Effects of Defending: The Longitudinal Relations Among Peer‐Perceived Defending of Victimized Peers, Victimization, and Liking
Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Social Development
Volume
24
Issue
4
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.
Publication Date
5-6-2015
First Page
734
Last Page
747
Abstract
Previous research has shown victims of peer aggression to be positively impacted by being defended by peers, but how enacted defending impacts defenders themselves is not thoroughly understood. In this study, the longitudinal associations between peer‐perceived liking, enacted defending, and defender's own victimization were investigated among 336 adolescents (M age = 13.21 years). Peer perceived liking was expected to predict defending. It was also hypothesized that a reputation for defending victimized peers would be related to being perceived as less victimized and more liked over time. Results showed that peer perceived liking was not predictive of defending. Enacted defending was associated with a decrease in victimization over time, but also a decrease in peer‐perceived liking. Defenders may benefit from enacted defending by decreasing their own victimization, but this benefit is nuanced.
Recommended Citation
Meter, D. J., & Card, N. A. (2015b). Effects of defending: The longitudinal relations among defending victimized peers, own victimization and peer-perceived liking. Social Development, 24, 734-747. doi: 10.1111/sode.12129