Stability and Change of Bullying Behavior in Children and Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies.

Xiaowei Chu, Han Sun, Yating Lu, Yunzhen Jia, Qing Li, Yuxin Yang

Abstract readMeta-Analysis

In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of youth and adolescence, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Xiaowei ChuZhejiang Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory for the Mental Health and Crisis Intervention of Children and Adolescents, School of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, 321004, China. chuqxw@zjnu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4430-8731

Han SunZhejiang Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory for the Mental Health and Crisis Intervention of Children and Adolescents, School of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, 321004, China.

Yating LuZhejiang Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory for the Mental Health and Crisis Intervention of Children and Adolescents, School of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, 321004, China.

Yunzhen JiaZhejiang Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory for the Mental Health and Crisis Intervention of Children and Adolescents, School of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, 321004, China.

Qing LiZhejiang Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory for the Mental Health and Crisis Intervention of Children and Adolescents, School of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, 321004, China.

Yuxin YangZhejiang Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory for the Mental Health and Crisis Intervention of Children and Adolescents, School of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, 321004, China.

Funding

National Social Science Fund of China Project No. BBA250051

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Although extensive research has examined bullying across childhood and adolescence, findings regarding its developmental course remain inconsistent. Understanding bullying development requires distinguishing between two complementary indicators: rank-order stability, which captures how individuals maintain their relative positions over time, and mean-level change, which captures how the average levels of the behavior shift across the population. To clarify these issues, the present study comprehensively synthesized the available data on rank-order stability (represented by test-retest correlation coefficients) and mean-level change (represented by standardized mean-level difference) of bullying from 197 longitudinal studies (202 samples, N = 286,853, Mage = 12.32 years, 50.64% female) published from 2002 to 2023. Results indicated that both bullying perpetration and victimization were found to be highly stable over time. This stability increased with age but weakened as the time lag between assessments became longer. In addition, analyses of mean-level change revealed an increase in bullying victimization, but no consistent change in perpetration. While the increase in bullying victimization diminished with age, the increases in both bullying perpetration and victimization became more pronounced as the time lag expanded. The stability and change of bullying behavior also differed across studies conducted in various regional/ethnic contexts and those employing specific measurement properties. Overall, these findings clarify the developmental course of bullying across childhood and adolescence by distinguishing between the persistence of individual differences and shifts in average levels at the population level, providing an empirical foundation for designing more targeted prevention and intervention strategies.

Indexed as

Adolescent BehaviorBullyingChild BehaviorCrime VictimsAdolescentChildFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleBullyingLongitudinal studiesMean-level changeMeta-analysisRank-order stability

Identifiers

PMID41949663

DOI10.1111/cdev.13195

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.