Friend similarity in attitudes toward bullying and sense of responsibility to intervene

This study investigated reciprocal friends’ similarity in attitudes toward bullying and responsibility for intervention in favor of the victim among 1485 Italian children (mean age = 10 years, 3 months) and adolescents (mean age = 13 years, 2 months). Findings of two linear regressions confirmed that friend homophily exists in relation to both students’ attitudes and responsibility. This result was retained even after individual and friends’ bullying and defending behavior were controlled. Similarity between friends emerged particularly when the proportion of reciprocal friends in the classroom was high. Finally, age and gender moderated the relation between individual's and friends’ attitudes. These results significantly expand previous findings related to social influences in the bullying phenomenon and have potential interest for researchers and educators.