12.002
36. Hawker, D. S., & Boulton, M. J. (2000). Twenty years research on peer victimization and psychosocial maladjustment: A meta-analytical view of cross-sectional studies. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41, 441–455. doi:10.1111/1469-7610.00629
37. Hawley, P. H. (1999). The ontogenesis of social dominance: A strategy-based evolutionary perspective. Developmental Review, 19, 97–132. doi:10.1006/drev.1998.0470
38. Hong, J. S., & Espelage, D. L. (2012). A review of research on bullying and peer victimization in school: An ecological systems analysis. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 17, 311–322. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2012.03.003
39. Ialongo, N., Poduska, J., Werthamer, L., & Kellam, S. (2001). The distal impact of two-first-grade preventive interventions on conduct problems and disorder in early adolescence. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 9, 146–160. doi:10.1177/106342660100900301
40. Juvonen, J., Graham, S., & Schuster, M. A. (2003). Bullying among young adolescents: The strong, the weak, and the troubled. Pediatrics, 112, 1231–1237. doi:10.1542/peds.112.6.1231
41. Juvonen, J., Wang, Y., & Espinoza, G. (2011). Bullying experiences and compromised academic performance across middle school grades. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 31, 152–173. doi:10.1177/0272431610379415
42. Kellam, S. G., Wang, W., Mackenzie, A. C., Brown, C. H., Ompad, D. C., Or, F., … Windham, A. (2014). The impact of the Good Behavior Game, a universal classroom-based preventive intervention in first and second grades, on high-risk sexual behaviors and drug abuse and dependence disorders into young adulthood. Prevention Science, 15, 6–18. doi:10.1007/s11121-012-0296-z
43. Koh, J.-B., & Wong, J. S. (2015). Survival of the fittest and sexiest: Evolutionary origins of adolescent bullying. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/0886260515593546
44. Kolbert, J. B., & Crothers, L. (2003). Bullying and evolutionary psychology: The dominance hierarchy among students and implications for school personnel. Journal of School Violence, 2, 73–91. doi:10.1300/J202v02n03_05
45. Krug, E. G., Brener, N. D., Dahlberg, L. L., Ryan, G. W., & Powell, K. E. (1997). The impact of an elementary school-based violence prevention program on visits to the school nurse. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 13, 459–463. PMID:9415793
46. Lee, C. H. (2011). An ecological systems approach to bullying behaviors among middle school students in the United States. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26, 1664–1693.
47. Lewis, G. J., & Bates, T. C. (2014). How genes influence personality: Evidence from multi-facet twin analyses of the HEXACO dimensions. Journal of Research in Personality, 51, 9–17.
48. Magidson, J. F., Roberts, B. W., Collado-Rodriguez, A., & Lejuez, C. W. (2014). Theory-driven intervention for changing personality: Expectancy value theory, behavioral activation, and conscientiousness. Developmental Psychology, 50, 1442–1450. doi:10.1037/a0030583
49. Mayer, G. R., Sulzer-Azaroff, B., & Wallace, M. (2012). Behavior analysis for lasting change (2nd ed.). Corwnall-on-Hudson, NY: Sloan.
50. Merrell, K. W., Gueldner, B. A., Ross, S. W., & Isava, D. M. (2008). How effective are school bullying intervention programs? A meta-analysis of intervention research. School Psychology Quarterly, 23, 26–42. doi:10.1037/1045-3830.23.1.26
51. Mynard, H., & Joseph, S. (1997). Bully/victim problems and their association with Eysenck's personality dimensions in 8 to 13 year-olds. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 67, 51–54. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8279.1997.tb01226.x
52. Nansel, T., Overpeck, M., Pilla, R. S., Simons-Morton, B., & Scheidt, P. (2001). Bullying behaviors among US youth: Prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment. Journal of the American Medical Association, 285, 2094–2100. doi:10.1001/jama.285.16.2094
53. Nolle, K. L., Guerino, P., & Dinkes, R. (2007). Crime, violence, discipline, and safety in U.S. Public schools: Findings from the School Survey on Crime and Safety: 2005–06 (NCES 2007–361). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
54. van Noorden, T. H., Haselager, G. J., Cillessen, A. H., & Bukowski, W. M. (2015). Empathy and involvement in bullying in children and adolescents: A systematic review. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44, 637–657. doi:10.1007/s10964-014-0135-6
55. Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
56. Olweus, D. (2005). A useful evaluation design, and effects of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. Psychology, Crime and Law, 11, 389–402. doi:10.1080/10683160500255471
57. Pellegrini, A. D. (2001). The roles of dominance and bullying in the development of early heterosexual relationships. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 2, 63–73. doi:10.1300/J135v02n02_05
58. Reijntjes, A., Vermande, M., Olthof, T., Goossens, F. A., van de Schoot, R., Aleva, L., & van der Meulen, M. (2013). Costs and benefits of bullying in the context of the peer group: A three wave longitudinal analysis. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41, 1217–1229. doi:10.1007/s10802-013-9759-3
59. Rigby, K. (2012). Bullying in schools: Addressing desires, not only behaviours. Educational Psychology Review, 24, 339–348. doi:10.1007/s10648-012-9196-9
60. Roland, E. (2011). The broken curve: Effects of the Norwegian manifesto against bullying. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 35, 383–388. doi:10.1177/0165025411407454
61. Rutter, M., Maughan, B., Mortimore, P., & Ouston, J. (1979). Fifteen thousand hours: Secondary schools and their effects on children. London, UK: Open Books.
62. Salmivalli, C. (2010). Bullying and the peer group: A review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15, 112–120. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2009.08.007
63. Salmivalli, C., Kärnä, A., & Poskiparta, E. (2010). From peer putdowns to peer support: A theoretical model and how it translated into a national anti-bullying program. In S. R. Jimerson, S. M. Swearer, & D. L. Espelage (Eds.), Handbook of bullying in schools: An international perspective (pp. 441–454). New York, NY: Routledge.
64. Salmivalli, C., Poskiparta, E., Ahtola, A., & Haataja, A. (2013). The implementation and effectiveness of the KiVa antibullying program in Finland. European Psychologist, 18, 79–88. doi:10.1027/1016-9040/a000140
65. Schlegel, A., & Barry, H., III (1991). Adolescence: An anthropological inquiry. New York, NY: Free Press.
66. Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Smith, V., Zaidman-Zait, A., & Hertzman, C. (2012). Promoting children's prosocial behaviours in school: Impact of the “Roots of Empathy” program on the social and emotional competence of school-aged children. School Mental Health, 4, 1–12. doi:10.1007/s12310-011-9064-7
67. Schreier, H. M., Schonert-Reichl, K. A., & Chen, E. (2013). Effect of volunteering on risk factors for cardiovascular disease in adolescents: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA Pediatrics, 167, 327–332. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.1100
68. Sentse, M., Kiuru, N., Veenstra, R., & Salmivalli, C. (2014). A social network approach to the interplay between adolescents' bullying and likeability over time. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43, 1409–1420. doi:10.1007/s10964-014-0129-4
69. Sijtsema, J. J., Veenstra, R., Lindenberg, S., & Salmivalli, C. (2009). Empirical test of bullies' status goals: Assessing direct goals, aggression, and prestige. Aggressive Behavior, 35, 57–67. doi:10.1002/ab.20282
70. Skinner, C. H., Cashwell, T. H., & Skinner, A. L. (2000). Increasing tootling: The effects of a peer-monitored group contingency program on students' reports of peers' prosocial behaviors. Psychology in the Schools, 37, 263–270. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1520-6807(200005)37:3<263::AID-PITS6>3.0.CO;2-C
71. Smith, J. D., Schneider, B. H., Smith, P. K., & Ananiadou, K. (2004). The effectiveness of whole-school antibullying programs: A synthesis of evaluation research. School Psychology Review, 33, 547–560.
72. Sourander, A., Jensen, P., Rönning, J. A., Niemelä, S., Helenius, H., Sillanmäki, L., … Almqvist, F. (2007). What is the early adulthood outcome of boys who bully or are bullied in childhood? The Finnish “From a Boy to a Man” study. Pediatrics, 120, 397–404. doi:10.1542/peds.2006-2704
73. Srabstein, J. C., McCarter, R. J., Shao, C., & Huang, Z. J. (2006). Morbidities associated with bullying behaviors in adolescents: School based study of American adolescents. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 18, 587–596. doi:10.1515/IJAMH.2006.18.4.587
74. Sutton, J., Smith, P. K., & Swettenham, J. (1999). Bullying and theory of mind: A critique of the social skills deficit view of antisocial behavior. Social Development, 8, 117–127. doi:10.1111/1467-9507.00083
75. Tippett, N., & Wolke, D. (2014). Socioeconomic status and bullying: A meta-analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 104, e48–e59. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2014.301960
76. Ttofi, M. M., & Farrington, D. P. (2011). Effectiveness of school-based programs to reduce bullying: A systematic and meta-analytic review. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 7, 27–56. doi:10.1007/s11292-010-9109-1
77. Turnbull, C. M. (1972). The mountain people. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
78. Vaillancourt, T., Hymel, S., & McDougall, P. (2003). Bullying is power: Implications for school-based intervention strategies. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 19, 157–176. doi:10.1300/J008v19n02_10
79. Veenstra, R., Lindenberg, S., Munniksma, A., & Dijkstra, J. K. (2010). The complex relation between bullying, victimization, acceptance, and rejection: Giving special attention to status, affection, and sex differences. Child Development, 81, 480–486. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01411.x
80. Veenstra, R., Lindenberg, S., Oldehinkel, A. J., De Winter, A. F., Verhulst, F. C., & Ormel, J. (2005). Bullying and victimization in elementary schools: A comparison of bullies, victims, bully/victims, and uninvolved preadolescents. Developmental Psychology, 41, 672–682. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.41.4.672
81. Veenstra, R., Lindenberg, S., Zijlstra, B. J. H., De Winter, A. F., Verhulst, F. C., & Ormel, J. (2007). The dyadic nature of bullying and victimization. Child Development, 78, 1843–1854. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01102.x
82. Volk, A., Camilleri, J., Dane, A., & Marini, Z. (2012a). If, when, and why bullying is adaptive. In T. Shackelford, & V. Shackelford (Eds.), Oxford handbook of evolutionary perspectives on violence, homicide, and war (pp. 270–290). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
83. Volk, A., Camilleri, J., Dane, A., & Marini, Z. (2012b). Is adolescent bullying an evolutionary adaptation? Aggressive Behavior, 38, 222–238. doi:10.1002/ab.21418
84. Volk, A. A., Dane, A. V., & Marini, Z. A. (2014). What is bullying? A theoretical redefinition. Developmental Review, 34, 327–343. doi:10.1016/j.dr.2014.09.001
85. Volk, A. A., Dane, A. V., Marini, Z. A., & Vaillancourt, T. (2015). Bullying, dating, and sexual behavior. Evolutionary Psychology. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/1474704915613909
86. Wang, J., Iannotti, R. J., & Nansel, T. R. (2009). School bullying among adolescents in the United States: Physical, verbal, relational, and cyber. Journal of Adolescent Health, 45, 368–375. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.03.021
87. Wheatley, R. K., West, R. P., Charlton, C. T., Sanders, R. B., Smith, T. G., & Taylor, M. J. (2009). Improving behavior through differential reinforcement: A praise note system for elementary school students. Education and Treatment of Children, 32, 551–571. doi:10.1353/etc.0.0071
88. Wilson, D. S., Hayes, S. C., Biglan, A., & Embry, D. D. (2014). Evolving the future: Toward a science of intentional change. The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 37, 395–460. doi:10.1017/S0140525X13001593
89. Wolke, D., & Lereya, S. T. (2015). Long-term effects of bullying. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 100, 879–885. doi:10.1136/archdischild-2014-306667
90. Wolke, D., Woods, S., Bloomfield, L., & Karstadt, L. (2001). Bullying involvement in primary school and common health problems. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 85, 197–201. doi:10.1136/adc.85.3.197
91. Ybarra, M. L., Espelage, D. L., & Mitchell, K. J. (2014). Differentiating youth who are bullied from other victims of peer-aggression: The importance of differential power and repetition. Journal of Adolescent Health, 55, 293–300. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.02.009
92. Yeager, D. S., Fong, C. J., Lee, H. Y., & Espelage, D. L. (2015). Declines in efficacy of anti-bullying programs among older adolescents: A developmental theory and a three level meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 37, 36–51. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2014.11.005