Childhood Bullying Research Articles

Reformulation of Regulations Regarding Restorative Justice in Cases of Criminal Acts of Bullying Against Children at Investigation Level

Children as the most vulnerable and weak social creatures are often placed in the weakest position, do not have the right to speak, and often experience violations of their rights. One of them is the limitation of diversion obligations for law enforcers which is only limited to criminal acts with a threat of under 7 (seven) years, which is contrary to the intention of the legislators in providing age limits for children and is contrary to the psychological nature of children. If investigators have applied diversion consistently in cases where only children who are bullied are under 7 (seven) years of age, it is not certain that the investigator's objectivity according to law is directly proportional to the objectivity according to community justice. This research is aimed at finding out the regulations related to restorative justice in cases of criminal acts of bullying against children at the investigation level as well as formulating a reformulation of regulations related to restorative justice in cases of criminal acts of bullying against children at the investigation level in the future. The type of research in this research is normative juridical. This research aims to understand and interpret legal norms and analyze their consequences or implications. It is still found that there is still a lot of restorative justice that is not applied to children who are bullied at the investigation stage, so that children have to face the next stage of justice, even up to the trial stage. Concrete steps are needed by Indonesian National Police investigators to ensure that restorative justice is applied consistently at the investigation stage of criminal acts of child bullying. The government together with the Police of the Republic of Indonesia through the legislative body should reformulate regulations related to restorative justice in cases of criminal acts of bullying against children at the investigation level in the future which can be carried out through reformulation regarding material requirements as intended in Article 5 of the Republic of Indonesia State Police Regulation Number 8 of 2021 concerning the Handling of Criminal Offenses Based on Restorative Justice, namely points a and f as well as the rules regarding the requirements for implementing Diversion in Article 7 of Law (UU) Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System by taking into account the main interests of the child.

Youth Violence in 'The Glory': A Social Psychological Analysis

Bullying and youth violence, when neglected, lead to troubled behaviour among children in terms of self-harm, suicidal tendencies and prevalence of emotional, mental and physical distress among children. Persistent acts of bullying and harassment can lead to emotional distress and worsening impacts of rejection, despair, depression, anxiety, exclusion and isolation. Facing severe consequences and being at greater risk for behavioural issues and mental ailments are persistent among children being bullied at school and during childhood. This is a case analysis of the Netflix drama series The Glory, highlighting the long-lasting impact of childhood bullying incidents on the emotional turmoil of children because of the lack of adult interference and interventions taken to address such violent behaviour. As Media has a huge reach across regions, through reference to this Netflix Korean drama series, this study highlights the subject of youth violence and school bullying and emphasises the need for immediate intervention.

The Prevalence of Sexual Harassment and Bullying Among Norwegian Afghanistan Veterans: Does Workplace Harassment Disproportionately Impact the Mental Health and Life Satisfaction of Female Soldiers?

Experiencing sexual harassment and bullying during military service can lead to negative consequences for a soldier's mental health and life satisfaction, including increased risk of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. No studies have to date investigated the prevalence and correlates of sexual harassment and bullying among Norwegian Afghanistan veterans, despite the increased global focus on these topics. In 2020, 6,205 Norwegian Afghanistan veterans (8.3% women) completed an online post-deployment survey, including questions about experiences of sexual harassment, bullying, mental health, and life satisfaction. Compared to their male counterparts, female veterans experienced significantly more sexual harassment and bullying during Afghanistan deployment (3.2% vs. 0.04% for experiencing sexual harassment, and 4.0% vs. 1.0% for bullying) and during other military services (14.3% vs. 0.4% for sexual harassment, and 15.9% vs. 3.7% for bullying). Sexual harassment was associated with younger age and experiencing childhood sexual harassment for both women and men, with men also having longer deployments. Bullying was associated with longer deployments and childhood sexual harassment for women, while men who reported bullying more often had longer deployments, held an officer rank, were less inclined to have a spouse/intimate partner, and reported childhood sexual harassment and bullying. Both sexual harassment and bullying were associated with increased risk of mental health problems and reduced life satisfaction for women, but this was only true for bullying among men. Despite lower reported rates of workplace harassment compared to studies from other cultures, this study demonstrates that sexual harassment and bullying in the military can negatively impact soldiers' mental health and life satisfaction. Notably, female veterans' mental health and life satisfaction appear to be particularly affected by sexual harassment during military service, an association not seen in males. This underscores the need for gender-specific, cultural, and context-sensitive prevention and support for workplace harassment experiences.

Development and validation of a new measure of school-age bullying experiences for adults: the Bullying and Exclusion Experiences Scale (BEES)

Few options are available for measuring the adult impact of childhood bullying. The Bullying Experiences and Exclusion Scale (BEES) is an 18-item retrospective self-report measure of school-age bullying experiences in three different roles (victim, witness, perpetrator). Its validity was examined in an online survey with 346 participants. Construct validity was examined using a polytomous Rasch model with accompanying principal components analysis and found to be supported. Convergent and discriminant validity were supported based on comparison measures focussing on past school experiences (social support, emotional problems, conduct problems, peer problems, prosocial behaviour), as well as current adult experience of stress, anxiety and depression. Concurrent validity was also supported based on associations with a global self-rating of experience in each bullying role. It was concluded that the BEES meets the need for an easily administered retrospective measure of school age bullying experiences which has relevance to ongoing psychological disturbance and past interpersonal factors.

Sibling bullying and mental health in British and Turkish autistic children and adolescents: The role of social and emotional functioning

Nearly one in two autistic individuals is involved in sibling bullying, which is linked to increased mental health difficulties. Despite its high prevalence, only a handful of studies have focused on the relationship between sibling bullying and mental health in the autistic population. Of these, a vast majority of evidence comes from Western cultures while little is known about non-western cultures. For the first time, the current study investigated the cross-cultural variability in the prevalence and demographic and mental health correlates of sibling bullying between a Western (the United Kingdom) and non-western (Turkey) country. Parents of British (N = 289) and Turkish (N = 171) autistic individuals, aged 9–20 years, completed online questionnaires. Structural equation models were fitted to test the risk factors for behavioural and mental health correlates of sibling bullying. Overall, sibling bullying was highly prevalent in the lives of both British and Turkish autistic adolescents as more than two-thirds either bullied a sibling or were bullied by a sibling every week. While some potential risk factors for sibling bullying were present in both cultures (e.g., past sibling bullying experiences), some were culture-specific (e.g., having a male sibling (British), higher parental education (Turkish)). Consistent with previous reports, higher rates of sibling bullying were significantly correlated with poorer mental health in both British and Turkish samples. Additionally, sibling bullying was indirectly linked to mental health difficulties through detrimental social behaviours (British and Turkish) and emotion regulation (British-only) in autistic children and adolescents. There were no indirect correlations between sibling bullying and mental health through social skills in either sample. Implications of these findings as well as cross-cultural similarities and differences are discussed in more detail in light of the relevant cross-cultural psychological theory.

Bullying victimisation in childhood and mental health in early adulthood: comparison of prospective and retrospective reports

The association between childhood bullying victimisation and mental health problems in adulthood has been consistently reported in the literature. Previous studies used both retrospective and prospective reports to measure bullying victimisation. However, there could be biases in both reports. We aimed to assess agreement between prospective and retrospective reports of childhood bullying victimisation, to compare their associations with mental health in early adulthood, and to examine the associations of consistent prospectively and retrospectively reported bullying victimisation with adult mental health. Data were from the prospective Bavarian Longitudinal Study of neonatal at-risk children and term-born controls recruited at birth. 489 participants were followed from birth to age 26 (mean [SD]: 26.4 [0.8] years). Adult mental health was assessed using both the Achenbach Young Adult Self-Report (YSR) and standardised diagnostic interviews. Childhood bullying victimisation was prospectively reported by participants and parents at age 13 and retrospectively self-reported at age 26. We showed that the agreement between retrospective and prospective self-reports of bullying victimisation was fair (Kappa 0.30) with only slight agreement (Kappa 0.18) when compared with prospective parent-reports. Both prospectively and retrospectively self-reported bullying victimisation was associated with poor mental health. Retrospective reports tended to produce stronger associations. Participants who reported being bullied both retrospectively and prospectively had a particularly elevated risk for mental health problems. In conclusion, prospective and retrospective reports capture partly different individuals with exposure to bullying victimisation. Exposure to bullying victimisation, whether it was retrospectively or prospectively self-reported, was associated with an increased risk for mental health problems.

The reciprocal relationship between child maltreatment and children's bullying victimization in China.

Children who experience physical and psychological maltreatment within their family are more likely to become victims of abuse outside the family. In Chinese culture, children's victimization may also be a precursor to parenting behaviors. Nevertheless, the reciprocal relationship between child maltreatment and children's bullying victimization remains unclear, particularly in Chinese culture. This study aimed to evaluate the reciprocal association between child maltreatment and children's bullying victimization in China, as well as its gender differences. A total of 891 children aged 8-11 years in China participated in the study at four time points. The potential reciprocal link was examined using a cross-lagged model. The results indicated that physical abuse predicted children's bullying victimization across four time points, while physical neglect predicted children's bullying victimization during the first three time points. The effects of emotional abuse and neglect were negligible. Conversely, children's bullying victimization consistently predicted various types of parental maltreatment over time. Some gender differences in the relationship were found. The findings emphasized a reciprocal relationship between child maltreatment within the family and children's bullying victimization at school. Understanding the cyclical patterns between child maltreatment and bullying victimization may help improve family education approaches and reduce children's bullying victimization.

الأثر النفسي للتنمر على شخصيات الأطفال والنمو المعرفي: دراسة حالة لأطفال سعوديين

This research aims to identify the psychological impact of bullying on children’s personalities and cognitive development, a case study of Saudi children. The researcher chose a set of variables (two dependent variables and one independent variable). The dependent variables are Child's personal development and Child's cognitive development. And to know its effect on the independent variable (bullying). The sample consisted of (110) individuals from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The model used by the study was interviews as a tool for collecting data related to the study. The Google Docs tool was used to create the questionnaire. The questionnaire is distributed to a large number of people via emails on social media, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook in both Arabic and English. The study discovered a link between bullying children's personalities and cognitive development the study found a statistically significant relationship between bullying of children's personalities and cognitive development. This study can help Psychologists, academics, and school principals by taking into account the independent variables in this study.

Risk and protective factors for suicidality among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) young people, from countries with a high global acceptance index (GAI), within the context of the socio-ecological model: A scoping review.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) young people experience higher prevalence rates of suicidality than their heterosexual and/or cisgender peers. However, there is limited research that can inform suicide prevention efforts. Our aim was to synthesize quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research on risk and protective factors among LGBTQ+ young people, from countries with a high Global Acceptance Index. A scoping review guided by Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage framework, using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Extension for Scoping Reviews protocol. Five databases and grey literature were searched for relevant studies. Identified factors were clustered by thematic type, according to the socio-ecological model to identify empirical trends and knowledge gaps. The mixed methods appraisal tool was used for quality assessment of studies. Sixty-six studies met our inclusion criteria. Overall, 59 unique risk factors and 37 unique protective factors were identified. Key risk factors include past suicidality, adverse childhood experiences, internalized queerphobia, minority stress, interpersonal violence, bullying, familial conflict, and anti-LGBTQ+ policies/legislation. Key protective factors include self-affirming strategies, adult/peer support, at-school safety, access to inclusive healthcare, family connectedness, positive coming out experiences, gender-affirming services and LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and legislation. Overall, our findings affirm that multiple risk and protective factors, at all levels of the socio-ecological model, interact in complex, unique and diverse ways upon suicidality among LGBTQ+ young people. Implications for suicide prevention are discussed. Further empirical studies are required, particularly at the communities, policies, and societal levels of the socio-ecological model, and these studies should include a focus on protective factors and significant within-group differences.

Study links childhood bullying to distrust, youth MH problems

Youths who are bullied in childhood developed more internalizing, externalizing and total mental health problems in late adolescence, and this effect was partially mediated by interpersonal distrust during middle adolescence, said researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles Health and the University of Glasgow in the U.K.

The Long Arm of Childhood Bullying Victimization: Associations with Social Isolation, Gender Differences and Depression in Later Life.

The association between childhood bullying victimization and depression has been well-explored among young adults, but little is known about whether this relationship persists into later life stages, specifically during middle-aged and older phases. Moreover, the intricate mechanisms underpinning this association and the potential existence of gender differences within this context remain inadequately elucidated. To address this gap in knowledge, this study aims to investigate the association between childhood bullying victimization and depression in later life, with a focus on exploring the mediating role of social isolation and the moderating roles of gender. A nationally representative sample of 5,070 individuals (mean age = 61.02, SD = 9.48; male = 55%) was drawn from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. By employing the bootstrapping analysis method, the mediating role of social isolation was examined, and the moderating role of gender was tested through the generation of interaction items. The results reveal a significant association between childhood bullying victimization and severe depression in later life. Additionally, social isolation plays a mediating role in this association between childhood bullying victimization and social isolation, and the association between social isolation and depression, as well as the relationship between social isolation and depression, are both moderated by gender, presenting stronger effects for female groups than for male groups. However, no moderating role of gender is found in terms of the direct association between childhood bullying victimization and depression. These findings highlight the fact that childhood bullying is not only a problem in the immediate term but also a concern that affects individuals across entire life course. This study has implications for healthcare in proactively investigating, diagnosing, and treating depression by inquiring about childhood bullying victimization experiences. Furthermore, intervention policies that aim to reduce social isolation may be particularly beneficial in mitigating the negative associations, especially for female individuals.

How receiving welfare assistance could be linked to children's bullying victimization: Exploring the potential pathways.

The study proposes and tests the pathways from receiving welfare assistance to children's bullying victimization. Specifically, the study examines whether children's difficulty making friends and school disconnection mediate the association between welfare assistance receipt to children's bullying victimization. The 2019 National Survey of Children's Health dataset was used, and the sample consisted of 12,230 caregivers of adolescents, aged 12-17years. A path model was utilized to explore the proposed pathways. Findings suggest that welfare assistance receipt was not significantly associated with children's bullying victimization. It was positively related to children's bullying victimization through the mediating roles of having difficulty making friends and school disconnection. Schools and communities need to create spaces where youth can connect with peers, which is an important part of their development.

Childhood Bullying as a Predictor of Suicidality in Young Adults in a Nationwide Population-Based Health Examination Study

Objective Having been bullied at school in childhood links to suicidality. We aimed at verifying earlier findings and delivering diverse data from a representative population-based sample of young adults to characterize the impacts beyond childhood. Method A random sample of adults, aged 18–28 years and representative of the general population living in Finland, participated in a nationwide health examination study. Adverse childhood experiences before the age of 16 years were analyzed for 779 participants in relation to lifetime suicidality (suicidal ideation, suicide attempts), current suicidal thoughts (HSCL-25), mental disorders (self-reports for lifetime, M-CIDI for DSM-IV during the past 12 months), current usage of mental health services, current usage of prescription medicines (ATC codes), current psychological distress (GHQ-12), and current work capacity and work ability. Results Having been bullied in childhood contributed to greater suicidality (p < 0.001), more frequent current usage of antipsychotics (p < 0.001) as well as antidepressants (p < 0.001), greater current psychological distress (p < 0.001), and poorer current work capacity (p < 0.001) as well as work ability (p < 0.001). Of the self-reported mental disorders on lifetime basis, psychosis had the strongest association (p = 0.03) with having been bullied, whereas the interview-based diagnosis of mental disorders during the past 12 months had no significant association. Conclusions Having been bullied at school before the age of 16 years was independently associated not only with suicidality, but also with the self-report of psychosis as well as a range of indicators of poorer mental health at the age of 18–28 years.

Bullying and Autism Spectrum Disorder: Correlating the Victimization of High-Functioning Autism Students with Educational Practices in the Context of Inclusion in Primary Education

Bullying and victimization in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a problem of particular importance, as this category of students is at high risk of victimization by other students, which negatively affects their psychosocial and emotional development. The purpose of this study is to investigate the rate of victimization of children with high-functioning autism (AHF) by their peers in primary school, and whether this rate correlates with teachers’ education professionals’ classroom practices for the inclusion. Data collection was conducted using two questionnaires, the Autism Inclusion Questionnaire (AIQ) (Segall & Campbell in Autism inclusion questionnaire, 2007), which explores the educational practices that teachers utilize in terms of including students with ASD in the general classroom (Segall & Campbell in Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders 6(3):1156–1167, 2012), and the questionnaire on victimization of children with ASD by their peers (Belidou in Autism spectrum disorder and victimization: teachers’ views of the association with theory of mind and friendship (Master thesis), 2017). The survey was based on the responses of 143 teachers who teach primary school students diagnosed with high-functioning ASD. The results showed that 34.3% of teachers observed that AHF children are at higher risk of victimization compared to typically developing children. Also, it was found that there are several educational practices of children with autism, which are associated with the victimization of children belonging to the high-functioning autism spectrum.

Pekerja Sosial Dalam Menangani Kasus Perundungan (Bullying) Terhadap Anak Melalui Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

This article aims to explain and describe social work in handling cases of bullying in children through cognitive behavioral therapy. The discussion in this article was obtained through literature studies from various reading sources such as journals and books which were used to explain theories related to bullying and cognitive behavioral therapy. The current lack of education and handling of bullying is the trigger for the increasing number of bullying cases that occur every year, this shows the importance of handling bullying cases. In this case, the role of social work includes, among others, as a broker, enabler, advocate and motivator. Apart from that, in cases of child bullying through cognitive behavioral therapy, social work as a counselor plays a role in helping the learning process to create conventions in such a way that clients can change their behavior and solve their problems. By looking at the benefits of behavioral counseling mentioned above, researchers hope to minimize bullying.

UPAYA PENCEGAHAN BULLYING ANAK USIA SEKOLAH DASAR MELALUI KEGIATAN SOSIALISASI

UPAYA PENCEGAHAN BULLYING ANAK USIA SEKOLAH DASAR MELALUI KEGIATAN SOSIALISASI

From childhood bullying victimization to resilience in emerging adulthood.

The aim of this study was to explore how resilience is manifested in the experiences of emerging adults who were subjected to bullying victimization in school and have high levels of psychological functioning in emerging adulthood. Fifteen Swedish emerging adults (Mage = 29.13, SD = 0.52) who, despite experiences of bullying victimization at age 10, had high levels of psychological functioning as emerging adults were interviewed. The interviews focused on experiences of bullying victimization and the long-term outcomes of these experiences. Qualitative methods were used in the analysis, with a specific focus on resilience. The findings illustrate how long-term outcomes of bullying victimization in school, in relation to resilience, comprise a dynamic process between personal agency and social resources in the environmental context.

School bullying and peer relationships in children with chronic pain.

Preliminary evidence suggests that there are significant associations between bullying and chronic pain, as well as between the quality of peer relationships and psychological function in youth with chronic pain. However, these findings have yet to be replicated, and the role that bullying plays in anxiety in children and adolescents with chronic pain has not yet been examined. This study sought to expand our understanding of the associations between measures of bullying and quality of peer relationships and pain-related function domains in a community sample of schoolchildren with chronic pain. One thousand one hundred fifteen schoolchildren participated in this study; 57% were girls, the mean age of the study sample was 11.67 years (SD = 2.47), and 46% reported having chronic pain. Participants completed measures of pain characteristics, pain interference, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, bullying (past and current), and quality of peer relationships. Youth with chronic pain reported a significantly higher percentage of being bullied in the past compared with youth without chronic pain. In the group of youth with chronic pain, the measures of past and current bullying, and quality of peer relationships, were not significantly associated with pain intensity, pain interference, or anxiety. However, having a history of being bullied and the quality of peer relationships were significantly associated with depressive symptom severity. The findings indicate that research to evaluate the potential causal role of bullying and the quality of peer relationships on pain-related function domains in youth with chronic pain is warranted.

Empathy and defender behaviour in bullying of young children: The mediating role of peer status

The present study examined the relationship between empathy and defender behaviour in young children and the mediating role of peer status. Participants were 310 children (girls = 48.1%; mean age = 66.85 months, SD = 7.04 months, age range = 52–79 months) from China. The children completed peer nominations for defender behaviour and peer status. They also responded to questions on situational empathy stories told. Following structural equation modelling, results indicated that (i) empathy positively predicted defender behaviour in young children; (ii) the relationship between empathy and defender behaviour was exclusively through peer acceptance; and (iii) peer rejection played no mediating role between empathy and defender behaviour. The results suggest that the process of empathy expression influences defender behaviour. In developing bullying interventions/preventions, early childhood education programs should focus on developing empathy in young children and should be aware of the important influence of peer acceptance in bullying behaviour.

Children's bullying victimization and maternal suicidal ideation among multicultural families in South Korea: Heterogeneity by family socioeconomic status

RationaleChildren from multicultural families in Korea are vulnerable to bullying victimization. Despite growing evidence on the mental health consequences of bullying victimization for victims, little is known about the spillover effects on their immigrant mothers. ObjectiveThis study examined the association between children's bullying victimization and their immigrant mothers' suicidal ideation. The potential moderating role of family socioeconomic status was also investigated. MethodsUsing nine waves of the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study spanning from 2011 to 2019 (N = 1466), this study estimated individual fixed effects models to control for unobserved individual-level heterogeneity. Interaction models were used to investigate potential heterogeneity by family socioeconomic status, including maternal education, household income, and maternal occupational status. ResultsFixed effects estimates revealed that children's bullying victimization is associated with an increased likelihood of suicidal ideation among marriage migrant mothers (b = 0.012, p < 0.05), even after controlling for unobserved time-invariant confounders as well as a set of time-varying covariates. Family socioeconomic status moderated this association. The association between children's bullying victimization and immigrant mothers' suicidal ideation was stronger for those with low levels of education and household income. No such moderating effects were observed for maternal occupation. ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest that efforts to address the mental health consequences of bullying victimization among multicultural family children should extend beyond the victim to their immigrant mothers. When developing interventions to reduce suicidal ideation among immigrant mothers whose children have been victimized, policymakers may wish to consider the moderating role of family socioeconomic status.