Between and Within Person Associations Among Bullying, Self‐Perceived Popularity, and Negative Approval Seeking Across Adolescence

ABSTRACT

Adolescent bullying perpetration is associated with higher popularity. However, the temporal priority between bullying and popularity, and the extent to which bullying and popularity are associated with heightened peer approval seeking are unclear. It is also uncertain whether these developmental processes occur at the between person (trait‐like, stable) or within person (state‐like, fluctuating) levels. Given these gaps in knowledge, we examined the temporal associations among bullying perpetration, self‐reported popularity, and negative approval seeking (i.e., extent to which self‐worth depends on peer disapproval) in a cohort of Canadian adolescents followed annually from ages 15 to 18 using a random‐intercept cross‐lagged panel model ( n = 544, 55.7% girls; 75.9% White). Between person associations revealed a significant positive link between bullying perpetration and negative approval seeking. Within person associations revealed that increases in self‐perceived popularity predicted subsequent increases in bullying perpetration. In addition, within person increases in bullying perpetration were concurrently associated with within person increases in negative approval seeking. Given that self‐perceived popularity was the initiator of bullying at the within person level, and bullying was concurrently associated with peer approval seeking at both the between and within person levels, focusing on the individual traits and motivations associated with bullying and popularity such as fear of peers’ disapproval may be an important direction for anti‐bullying efforts among adolescents.