2014 Chronobiology International, 2014; 31(4): 542–553 ! Informa Healthcare USA, Inc. ISSN: 0742-0528 print / 1525-6073 online DOI: 10.3109/07420528.2013.877475 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Bullying, sleep/wake patterns and subjective sleep disorders: Findings from a cross-sectional survey Violaine Kubiszewski 1 , Roger Fontaine 2 , Catherine Potard 3 , and Guillaume Gimenes 2 1 EA 3188, ‘‘Laboratoire de Psychologie’’, Universite ´ de Franche-Comte ´, Besanc ¸on Cedex, France, 2 EA 2114, Laboratoire ‘‘Psychologie des Ages de la Vie’’, Universite ´ Franc ¸ois Rabelais, Tours, France, and 3 EA 6291, Laboratoire ‘‘Cognition, Sante ´, Socialisation’’, Universite ´ de Reims, Reims, France The aim of this study was to explore: (a) sleep patterns and disorders possibly associated with adolescent bullying profiles (pure bully, pure victim, bully/victim and neutral) and (b) the effect of sleep on psychosocial problems (externalized and internalized) related to bullying. The sample consisted of 1422 students aged 10–18 (mean ¼ 14.3, SD ¼ 2.7; 57% male) from five socioeconomically diverse schools in France. Bullying profiles were obtained using the revised Bully–Victim Questionnaire. Subjective sleep disorders were assessed using the Athens Insomnia Scale. School-week and weekend sleep/wake patterns were recorded. Internalizing problems were investigated using a Perceived Social Disintegration Scale and a Psychological Distress Scale. Externalizing behaviors were assessed using a General Aggressiveness Scale and an Antisocial Behavior Scale. These questionnaires were administered during individual interviews at school. After controlling for effects of gender and age, victims of bullying showed significantly more subjective sleep disturbances than the pure-bully or neutral groups (p50.001). Bullies’ sleep schedules were more irregular (p50.001 for bedtime irregularity and p 5 0.01 for wake-up time irregularity) and their sleep duration was shorter than their schoolmates (p50.001 for the school week and p50.05 for the weekend). There was an effect of sleep on psychosocial problems related to bullying, and our results indicate that sleep has a moderating effect on aggression in bullies (p50.001). This would suggest a higher vulnerability of bullies to sleep deprivation. These results show differences in sleep problems and patterns in school-bullying profiles. Findings of this study open up new perspectives for understanding and preventing bullying in schools, with implications for research and clinical applications. Keywords: Adolescence, bullying, psychosocial problems, sleep disorders, sleep schedule variability, sleep/wake habits INTRODUCTION Research shows that bullying is a common sub-form of aggressive behavior experienced in schools that affects the health of adolescents in the same way throughout the world (Due et al., 2005; Hansen et al., 2012; Harel- Fisch et al., 2011; Nansel et al., 2004). It is defined as the repeated exposure to negative actions by one or more schoolmate over time (Solberg & Olweus, 2003). During these peer abuses, one student (the bully) intentionally attempts to inflict injury or discomfort upon another (the victim) (Solberg & Olweus, 2003). An imbalance in perceived or actual power exists between victim and bully (Olweus, 1993; Salmivalli, 2010). There are four distinguishable profiles associated with bullying: pure bullies (students who bully and are never victims), pure victims (students who are victims of bullying and never attack other children), bully/victims (students who are both victims of bullying and who bully other children, but not their own aggressors) and neutral (students never involved in bullying). The number of students involved in this kind of peer relationship in different countries varies between 6.3% and 45.2% (Craig et al., 2009; Due et al., 2005), suggesting that bullying is the most prevalent form of violence in schools and the form that is likely to affect the greatest number of students. Studies of bullying behavior have tended to focus on the psychological characteristics or risk factors asso- ciated with the different bullying profiles. Pure bullies are characterized by a large range of hostile, aggressive and delinquent behaviors (Olweus, 2011; Yen et al., 2010b). They also show poor school adjustment and addictive behaviors (alcohol, drugs, smoking) (Niemela et al., 2011; Vieno et al., 2011). While bullies have been shown to exhibit high levels of externalizing behavior, Correspondence: Violaine Kubiszewski, EA 3188, Laboratoire de Psychologie, Universite ´ de Franche-Comte ´, 30, rue Me ´gevand, 25 230 Besanc ¸on Cedex, France. Tel: +33 247366661. E-mail: violaine.kubiszewski@univ-fcomte.fr Submitted September 23, 2013, Returned for revision November 29, 2013, Accepted December 17, 2013 542