IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v367y2025ics0277953625000772.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Perceived gender expression nonconformity as an important determinant for vulnerability to bullying and cyberbullying among high school youth in the United States, 2013–2021

Author

Listed:
  • Mason, Melanie E.
  • Curtis, Michael G.
  • Floresca, Ysabel Beatrice
  • Kelsey, Scar Winter
  • Davoudpour, Shahin
  • Jayne, Noah
  • Phillips, Gregory

Abstract

Adolescents whose perceived gender expression does not conform to societal expectations may be at greater risk for peer victimization. Prior theorizing indicates the interaction between youth's perceived sex and gender expression may expose them to greater degrees of peer victimization, as predominant patriarchal standards of gender may cultivate higher levels of vulnerability by sex. However, these associations have yet to be empirically examined. Using pooled Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance data from 2013 to 2021 (n = 158,698), we examined the moderating effect of sex on the association between perceived gender expression nonconformity (PGENC) and two types of peer victimization: bullying and cyberbullying. A series of four multivariable logistic regression models examined the association between PGENC and each peer victimization outcome variable. Results demonstrated direct associations between bullying and PGENC (aOR = 1.20) and between cyberbullying and PGENC (aOR = 1.10). PGENC adolescents accumulated greater risk for bullying and cyberbullying than adolescents whose gender expression matches their reported sex. PGENC males, compared to PGENC females, experience greater degrees of bullying (aOR = 1.33) and cyberbullying (aOR = 1.24). Findings indicate peer victimization may asymmetrically target youth based on gender expectations ascribed to their sex and on the broader hegemonic patriarchal values that privilege masculinity and devalue femininity.

Suggested Citation

  • Mason, Melanie E. & Curtis, Michael G. & Floresca, Ysabel Beatrice & Kelsey, Scar Winter & Davoudpour, Shahin & Jayne, Noah & Phillips, Gregory, 2025. "Perceived gender expression nonconformity as an important determinant for vulnerability to bullying and cyberbullying among high school youth in the United States, 2013–2021," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 367(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:367:y:2025:i:c:s0277953625000772
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117748
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953625000772
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117748?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michelle F. Wright & Sebastian Wachs, 2023. "Cyberbullying Involvement and Depression among Elementary School, Middle School, High School, and University Students: The Role of Social Support and Gender," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-15, February.
    2. Rafael Pichel & Mairéad Foody & James O’Higgins Norman & Sandra Feijóo & Jesús Varela & Antonio Rial, 2021. "Bullying, Cyberbullying and the Overlap: What Does Age Have to Do with It?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-11, July.
    3. Park, In Young & Speer, Rachel & Whitfield, Darren L. & Kattari, Leo & Walls, Eugene N. & Christensen, Candace, 2022. "Predictors of bullying, depression, and suicide attempts among youth: The intersection of race/ethnicity by gender identity," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    4. Raúl Navarro & Elisa Larrañaga & Santiago Yubero, 2016. "Gender Identity, Gender-Typed Personality Traits and School Bullying: Victims, Bullies and Bully-Victims," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 9(1), pages 1-20, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Clarissa Cricenti & Alessandra Pizzo & Alessandro Quaglieri & Emanuela Mari & Pierluigi Cordellieri & Cristina Bonucchi & Patrizia Torretta & Anna Maria Giannini & Giulia Lausi, 2022. "Did They Deserve It? Adolescents’ Perception of Online Harassment in a Real-Case Scenario," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-14, December.
    2. Stefano Guidi & Paola Palmitesta & Margherita Bracci & Enrica Marchigiani & Ileana Di Pomponio & Oronzo Parlangeli, 2022. "How many cyberbullying(s)? A non-unitary perspective for offensive online behaviours," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(7), pages 1-26, July.
    3. Li, Sen & Gong, Ningning & Lin, Yijin & Huang, Fengwen & Zhang, Shuangxi & Yu, Guoliang, 2025. "School climate and cyberbullying victimization: A meta-analysis," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    4. Laora Mastari & Bram Spruyt & Jessy Siongers, 2021. "Preadolescents’ Stereotypical Occupational Preferences: a Matter of Competence or Culture?," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(3), pages 1199-1225, June.
    5. So Young Shin & Yeon-Jun Choi, 2021. "Comparison of Cyberbullying before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic in Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-11, September.
    6. Ana Isabel Obregon-Cuesta & Luis Alberto Mínguez-Mínguez & Benito León-del-Barco & Santiago Mendo-Lázaro & Jessica Fernández-Solana & Jerónimo J. González-Bernal & Josefa González-Santos, 2022. "Bullying in Adolescents: Differences between Gender and School Year and Relationship with Academic Performance," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-11, July.
    7. Chen, Yanling & Xie, Ruibo & Tan, Deqin & Wang, Xiaoyue & Fan, Ruiting & Li, Weijian & Ding, Wan, 2023. "Bidirectional longitudinal relationships between victimization, resilience and suicidal ideation of adolescents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    8. María Dolores Martínez-Marín & Carmen Martínez, 2019. "Negative and Positive Attributes of Gender Stereotypes and Gender Self-Attributions: A Study with Spanish Adolescents," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 12(3), pages 1043-1063, June.
    9. Chanchan Dong & Tian Gao & Ling Qiu & Jiangtao Jiu & Wei Yuan & Tao Xiao & Fucai Liu, 2025. "How Cultural Backgrounds Affect Perceived Restorativeness of Campus Outdoor Spaces: A Pilot Study in China’s Multi-Ethnic Region," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-23, March.
    10. Eunsun Choi & Namje Park, 2021. "Can Online Education Programs Solve the Cyberbullying Problem? Educating South Korean Elementary Students in the COVID-19 Era," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-15, October.
    11. Santiago Yubero & Elisa Larrañaga & Beatriz Villora & Raúl Navarro, 2017. "Negative Peer Relationships on Piracy Behavior: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Associations between Cyberbullying Involvement and Digital Piracy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-12, October.
    12. Marta Malinowska-Cieślik & Dorota Kleszczewska & Anna Dzielska & Monika Ścibor & Joanna Mazur, 2023. "Similarities and Differences between Psychosocial Determinants of Bullying and Cyberbullying Perpetration among Polish Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-21, January.
    13. Hongzhe Kang & Yao Wang & Min Wang & Megat Imran Yasin & Mohd Nizam Osman & Lay Hoon Ang, 2024. "Navigating Digital Network: Mindfulness as a Shield Against Cyberbullying in the Knowledge Economy Era," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(3), pages 13233-13271, September.
    14. Consuelo Mameli & Laura Menabò & Antonella Brighi & Damiano Menin & Catherine Culbert & Jayne Hamilton & Herbert Scheithauer & Peter K. Smith & Trijntje Völlink & Roy A. Willems & Noel Purdy & Annalis, 2022. "Stay Safe and Strong: Characteristics, Roles and Emotions of Student-Produced Comics Related to Cyberbullying," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-21, July.
    15. Paweł Grygiel & Sławomir Rębisz & Anna Gaweł & Barbara Ostafińska-Molik & Małgorzata Michel & Julia Łosiak-Pilch & Roman Dolata, 2022. "The Inclusion of Other-Sex Peers in Peer Networks and Sense of Peer Integration in Early Adolescence: A Two-Wave Longitudinal Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-24, November.
    16. Ziqiang Han & Guirong Zhang & Haibo Zhang, 2017. "School Bullying in Urban China: Prevalence and Correlation with School Climate," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-13, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:367:y:2025:i:c:s0277953625000772. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.