The Time-Varying Relationship of Bully Victim Status with Perspective-Taking Empathy

Purpose: We report results from exploratory analyses of the time-varying relationship of bully-victim status with perspective taking empathy. The data come from a group-randomized trial assessing the effects of a skills-based prevention curriculum aimed at preventing and reducing bullying and other aggressive behaviors among elementary students in the Denver, Colorado public school system.

Methods: Multilevel cross-classified growth models were fitted to three waves of data collected during the spring semester of 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. Bully victim status was measured at each wave and modeled as a time-varying predictor of perspective-taking empathy.

Results: We found that victims, bullies, and bully/victims had lower mean empathy scores relative to the reference group (non-bullies and non-victims) over time. There was an overall decline in empathy over the three measurement occasions in all status groups. However, a significant time-interaction was observed for the effect of victim status on empathy. In the spring of 4th grade, victims had significantly lower mean empathy scores relative to the reference group. But over time the mean empathy scores of victims declined at a slower rate relative to the other groups. By the spring of 6th grade, mean empathy scores for victims were slightly higher relative to the reference group. Latino students had significantly higher mean empathy scores relative to Anglo students. Girls had significantly higher mean empathy scores relative to boys. The gender and ethnicity effects were not moderated by time or bully-victim status.

Implications for Practice: Implications of findings for the study of the relationship between aggression and empathy are explored.