TY - JOUR
T1 - Positive and Negative Leadership in Late Childhood
T2 - Similarities in Individual but Differences in Interpersonal Characteristics
AU - Dong, Zhe
AU - Huitsing, Gijs
AU - Veenstra, René
N1 - Funding Information:
This study is part of the KiVa anti-bullying program in the Netherlands. The implementation and evaluation of KiVa has been financed by a grant from the Dutch Ministry of Education (Onderwijs Bewijs, ODB10025). Two authors (G.H. and R.V.) coordinated the implementation and evaluation, and are members of the consortium that steers the dissemination. Program dissemination is done by a separate company ( www.kivaschool.nl ). The authors declare that they have no financial interest in KiVa or other conflicts of interest. The first author was financially supported by the China Scholarship Council (CSC), under Grant number 202108110066.
Funding Information:
Z.D. conceived the study, participated in its design, performed statistical analyses, and drafted the manuscript; G.H. participated in the study design and data collection, and gave critical feedback on and rewrote parts of the manuscript; R.V. formulated the research question, participated in the study design and data collection, and gave critical feedback on and rewrote parts of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. This study is part of the KiVa anti-bullying program in the Netherlands. The implementation and evaluation of KiVa has been financed by a grant from the Dutch Ministry of Education (Onderwijs Bewijs, ODB10025). Two authors (G.H. and R.V.) coordinated the implementation and evaluation, and are members of the consortium that steers the dissemination. Program dissemination is done by a separate company (www.kivaschool.nl ). The authors declare that they have no financial interest in KiVa or other conflicts of interest. The first author was financially supported by the China Scholarship Council (CSC), under Grant number 202108110066. The KiVa data that support the findings of this study are available, but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for the current study, and so are not publicly available. However, data are available from the authors upon reasonable request and with permission of R.V.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).
PY - 2023/8
Y1 - 2023/8
N2 - Previous research has shown that leadership is associated not only with positive but also with negative characteristics and behaviors; knowledge of the similarities and differences between positive and negative leaders remains insufficient. This study aimed to examine (1) the existence of different subtypes of leaders and (2) to what extent these leaders differed on individual and interpersonal characteristics. The sample contained 9213 students in grades 3–6 (Dutch grades 5–8), from 392 classrooms in 98 schools (50.3% girls, M age = 10.13 ± 1.23 years). Latent profile analysis identified three leader profiles and four non-leader profiles based on peer nominations received for leadership, popularity, and positive (defending) and negative (bullying) behavior: (1) positive leaders, (2) negative leaders, (3) non-popular leaders, (4) popular children, (5) bullies, (6) extreme bullies, and (7) modal children. Multinomial logistic regression showed similarities and differences between positive and negative leaders, as well as between each of these and the other five profiles. Positive leaders were more accepted and less rejected and had more friendships than negative leaders, but the differences in individual characteristics (self-esteem, self-control, and social goals) were less clear. This study demonstrated that 10–15% of the children were perceived as leaders, and that positive leadership became more prevalent in the higher grades. Nevertheless, negative leadership occurred also in the higher grades. Interventions aimed at turning negative leaders into positive leaders may work, because positive and negative leaders do not differ greatly in individual characteristics. Such interventions may improve the relationships of negative leaders with their classmates, which may be good for their likeability (but not at the expense of their popularity) as well as for the social atmosphere in the class as a whole.
AB - Previous research has shown that leadership is associated not only with positive but also with negative characteristics and behaviors; knowledge of the similarities and differences between positive and negative leaders remains insufficient. This study aimed to examine (1) the existence of different subtypes of leaders and (2) to what extent these leaders differed on individual and interpersonal characteristics. The sample contained 9213 students in grades 3–6 (Dutch grades 5–8), from 392 classrooms in 98 schools (50.3% girls, M age = 10.13 ± 1.23 years). Latent profile analysis identified three leader profiles and four non-leader profiles based on peer nominations received for leadership, popularity, and positive (defending) and negative (bullying) behavior: (1) positive leaders, (2) negative leaders, (3) non-popular leaders, (4) popular children, (5) bullies, (6) extreme bullies, and (7) modal children. Multinomial logistic regression showed similarities and differences between positive and negative leaders, as well as between each of these and the other five profiles. Positive leaders were more accepted and less rejected and had more friendships than negative leaders, but the differences in individual characteristics (self-esteem, self-control, and social goals) were less clear. This study demonstrated that 10–15% of the children were perceived as leaders, and that positive leadership became more prevalent in the higher grades. Nevertheless, negative leadership occurred also in the higher grades. Interventions aimed at turning negative leaders into positive leaders may work, because positive and negative leaders do not differ greatly in individual characteristics. Such interventions may improve the relationships of negative leaders with their classmates, which may be good for their likeability (but not at the expense of their popularity) as well as for the social atmosphere in the class as a whole.
KW - bullying
KW - children
KW - defending
KW - heterogeneity
KW - leadership
KW - popularity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85161631740&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10964-023-01798-3
DO - 10.1007/s10964-023-01798-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 37306833
AN - SCOPUS:85161631740
SN - 0047-2891
VL - 52
SP - 1620
EP - 1631
JO - Journal of Youth and Adolescence
JF - Journal of Youth and Adolescence
IS - 8
ER -