Bullying Experiences Research Articles

‘But you don’t look Irish’: identity constructions of minority ethnic students as ‘non-Irish’ and deficient learners at school in ireland

ABSTRACTIreland’s schooling population has significantly diversified in the last 15 years. Despite the growing body of research on migrant and minority ethnic students’ experiences, we still know relatively little about their relationships with peers and teachers. This paper draws on data collected as part of a wider study, informed by critical race theory (CRT), about the higher education (HE) experiences of minoritised ethnic students, involving interviews with 25 students across seven HE institutions in Ireland. 11 had attended school in Ireland, and this paper examines their schooling experiences including their 1) identity battles in not being recognised as Irish, 2) experiences of racist bullying and inadequate responses of teachers, and 3) construction as ‘deficient’ learners, including regarding HE progression. From a CRT perspective, the findings are examined in the context of exclusionary constructions of Irishness, and the urgent need for anti-racist education in Ireland for students and teachers.

Pathways linking bullying victimisation and suicidal behaviours among adolescents

AimsTo examine the pathways explaining the association between bullying victimisation and suicidal behaviours among school-based adolescents. MethodsWe used data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey from 90 countries conducted between 2003 and 2017. We applied multivariate regression and generalised structural equation models to examine the pathways. ResultsOf 280,076 study adolescents, 32.4% experienced bullying and 12.1%, 11.1% and 10.9% reported suicidal ideation, suicidal planning and suicidal attempt, respectively. Adolescents who experienced bullying had higher rates of hunger (8.7% vs 5.0%), drinking soft drinks (44.0% vs 40.2%), truancy (35.8% vs 22.7%), smoking (14.0% vs 6.9%), alcohol consumption (19.9% vs 11.8%), peer victimisation (54.0% vs 25.6%), peer conflict (47.4% vs 20.1%), sleep disturbance (13.7% vs 5.6%), loneliness (18.1% vs 7.6%), no close friends (7.5% vs 5.2%), lack of peer support (64.9% vs 53.3%), lack of parental connectedness (67.0% vs 60.4%) and less parental bonding (64.1% vs 55.2%). Nearly one-fourth (18.7%) of the total association between bullying and suicidal ideation was mediated by loneliness. Similarly, sleep disturbances and alcohol consumption also mediated 4 to 9% of the association between bullying and suicidal behaviours. ConclusionThis study suggests targeted policies and early implementation of interventional strategies focusing on addressing loneliness, sleep disturbance and alcohol consumption to reduce the risk of adverse suicidal behaviours among adolescents.

Exploring Motives and Types of Bullying in Young Adults: Cases From China

Bullying issues occur among adolescents and young adults globally, however, it does not get enough scholarly attention in mainland China (Zhou et al., 2013). This article aims to explore the motives and types of bullying through two cases: one in a high school setting, and the other in a college/university campus in the mid-eastern area of China. Participants included 315 senior high sophomores and 265 freshmen university students. Students completed a questionnaire reporting their bullying experience as witness, victim, or/and perpetrator, as well as their definition of bullying behaviors. 258(81.90%) senior high and 239(90.18%) undergraduate participants had witnessed bullying behaviors before. While 199(63.18%) senior high and 175(66.10%) undergraduate participants reported as bullying victims. The most-reported bullying behavior was verbal bullying, most bullying incidents happened in a classroom, and were inflicted by their peers. Moreover, the researchers explored the motives behind the bullying behavior. The findings help deepen our understanding of bullying epidemics in China educational settings and have implications on preventing the problems and improving the campus climate.

Bullying and Victimization in Chinese Affordable Kindergartens: A Latent Profile Analysis

Research on bullying and victimization has largely focused on univariate analyses on older children. Little is known regarding the bullying and victimization experience of young children with a person-centered approach, especially in Chinese affordable kindergarten settings. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and underlying profiles of bullying and victimization experiences. The study was based on a sample of 92,528 children aging from 2 to 6 years old enrolled in 582 Chinese affordable kindergartens. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to identify latent profiles of participants based on their bullying-victimization characteristics. The results suggested that the most common bullying form was physical bullying, followed by verbal bullying, and social bullying. A three-class model was identified from the involved participants: not involved class, physical bully-victim class, and verbal-physical victim class. Male children were more likely to be in the “physical bully-victim” and “verbal-physical victim” class than female children. Children with one or more siblings were more likely than children with no sibling to be in the “physical bully-victim” and “verbal-physical victim” class. Our study suggests that bullying may be prevalent in affordable kindergarten and it is urgent to create a policy framework to identify, intervene and prevent bullying behaviors.

Is there a diagnosis-specific influence of childhood trauma on later educational attainment? A machine learning analysis in a large help-seeking sample

BackgroundChildhood adversities and trauma (CAT) are associated with poor functional outcome. However, the influence of the single CAT aspects on the risk of a poor functional outcome within different mental disorders has not been investigated so far. Our aims were (i) to predict individual functional outcome based on CAT (ii) to examine whether the prediction power differs within different diagnostic groups (clinical high-risk for psychosis (CHR), psychosis, affective disorders, anxiety disorders) (iii) to compare the specific patterns of CAT experiences, influencing functional outcomes in these groups. MethodClinical data of 707 patients (mean age: 25.09 years (SD = 5.6), 65.5% male) of the Cologne Early Recognition and Intervention Center were assessed with the Trauma And Distress Scale. Functional outcome was estimated by the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale and school educational attainment. Using machine learning, we generated individualized models to predict functional outcome and to identify specific CAT patterns. ResultsAcross the entire sample, the best prediction for the functional outcome achieved a balanced accuracy (BAC) of 0.6. After splitting into the single diagnostic groups, an improvement with best results in the psychosis group (BAC = 0.70) was observed. Considering specific CAT patterns, the most predictive items depicted a positive and caring environment – or the absence of these, a positive self-image and experiences of bullying. ConclusionsOur results indicated that CAT was differentially associated with functional outcome in the various mental disorders. Thus, the importance of mediating variables, that might explain the interindividual differences in the vulnerability to CAT, like resilience factors, appeared to be crucial.

The Mediation Effect of Defending Behavior in the Relationships Among Sense of Class Community, Pro-social Behavior, and Experiences of Bullying and Victimization in Elementary Schools

The Mediation Effect of Defending Behavior in the Relationships Among Sense of Class Community, Pro-social Behavior, and Experiences of Bullying and Victimization in Elementary Schools

MHealth: Potentials and Risks for Addressing Mental Health and Well-Being Issues Among Nepali Adolescents.

Adolescents are slowly being recognized as a generation, worldwide, that may require different policy approaches to improve staggering statistics on their failing well-being, including mental health. By providing the support to allow the next generation to achieve better mental health outcomes, they are going to be more economically successful and the future economic growth of nations can be better assured. Adoption of mobile-based health interventions (e.g., mHealth) has garnered a lot of attention toward this end. While mHealth interventions are growing in popularity, many researchers/policy-makers appear to have neglected assessing potential (indirect) costs/negative consequences from their use. Evidence from the developed world shows strong associations between extensive cell phone use and negative mental health outcomes, but similar research is minimal in developing world contexts. Additionally, the bulk of work on the outcomes of mobile phone use is studied using a unidirectional approach with blinders to front-end motivations. Using primary data from a large-scale, school-based survey of older adolescents in southwestern Nepal (N = 539), this work investigates such a tension between mobile/smartphone usage as a true mobile health (mHealth) opportunity in Nepal or as a potential problem, introducing additional deleterious well-being effects from over-use. Founded in Basic Psychological Needs Theory (BPNT), robust results of analyses using full structural modeling approaches (and traditional regression-based sensitivity analyses) indicate support for the BPNT framework in explaining statistically significant positive associations between bullying and anxiety, as well as, negative associations between bullying and grit, including evidence to support the mediating role of problematic mobile phone use in these relationships. More than 56% of the sample showed indicators of mild to moderate anxiety and over 10% claim experiences of bullying, coupled with over 75% of the sample scoring above the midline of a problematic mobile phone use scale, all of which motivates the relevance of our findings. Potential policy implications of these findings, and mention of other intriguing avenues for future work are further discussed.

The retrospective bullying experiences questionnaire (RBEQ): Its psychometric properties in Iranian University students

AbstractExamining the long‐term impact of bullying can facilitate using retrospective bullying experiences questionnaire (RBEQ) which provides information regarding bystander, bully and victim through childhood to adolescence. This study aimed to investigate the validity and reliability of this questionnaire in Iranian samples. A total of 92 male and 283 female university students participated in this study. Factor structure of the questionnaire was investigated by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The results of principal components analyses showed that questionnaires' items in the primary, middle and high school parts consisted of three separate factors: bystander, victim and bully. However, bullying sub‐types could not be identified as separate components. Regarding confirmatory factor analyses, the extracted single‐factor models revealed optimal goodness of fit indexes and high loading factor. The results of the criterion validity of the RBEQ with the Buss–Perry aggression questionnaire showed positive significant correlations between all factors of the questionnaires. Reliability of the factors of bystander, victim and bully in three educational levels was also confirmed by internal consistency and split‐half coefficients. The results indicated that the Persian version of the RBEQ has appropriate validity and reliability in Iranian university students.

Online and offline victimisation: a cluster analysis of adolescent victims of bullying and cyber-bullying in Chile

ABSTRACT Bullying and cyberbullying victimisation are serious problems worldwide, especially among children and adolescents. However, there is much research on risk factors, the evidence about victim typologies that combine online and offline bullying with the specific nature of the victimisation episodes and other sociodemographic and individual features is still scarce. This study contributes by combining the poly-victim framework with the cyberbullying and online risk approaches. We used data from the Kids Online survey conducted in 2016 and analysed a national sample of 1,000 Internet users in Chile between 9 and 17 years old. The aim was to classify youth based on their cyber and traditional bullying experiences and examine the clusters’ features based on age, sex, socioeconomic status, technology use and skills, risky offline behaviours and well-being. A two-step cluster analysis identified three groups: poly-victims (23%), occasional digital victims (30%), and frequent offline victims (41%). These groups significantly differed by age, sex, Internet use, digital skills, risky offline behaviours and psychological characteristics. These results highlight the heterogeneity and complexity of both traditional and cyberbullying and the need to tailor interventions for diverse types of victims. IMPACT SUMMARY a. Prior State of Knowledge: Bullying is a serious problem both in its traditional and cyber-forms. Both share commonalities and present divergences regarding risk factors and psychological consequences associated. Whereas they can be distinct types of victimisation, a significant percentage of victims suffer both. b. Novel Contributions: Frequent offline bullying, occasional digital victimisation, and poly-victimisation should be considered three victimisation forms. These three experiences differ significantly in their age and sex composition, Internet use, digital skills, risky offline behaviours and psychological characteristics. c. Practical Implications: Identification of victim groups is critical to developing a more tailored approach to support different victims and reduce various forms of harassment. Moreso, because the current impacts of bullying-prevention programs are relatively small.

Bullying, family cohesion, and school connectedness: a moderated-mediation multigroup analysis of adolescents

ABSTRACT Bullying experiences in adolescence has become a nationwide problem as 28% of the children report being bullied over the past school year. Adolescents who report being bullied have been found to have higher rates of anxiety and depression. Although several studies have examined family support and school connectedness as protective factors that buffer the link between being bullied and mental health, little is known about racial/ethnic differences in bullying victimization. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory proposes that a child’s environment (e.g., family cohesion, school connectedness) is a potential protective factor between bullying experiences and mental health. Adolescent data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study were used to analyze a structural model, postulating frequency of being bullied on the adolescents reports of perceived health, directly and as mediated by anxiety symptoms, was assessed among adolescents who were Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, White, Multiracial, and other races not specified in the assessment. Additionally, we examined whether reports of family cohesion and/or school connectedness moderate the link between frequency of being bullied and anxiety. Modest, yet significant results indicated that there were group differences for the model, and school connectedness was linked with lower rates of anxiety symptoms and better reports of perceived health for most groups. These findings provided insight into the importance of considering contextual factors such as race when examining bullying victimization as well as provides insight for school and helping professionals such as family therapists striving to stymie the effects of being bullied among adolescents.

Personality traits an antecedent or consequences of workplace bullying

This study investigates whether Big Five personality traits are antecedents or consequences of bullying. A two-panel study designed in which panel one T1 data collected in one attempt and after a year panel, two T2 time data collected in the second attempt. Existing research on bullying found that individuals exposed to bullying experience an increase in conscientiousness and neuroticism and a decrease in agreeableness. It is claimed that the personality of the victim contributes to the bullying escalation process. There is still research scarcity whether personality is the cause of bullying or bullying results in personality change and another gap found in previous research was the lack of longitudinal research intended in shaping the individual antecedents or the impact of workplace bullying. By bridging these gaps, our study with simple random sampling collected data from university employees (N = 725). Manova test with repeated measures and structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis in AMOS was then used to examine and parallel many competing models to govern data fitness. Results found that experience of bullying in the first interval T1 leads to reduce in agreeableness and an increase in neuroticism in second interval T2. Managerial implication is also discussed.

Bullying victimization/perpetration and non-suicidal self-injury: A systematic review

IntroductionExperience of bullying may be a significant risk factor for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI).ObjectivesThis study had three aims: to systematically investigate the association between bullying and NSSI, to analyze the possible mechanisms underlying the two phenomena, and to evaluate any differences between bullying victimization and bullying perpetration with respect to NSSI.MethodsA systematic search about the association between bullying victimization and perpetration and NSSI was conducted using specific databases (PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct). The following keywords were used in all database searches: “bullying” AND “NSSI” OR “peer victimization” and NSSI.ResultsThe searches in PubMed, Scopus and Science Direct revealed a total of 88 articles about bullying or peer victimization and NSSI. However, only 29 met our inclusion criteria and were used for the present review. Overall, all studies examined victimization; 4 studies also evaluated the effects of perpetration and 1 included bully-victims. According to the main findings, both being a victim of bullying and perpetrating bullying may increase the risk of adverse psychological outcomes in terms of NSSI and suicidality in the short and the long run.ConclusionsTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first review to systematically evaluate the relation between bullying victimization/perpetration and NSSI. The main results support a positive association. Future research should evaluate the possible role of specific mediators/moderators of the association between experience of bullying and NSSI.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Experiences of workplace bullying among academics in a health sciences faculty at a South African university.

Workplace bullying and other negative workplace behaviours are problems that need to be addressed across many work settings, including at universities. To examine the prevalence of bullying among academics, and factors associated with bullying, in a faculty of health sciences (FHS) of a South African university. All academic staff, except senior managers, were invited to participate by completing a self-administered, web-based questionnaire hosted on REDCap. In adition to sociodemographic information, the survey collected information on bullying, and the factors associated with experiences of workplace bullying. Survey data were exported to Stata 13 for analysis. The data were weighted to take account of the distribution of staff in the FHS. Chi-square tests and a multiple logistic regression model for bullying were utilised. The majority of study participants were white (52%), female (70%) and South African (85%). Bullying in the workplace was experienced by 58% of respondents, of whom 44% experienced bullying more than once, and 64% of participants had witnessed bullying. Being female (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.83; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14 - 2.93; p<0.05) and being jointly appointed as both a clinician in a health facility and an academic in the university (aOR 1.73; 95% CI 1.29 - 2.32; p<0.001) increased the odds of experiencing workplace bullying. A combination of strategies is needed, including clear FHS policies to prevent bullying, training in bullying prevention and critical diversity, and positive practice environments.

A Study of the Phenomenon of Bullying in Public Sector Secondary Schools in Gilgit, Gilgit-Baltistan

The purpose of this study was to assess teachers' understanding of the phenomenon of bullying and bullying-victim students' experiences in three public sector secondary schools in Gilgit, GB, Pakistan. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview and informal interactions with four teachers and three students. Teachers knew bullying as violence inflicted upon weaker students by older students. They seemed to be unsure of what includes 'bullying'. Resultantly, Rules and regulations at school with regard to bullying were also unclear. Many behaviors defined as 'bullying' in literature were ignored and accepted as a common form of behavior among school children. Parents' education level and social status indicated a relationship with bullying behavior. The victims, usually unheard of, also mentioned that they were teased by bullies more frequently, threatened with different types of further abuse if they reported to teachers or parents. They felt afraid, stressed, demotivated, felt low self-esteem, depressed. It is recommended that bullying should be curbed from the very beginning whenever noticed. Explicit strategies and their promulgation within the school should be in place.

School Bullying and Youth Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors: Do School Belonging and School Achievement Matter?

The objective of this study is to examine whether school bullying predicts increased internalizing and externalizing behavior through decreased school belonging and achievement in elementary school young people. The sample of this study comprised 389 elementary school students (52.1% girls) from an elementary school in an urban city, Turkey. Young people ranged between 10 and 15 years (M = 12.17, SD = 1.02). Results from the study showed that school bullying had a significant and negative predictive effect on youth internalizing and externalizing behaviors, as well as school achievement. Mediation analyses also revealed that school belonging also mitigated the adverse impact of bullying on youth mental health and achievement. However, school achievement only mitigated the effect of school bullying on externalizing behaviors. Visual modeling further showed that young people with higher levels of sense of belonging at school reported greater school achievement, lower levels of school bullying, and less internalizing and externalizing behaviors compared to those with low and moderate. Specifically, having a low level of school belonging was found as a risk factor for the development of internalizing and externalizing symptoms and experiencing challenges in school achievement. The findings indicate that school belonging is an essential source in promoting school achievement and reducing internalizing and externalizing symptoms in the face of school bullying experiences.

Bullying in Universities: A Qualitative Analysis of the Lived Experiences of Students with Special Needs

Bullying has been known as an extensive, persistent, and severe problem in educational institutions across the globe. Despite the research studies on bullying in recent years, most of the research directly focused on its multiple slants and characteristics among students without special needs (SN). Besides, few research studies are known about bullying in universities and its dimensions in the population of students with SN receiving support provision. In light of the above, the present study explored the students’ lived experiences related to bullying and victimization getting an education in universities with peers without SN. The sample of this phenomenological study consisted of 10 participants with SN attending university education. Semi-structured interviews were used as a research method for data collection. All participants shared negative experiences of bullying in universities while studying with students without SN.

Trajectories of Childhood Maltreatment and Bullying of Adolescents in South Korea

Child maltreatment has a critical impact on the lives of children. Maladaptive parenting may interrupt the process of establishing healthy peer relationships as the quality of parent-child bonds determines positive or negative child outcomes. Although maladaptive parenting is known as a risk factor for predicting bullying perpetration and victimization, there has been little consideration of its developmental influences. We aimed to investigate the association between trajectories of parental maltreatment and peer bullying experiences from childhood to adolescence in Korea. Four waves of the nationally-representative Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey were used to assess parental abuse and neglect from grades four to seven (N = 2179; age range from 10–11 to 13–14). Latent class growth analysis identified trajectories of maltreatment, and logistic regression highlighted the relationship between derived trajectories and bullying engagement. Three latent groups of maltreatment trajectories were found and were named as low (59.26%), high neglect (30.02%), and high abuse (10.72%). Results from the logistic regression indicated that the high abuse trajectory was more strongly associated with higher rates of both bullying perpetration and victimization than the low trajectory. This study has implications for identifying long-term influences of abusive parenting in contrast to neglectful parenting over the course of childhood for engagement in adolescent bullying behavior. Findings may provide insights for prevention, intervention, and school bullying policies regarding developmental trajectories of maladaptive parenting.

Peer-reported bullying, rejection and hallucinatory experiences in childhood.

ObjectivePsychotic experiences, such as hallucinations, occur commonly in children and have been related to bullying victimization. However, whether bullying perpetration, peer rejection, or peer acceptance are related to hallucinatory experiences has remained under‐examined. We used a novel peer nomination method to examine whether (i) bullying perpetration and (ii) social positions within peer networks were associated with future hallucinatory experiences.MethodsThis prospective study was embedded in the population‐based Generation R Study. Bullying perpetration, peer rejection, and peer acceptance were assessed using peer nominations at age 7 years (N = 925). Using a social network analysis, we estimated social positions within peer rejection and acceptance networks. Bullying victimization was assessed using self‐reports. Self‐reported hallucinatory experiences were assessed at age 10 years. Analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic covariates.ResultsHigher levels of bullying perpetration were prospectively associated with an increased burden of hallucinatory experiences (OR = 1.22, 95% CI 1.05–1.43, p = 0.011). Bullies had a 50% higher, and bully‐victims had a 89% higher odds, of endorsing hallucinatory experiences three years later than children who were not involved in bullying (ORbully = 1.50, 95% CI 1.01–2.24, p = 0.045; ORbully‐victim = 1.89, 95% CI 1.15–3.10, p = 0.012). Unfavorable positions within peer rejection networks, but not peer acceptance networks, were associated with an increased risk for hallucinatory experiences (ORpeer rejection = 1.24, 95% CI 1.07–1.44, p FDR‐corrected = 0.024).ConclusionUsing peer reports, we observed that bullies and socially rejected children have a higher likelihood to report hallucinatory experiences in pre‐adolescence. Children who are both a bully and a victim of bullying (ie, bully‐victims) may be particularly vulnerable for psychotic experiences.

The Relationship Between Bullying Experience and Self-Concept among Adolescents

Bullying is a situation where an abuse of power is committed by a person or group of people. Bullying behavior experienced by adolescents can result in teenage self-concept being disrupted so that it can result in self-withdrawn or inferior. The results of the study showed that 58.4% of adolescents had high bullying experiences and 41.6% of adolescents had moderate bullying experiences at Junior High School in 2019. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between bullying experiences and self-concept in adolescents at Junior High School. This research method used a non- experimental quantitative design with a descriptive-analytic design. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling with a total sample of 89 respondents. Data collection was carried out after the result of the screening from 5 classes matched the inclusion criteria. Data analysis was performed using Rank Spearmen correlation showed that the p-value was 0.000, which means that there was a relationship between bullying and self-concept in adolescents in Junior High School. This study concluded that there was a significant relationship between the experience of bullying and self-concept in adolescents of Junior High School.

Low Self-control and School Bullying: Testing the GTC in Nigerian Sample of Middle School Students.

Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory of Crime's (GTC) claim to explain crime, at all times, and in all places, has received considerable empirical support using Western, Scandinavian, and Asian samples. However, the theory is yet to be tested using a Nigerian sample. Using cross-sectional data from a sample of 1,192 junior secondary school (middle school) students in Nigeria, this study examines the explanatory power of Gottfredson and Hirschi's GTC in predicting bullying perpetration and victimization in that context and culture. Binomial logistic regression was used to test the hypothesis that the bullying perpetration and victimization experiences of these students would be negatively related to self-control. Study provides support for the cross-cultural potency of the GTC as low self-control predicted the bullying and victimization experiences of these students regardless of gender. Students' perception of a negative school environment was also a significant predictor of bullying. This is the first test of the GTC with a Nigerian sample and hopefully, will be a springboard for effective bullying prevention policy/programs in Nigerian schools. The public policy implications of the findings are discussed.