The Rejected and the Bullied: Lessons About Social Misfits from Developmental Psychology

The study of social outcasts has a long tradition in developmental psychol-ogy, in part because of the surprisingly potent long-term consequences of being rejected or bullied (Downey & Romero-Canyas, this volume). Rejected and bullied children are at risk for a range of subsequent problems, including school dropout, compromised mental health, and criminality (Coie, Dodge, & Kupersmidt, 1990; Parker & Asher, 1987). More recently, this topic has received renewed attention in light of media accounts of infamous school shootings in the United States. Many of the youngsters who hurt and killed their schoolmates and teachers were allegedly rejected and bullied by their peers (see also Gaertner & Iuzzini; and Twenge, this volume).