The relationship between peer victimization and children's humor styles: it's no laughing matter!

Claire Louise Fox, Simon C. Hunter, Siân Emily Jones

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study assessed the concurrent and prospective (fall to spring) associations between peer victimization and four humor styles, two of which are adaptive (affiliative and self-enhancing) and two maladaptive (aggressive and self-defeating). Participants were 1234 adolescents (52percent female) aged 11-13 years, drawn from six secondary schools in England. Self-reports and peer reports of peer victimization were collected, as were self-reports of humor styles. In cross-sectional analyses, peer victimization was associated with all four humor styles, most strongly with self-defeating and affiliative humor. Across the school year, peer victimization was associated with an increase in self-defeating humor and a decrease in affiliative humor (and vice-versa). These results have implications for models of humor development and how we understand the continuity of peer victimization.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)443-461
Number of pages19
JournalSocial Development
Volume24
Issue number3
Early online date10 Nov 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2015

Keywords

  • peer victimization
  • bullying
  • longitudinal studies
  • self-defeating humor
  • affiliative humor
  • humour
  • victimization

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

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