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Boys Physical Bullying

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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

Synonyms

Aggression; Peer victimization

Definition

Physical bullying is a direct form of bullying that involves overt acts of physical aggression, such as hitting, kicking, and shoving. Physical bullying is goal-directed, can cause significant harm, and occurs within the context of a power imbalance (Volk et al. 2014).

Introduction

Being involved in bullying, (especially as a victim) can lead to negative mental health outcomes, such as anxiety and depression (Volk et al. 2012). Until recently, bullying was considered to be a product of a maladaptive development (Volk et al. 2012). However, a maladaptive development cannot easily account for the prevalence of bullying across cultures and history (Volk et al. 2012). This has encouraged researchers to suggest that bullying has evolved as an adaptive strategy that uses aggression to obtain gains in three major evolutionary goals: reproduction, reputation, and resources (Volk et al. 2012, 2014). Research has demonstrated that, typically,...

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Correspondence to Melanie Bastien .

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Bastien, M., Volk, A.A. (2016). Boys Physical Bullying. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_857-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_857-1

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