The longitudinal relationship between parental abuse and traditional bullying in Chinese culture: A latent transition analysis

Abstract

To examine the differentiation patterns and transition characteristics of children's bullying in the Chinese cultural context and the role of gender and parental abuse in the transition process, a total of 897 Chinese children participated in three tracking surveys over the course of one year. Latent profile analysis identified a low bullying group, a moderate bullying group, and a high bullying group at all three time points. Latent transition analysis indicated that 67.45% of children had stable bullying patterns, 32.55% of children's bullying patterns changed over time, and boys and children with high levels of physical abuse were more likely to change bullying patterns. In addition, compared to the low bullying stability group, children who experienced physical abuse were more likely to be in the low-moderate-high transition group, and children who experienced emotional abuse were more likely to be in the moderate stability group. Our study provides a new perspective on ways that parental abuse contributes to trajectories of bullying over time.