Associations Among Bully, Homophobic Teasing and Sexual Violence Perpetration Among Middle School Students

Two separate literatures on youth bullying (YB) and sexual violence (SV) have established that both forms of aggression are widespread public health problems with negative consequences for victims. Even though it is known that sexual violence starts early in life and in adolescence is often perpetrated by peers, and that bullying also occurs and peaks in youth, very few studies have examined the association between bullying and sexual violence, and there is no established empirical link between being a perpetrator of bullying in middle school and co-occurring or subsequent SV perpetration. However, some conceptual and empirical literature suggests that they may share some developmental correlates. Further, homophobic teasing is prevalent in middle school. Recent work suggested that homophobic teasing may warrant special attention given its relationship to sexual behavior, and that homophobic teasing may help explain the overlap between bullying and SV perpetration. One recent study of middle school students linked bullying perpetration and homophobic teasing with later perpetration of sexual harassment. These authors suggested a Bully-SV pathway theory, wherein bully perpetrators who also use homophobic teasing may turn to SV perpetration as they become more interested in the opposite sex during a period when restricted gender expression is promoted. Others have linked homophobic attitudes with bullying perpetration.

The present study tests a Bully-SV Pathway theoretical model that posits that bullies who also participate in homophobic teasing are more likely to perpetrate SV over time based on data from1026 students in four Midwestern middle schools (grades 5 – 7; Mean Age = 12.61; SD = .95 years).   Students completed self-reported measures of bullying, homophobic name-calling, and sexual violence perpetration at five waves across 2 ½ years.  Results of logistical regression analyses supported the Bully-SV pathway with bully perpetration in early middle school being associated with sexual harassment perpetration in later middle school for boys, not girls.  Boys who reported bully perpetration at Wave 1 were more likely to report sexual harassment/groping perpetration at Wave 5 two years later (controlling for Wave 1 sexual harassment/groping). In addition, homophobic teasing modified the relation between bullying perpetration and later sexual harassment/groping perpetration, such that boys who reported high levels of bullying behaviors and also reported high levels of homophobic teasing were more likely to report sexual harassment/groping over time than bullies who did not report elevated homophobic teasing.  Results suggest that homophobic name-calling perpetration is an important moderator of the association between bullying and sexual violence for males during early adolescence.