Bullying and Victimization in Ethnically Diverse Schools: Risk and Protective Factors on the Individual and Class Level

Abstract

present study concurrently analyzed risk and protective factors on the individual and the class level related to bullying and victimization in ethnically diverse schools. The sample derived from the pre-test data of a national intervention evaluation study in Austria (ViSC) and comprised 1450 students (48.8% girls) aged 11-15 (M = 12.31) from 77 classes and 11 schools. 748 students were native Austrians, 225 students had a Turkish background, 305 students originate from former Yugoslavia and 173 students were from other countries. Data were collected via internet-based questionnaires. For data analysis hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was applied. At the individual level being a boy and low responsibility were identified as risk factors for higher bullying scores. On the class level, smaller class size and poor class climate were related to higher bullying scores. At the individual level being Turkish and from former Yugoslavia were associated with lower victimization scores. On the class level, a positive class climate was related to lower victimization scores.