Adolescent Bullying, Dating, and Mating Journal Articles

abstract

• Traditionally believed to be the result of maladaptive development, bullying perpetration is increasingly being viewed as a potentially adaptive behavior. We were interested in determining whether adolescents who bully others enjoy a key evolutionary benefit: increased dating and mating (sexual) opportunities. This hypothesis was tested in two independent samples consisting of 334 adolescents and 144 university students. The data partly supported our prediction that bullying, but not victimization, would predict dating behavior. The data for sexual behavior more clearly supported our hypothesis that bullying behavior predicts an increase in sexual opportunities even when accounting for age, sex, and self-reports of attractiveness, likeability, and peer victimization. These results are generally congruent with the hypothesis that bullying perpetration is, at least in part, an evolutionary adaptive behavior.

authors

• Volk, Anthony A
• Dane, Andrew V
• Marini, Zopito A
• Vaillancourt, Tracy

status

• published 

publication date

• December 1, 2015

has subject area

• 06 Biological Sciences (FoR)
• 16 Studies in Human Society (FoR)
• 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (FoR)

published in

• Evolutionary Psychology  Journal

keywords

• bullying
• dating
• evolution
• sex
• sexual behavior

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1177/1474704915613909

start page

• 147470491561390

end page

• 147470491561390

volume

• 13

issue

• 4