A longitudinal study of bullying, dominance, and victimization during the transition from primary school through secondary school

Bullying and victimization were studied from a longitudinal, multi‐method, multi‐agent perspective as youngsters made the transition from primary through middle school. Generally, bullying and aggression increased with the transition to middle school and then declined. Bullying mediated youngsters' dominance status during the transition. Bullying may be one way in which young adolescents manage peer and dominance relationships as they make the transition into new social groups. Victimization declined from primary to secondary school. Correspondingly, youngsters' peer affiliations decreased, initially with the transition, and then recovered. Victimization, however, was buffered by peer affiliation, especially…