The role of defenders' and victims' popularity in the effectiveness of defending in bullying interactions: A longitudinal social network study

Abstract

Peer defending is widely promoted as a strategy to reduce bullying, but few studies have investigated whether having more defenders decreases victimization over time from the victim's perspective. This social network study examined the longitudinal association between nominating more defenders and subsequent victimization among (early) adolescents and tested whether this relation is moderated by the popularity status of the defender and the victim. The sample included 1450 participants from 93 secondary school classes (grades 4–9) in Finland (52.51% female; Mage = 12.38 years, SDage = 1.56). Results from longitudinal social network analyses showed that contrary to expectations, having more defenders did not reduce victimization over time. Moreover, the popularity of the defender or the victim did not moderate this effect. Results did not differ by grade. These findings suggest that defending alone may not protect students from ongoing victimization and highlight the need for broader, multi-level intervention strategies.