• Aggression
• Bullying
• Peer victimization
• Cooperative or prosocial behaviour
• Peer relations (e.g., popularity, peer acceptance, dominance, dating popularity, friendships)

My research examines aggression, bullying and peer victimization in children and adolescents from developmental and evolutionary perspectives. I am interested in the characteristics (e.g., strength, popularity, attractiveness, personality, beliefs) that make some adolescents willing and able to use aggression or bullying to achieve social goals and power. In addition, my research has investigated the costs and benefits associated with perpetrating aggression and bullying, to understand payoffs that motivate the use of these coercive and antisocial strategies.

In a complementary line of research, I have been studying cooperative behaviour as a prosocial strategy that may allow adolescents to pursue key social goals while maintaining positive peer relations. This research focuses on the costs and benefits of cooperative behaviour, to consider whether it may be promoted as an effective and more prosocial strategy than aggression or bullying for pursuing key social outcomes.

The practical goal of my research is to provide information that may help to improve interventions directed at reducing bullying and victimization, which have had limited success to this point, by delineating obstacles or incentives that affect whether adolescents choose to pursue social goals through aggressive or cooperative strategies.

Prabaharan, N., Dane, A. V., & Spadafora, N. (2024, March 29). Balance of power in peer victimization: The role of rivalry and vulnerability. Canadian Journal of School Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/08295735241237910

Andrews, N. C., Cillessen, A. H., Craig, W., Dane, A. V., & Volk, A. A. (2023). Bullying and the abuse of power. International journal of bullying prevention, 5(3), 261-270.

Andrews, N. C., McDowell, H., Spadafora, N., & Dane, A. V. (2022). Using social network position to understand early adolescents’ power and dominance within a school context. School Psychology, 37(6), 445-454. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000445

Dane, A. V., Lapierre, K. R., Andrews, N. C. Z., & Volk, A. A. (2022). Evolutionarily relevant aggressive functions: Differentiating competitive, impression management, sadistic and reactive motives. Aggressive Behavior, 48, 331-340. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.22020

Volk, A. A., Dane, A. V., & Al-Jbouri, E. (2022). Is adolescent bullying an evolutionary adaptation? A 10-year review. Educational Psychology Review, 34(4), 2351-2378.

Lapierre, K. R., & Dane, A. V. (2022). Evolutionary functions of cyber and traditional forms of aggression in adolescence. Evolutionary Psychological Science, 8, 134-147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-021-00297-7

Volk, A. A.., Andrews, N. C. Z., & Dane, A.V. (2021). Balance of power and adolescent aggression Psychology of Violence, 12, 31-41. DOI: 10.1037/vio0000398

Farrell, A., & Dane, A.V. (2020). Bullying, victimization and prosocial resource control strategies: Differential relations with dominance and alliance formation. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, 14, 270-283. https://doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000178

Lapierre, K.R., & Dane, A. V. (2020, December). Social advantages and disadvantages associated with cyber aggression-victimization. Computers in Human Behavior. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106497

Dane, A. V., Marini, Z. A. Volk, A. A., & Vaillancourt, T. (2017). Physical and Relational Bullying and Victimization: Differential Relations with Adolescent Dating and Sexual Behavior. Aggressive Behavior, 43, 111-122

Volk, A. A., Dane, A. V., Marini, Z. A., & Vaillancourt, T. (2015). Adolescent bullying, dating, and mating: Testing an evolutionary hypothesis. Evolutionary Psychology, 13, 1-11. doi: 10.1177/1474704915613909

Dane, A. V. & Marini, Z. A. (2014). Overt and relational forms of reactive aggression in adolescents: Relations with temperamental reactivity and self-regulation. Personality and Individual Differences, 60, 60-66.

Volk, A., Dane, A.V., & Marini, Z. A. (2014). What is bullying? A theoretical redefinition.

Developmental Review, 34, 327-343.

Leenaars, L., Dane, A., & Marini, Z. A. (2008). An evolutionary perspective on indirect victimization in adolescence: The role of attractiveness, dating and sexual behavior. Aggressive Behavior, 34, 404-415

Marini, Z.A, Dane, A.V. Bosacki, S. & YLC-CURA (2006). Direct and indirect bully-victims: Differential psychosocial risk factors associated with adolescents involved in bullying and victimization. Aggressive Behavior, 32, 551-569

Dane, A.V. & Schneider, B.H. (1998). Program integrity in primary and early secondary prevention: Are implementation effects out of control? Clinical Psychology Review, 18, 23-45.