Examining the profiles of school violence and their association with individual and relational covariates among South Korean children

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study was conducted to identify the profiles of children who experience perpetration and victimization in school violence and to test whether individual- and relational factors may differentiate the identified profiles. MethodThis study targeted 4328 children in the 6 th -grade (47.8% female) extracted from the Seoul Education Longitudinal Study (SELS). Items used to measure school violence includes verbal violence, social exclusion, physical violence, spreading malicious rumors, extortion, coercion/threat. Those experiences were captured on the basis of frequency. Individual factors cover self-esteem and self-control, and relationship factors contain parent-child relationship and teacher-student relationship. Gender was introduced as a control variable. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was utilized to classify profiles, and a modified three-step procedure was used to verify individual and relational factors in created profiles of school violence. ResultA three-profile solution was obtained: Exchanging rare verbal violence (90.20%), interpersonal victimization (7.50%), and inflicting violence (2.30%). First, higher levels of self-esteem made children less likely to belong to the interpersonal victimization group than exchanging rare verbal violence group. Second, greater selfcontrol made children less likely to belong to the inflicting violence group than the exchanging rare verbal violence group. Higher levels of self-control also increased the likelihood of children being placed in interpersonal victimization group rather than inflicting violence group. Third, cohesive and close parent-child relationship made children have a lower likelihood to be affiliated with the interpersonal victimization group than exchanging rare verbal violence group. Lastly, a cohesive and close teacher-student relationship made children less likely to belong to the inflicting violence group or interpersonal victimization group than exchanging rare verbal violence group. ConclusionThe findings can guide how school-based violence prevention can be designed, including enhancing individual competencies (i.e., self-esteem and selfcontrol), by establishing regular training programs in school settings. In addition, findings that relationships with parents and teachers affect children's experiences of school violence suggest focusing not only on affected children but also on taking an approach that encompasses the organically connected relationships surrounding children. This could be achieved by developing and distributing relevant materials or various training programs for the purpose of building their cohesive and supportive relationship with children. Practical implications are discussed according to the findings.