Involvement In Bullying Research Articles

“Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, But Bullying Will Get Me Bangin’”: Bullying Involvement and Adolescent Gang Joining

Studies have shown that adolescents’ involvement in bullying (as perpetrators, victims, or both) is related to more negative outcomes than noninvolvement, and a small subset of studies has connected bullying to the specific outcome of gang involvement. However, most of these studies have been cross-sectional and have not examined causal pathways by which bullying and gang involvement may be related. Furthermore, some studies find sex differences in prevalence, type, and outcomes of bullying as well as in the relationship between bullying and gang involvement, suggesting important prevention implications, yet this remains under examined. Our study explicitly examines these issues identifying the overlap in bullying outcomes with antecedent gang risk factors, and suggesting potential direct and indirect effects of bullying on gang involvement; we test these relationships, and potential sex differences, using longitudinal data from the second National Evaluation of Gang Resistance Education and Training to overcome limitations of prior research. Consistent with our expectations, we find that (1) bully-victims exhibit the highest levels of risk; (2) bullies, victims, and bully-victims have increased odds of later gang joining, compared to uninvolved youth; (3) the inclusion of risk factors partially mediates the effect of bullying involvement on gang onset for bullies and victims and fully mediates the effect for bully-victims; and (4) some evidence of sex differences exists. Given these insights, greater connections between bullying and gang prevention efforts may be worthwhile.

A Multilevel Analysis of the Relation Between Bullying Roles and Social and Emotional Competencies.

This study investigated how social and emotional competencies are related to middle school students' involvement in bullying, and whether class-levels variables influence this association. There were 668 participants (Mage = 12.73, SD = 1.08) who participated in a screening for inclusion in a social and emotional learning program. Results showed that students not involved in bullying displayed higher levels of self-esteem than students involved in bullying in any role (victims, perpetrators, or bully-victims), higher levels of self-control and social awareness than perpetrators and bully-victims, and higher levels of responsible decision making than bully-victims. Gender did not moderate the relation between any bullying roles and social and emotional competencies, but class size moderated the relation between being a bully/victim and self-esteem and between being a bully and self-control. These results supported the relevance of including class-level variables when analyzing the relation between bullying and social and emotional competencies.

Health-related Risks for Involvement in Bullying among Middle and High School Youth

Rates of victimization and bullying perpetration may vary by adolescents’ health status. The purpose of this study was to examine risk for bullying and victimization while considering multiple health conditions and health-related behaviors. Self-reported data were collected from 64,670 youth (50.3% female; 48.8% White; 25.7% Black/African American) enrolled at 107 middle and high schools across the state of Maryland. Two-level logistic regressions examined the association between health conditions and other health-related behaviors (i.e., physical activity, asthma, healthy eating, sleep troubles, obesity, and being overweight) and bullying. Results indicated that obese youth had higher odds of being a victim or bully-victim. Youth with asthma were more likely to be victimized, both in-person and online, and were more likely to be cyberbully-victims. Sleep difficulties were consistently associated with involvement in bullying, having higher odds of being a victim or bully-victim in-person and online as well as higher odds of perpetration of bullying. In contrast, healthy food consumption was associated with significantly lower odds of bullying perpetration, and physical activity was associated with significantly lower odds of being a bully-victim. Taken together, the findings suggest that various conditions and health-related behaviors may be important risk factors for both bullying victimization and perpetration.

Bullying involvement, psychological distress, and short sleep duration among adolescents.

Previous research has found links between involvement in bullying and sleep duration in adolescents. However, little is known about the factors that might mediate these relationships. This study examined the associations between cyberbullying victimization and school bullying involvement (bully, victim, bully-victim) with short sleep duration in a large sample of middle and high school students and tested whether psychological distress mediates these relationships. Data on 5061 students (49% females; mean age = 15.1years) from the 2015 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey were used. Participants self-reported their sleep duration and their levels of bullying involvement over the past year. Psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler 6 (K6) scale. Covariates in multiple linear regression analyses included age, sex, racial background, socioeconomic status, and substance use. Being a victim of cyberbullying (β = - 1.179; 95% CI - 0.238; - 0.120) or school bullying (β = - 0.119; 95% CI - 0.190; - 0.049) was associated with short sleep duration. Mediation analyses suggested that psychological distress fully mediates the relationships between being cyberbullied, a school bullying victim or bully-victim with short sleep duration. There was a complementary mediation by psychological distress on the relationship between being a bully at school and short sleep duration. These results suggest that higher levels of bullying involvement place adolescents at risk of developing higher psychological distress which, in turn, can lead to short sleep duration. Longitudinal research is necessary to confirm the mediating role of psychological distress on the relationship between bullying involvement and short sleep duration among adolescents.

Parental intervention style and adult sibling conflicts: The mediating role of involvement in sibling bullying

Managing conflicts and aggressive behaviors between siblings is challenging for many parents, and parental responses to sibling conflict has been shown to influence the quality of children’s siblin...

Cultural, individual, and familial risk and protective factors associated with depressive symptoms in Pacific youth living in New Zealand

ABSTRACTThis article examines cultural, individual, and familial risk and protective factors associated with depressive symptoms in Pacific youth living in New Zealand. At ages 11 (n = 950) and 14 (n = 931), Pacific youth participated in multidisciplinary interviews that included the Children’s Depression Inventory. Across time points, factors significantly associated with higher depressive symptoms were involvement in bullying and gang activities. Positive parenting was significantly associated with lower depressive symptoms, and Tongan youth were significantly less likely to report depressive symptoms than Samoan youth. Time-varying factors were gender, problem behaviour syndromes, and maternal education. Gaining more knowledge about modifiable risk and protective factors that contribute to depression in Pacific youth is an important tool to support new approaches that promote adaptive psychological adjustment during adolescence.

Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms Among Italian Preadolescents Involved in School and Cyber Bullying and Victimization

The purpose of this study was to investigate post-traumatic stress symptoms affecting the involvement in school bullying and cyberbullying of boys and girls according to the different bullying roles. The current study involved 5058 Italian students, aged 11–18, recruited from secondary schools, who anonymously self-reported about school and cyber bullying as victims and/or perpetrators, and about post-traumatic stress symptoms. Based on their responses, students were classified as ‘only-bullies’, ‘only-victims’, ‘bully/victims’, or ‘not involved’ in school and/or online. The results showed that symptoms of post-traumatic stress differ between boys and girls and according to their roles. For cyberbullying, the bully/victims and only victims reported higher post-traumatic stress symptoms. For school bullying, bully/victims and only bullies reported higher symptoms of stress, and girls overall have higher values of such symptoms. It was concluded that both school and cybe rbullying are risk factors for concurrent development of post-traumatic stress symptoms, differently affecting adolescents according to their role. The bully/victims both at school and online reported higher levels of post-traumatic stress, indicating that this is a high risk group that needs special attention and that school bullies, and only victims develop stress out of their behaviour and need to be targeted for prevention of worst health consequences, especially focusing on girls.

Instructor and peer bullying in college students: Distinct typologies based on Latent Class Analysis

ABSTRACTObjective: Although bullying is traditionally considered within the context of primary and secondary school, recent evidence suggests that bullying continues into college and workplace settings. Participants/Method: Latent class analysis (LCA) was employed to classify college bullying involvement typologies among 325 college students attending a northeastern university. Results: Four classes concerning bullying involvement were revealed: Non-involved (36%); Instructor victim (30%); Peer bully-victim (22%); and Peer bully-victim/ Instructor victim (12%). Conclusions: Findings from this study, which classified college bullying experiences by incorporating both peer and instructor (teacher and professor) bullying, add substantially to the literature by providing insight into patterns of relatively unexplored bullying behaviors.

Involvement in Bullying During High School: A Survival Analysis Approach.

Knowledge about the risks of bullying involvement during any year of high school is an important element of interventions for changing the likelihood of being bullied. Three cohorts of Australian students (n = 1,382) were tracked from 7th grade to 11th grade. The study showed that some students continue their involvement in bullying, while in addition, new bullies and new victims emerge during each high school year. The findings indicated that the risk of bullying involvement ranged from 16% (as a bully) to 36% (as a victim), increasing to 54.5% and 56.3%, respectively, if a student was a bully or a victim in 7th grade. The risk to students of becoming victims, bullies, or bully-victims in each year of high school suggests that bullying prevention initiatives should be designed to suit students at different stages of adolescent development.

Apoyo social, empatía y satisfacción con la vida en los diferentes roles de agresor-víctima de acoso escolar

El acoso escolar es una de las principales problemáticas en la adolescencia, con graves consecuencias. En comparación con la gran cantidad de estudios centrados en el rol de víctima pasiva y agresor puro, todavía son escasas las investigaciones centradas en el doble rol de agresor-víctima. Así, el objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar posibles diferencias en empatía emocional y cognitiva, evaluación de la red social, soledad emocional y satisfacción con la vida entre cinco grupos de adolescentes con diferente implicación en el acoso escolar: “no implicados”, “agresores/víctimas ocasionales”, “víctimas frecuentes”, “agresores frecuentes” y “agresores/víctimas frecuentes”. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 1034 adolescentes (50.6% chicos y 49.4% chicas), entre 12 y 19 años. Los resultados mostraron que los agresores frecuentes tienen menor empatía emocional que las víctimas frecuentes y los agresores-víctimas ocasionales. Por otro lado, las víctimas frecuentes presentan una evaluación más negativa de la red social que los agresores-víctimas ocasionales. Los adolescentes víctimas y agresores-víctimas frecuentes muestran mayor soledad. Por último, los noimplicados y los agresores-víctimas ocasionales presentan mayor satisfacción con la vida. Estos resultados y sus implicaciones son discutidos.

Homophobic bullying and victimization among adolescents: The role of prejudice, moral disengagement, and sexual orientation

Bullying is associated with harmful consequences for those who are involved, in particular for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and sexually questioning (LGBQ) adolescents, who are teased for their sexual orientation. Not only LGBQ youth may experience homophobic bullying, but also students who are perceived as not conforming to traditional masculine/feminine gender role expectations. Wrong beliefs, prejudices, and moral disengagement may account for the perpetration of homophobic bullying. The present work aims at investigating whether (boys and girls) heterosexual and LGBQ adolescents were differently involved in homophobic and non-homophobic bullying and victimization and whether biological sex and sexual orientation moderated the relationships between prejudice and moral disengagement and involvement in homophobic bullying and victimization. Participants were 197 adolescents (70 boys, 127 girls), aged 15–18 years (M = 16.32); 46 of them defined themselves as LGBQ people. They responded to questionnaires about bullying and victimization, prejudice against homosexuality, and moral disengagement in situations involving sexual orientation. Results of the univariate analyses pointed to a higher homophobic and non-homophobic victimization among LGBQ adolescents than among their heterosexual counterparts. In the regressions, homophobic bullying was associated with being male and heterosexual, and with moral disengagement, whereas homophobic victimization was related to a low level of prejudice, in particular for LGBQ youths. The findings underscore the importance of examining prejudice and moral disengagement when studying homophobic bullying and victimization and point to the need for developing intervention programs.

Systematic review on bullying and family: an analysis based on bioecological systems

Analyze the relationships between family context and involvement in school bullying. The following databases were searched: Web of Science, PsycoInfo, Pub-Med, Lilacs and SciELO virtual library, using the terms bullying, family and parents. A total of 61 papers met the eligibility criteria. The corpus was analyzed through the Bioecological Development Framework. The experiences of students experiencing situations of bullying are multifaceted and are related to the family context. Elements from the microsystem, such as violence in the family, parental practices, environment and type of family arrangements, were the elements more frequently explored and related to bullying, though the relationships of parents with the children's friends, the parents' education and socioeconomic conditions, along with the exo, meso and macro systems were also related to bullying. The review contributes to the literature by broadening the approach to this phenomenon that affects the health and development of children and adolescents.

The relation between social anxiety, social withdrawal and (cyber)bullying roles: A multilevel analysis

This study investigated how social anxiety and social withdrawal are related to middle school students’ involvement in bullying, and whether class-levels variables influence this association. There were 668 participants (Mage = 12.73, SD = 1.08), who were part of a screening for inclusion in a social and emotional learning program. Results showed there was overlap between traditional bullying and cyberbullying in bullies (52.4%), but not victims (32.7%). Girls reported significantly more social anxiety than boys, while no gender differences were found for social withdrawal. Bullying and cyberbullying victims, as well as bully-victims (but not cyberbully-victims), displayed higher levels of social anxiety than students who were not involved in bullying/cyberbullying. All students involved in bullying (victims, bullies and bully-victims) had higher levels of social withdrawal; however, bully-victims were those who showed the highest levels. Gender distribution did not moderate the relation between social anxiety, social withdrawal, on the one hand, and any bullying or cyberbullying roles, on the other hand. Class size moderated the relation between being a bully/victim and social withdrawal. These results showed that (cyber)bullying roles strongly impact social anxiety, social withdrawal and demonstrated the importance of including class size when analyzing the relation between bullying roles and social anxiety and social withdrawal.

Child–Mother Agreement on Experiences of School Bullying Involvement in Children With ADHD

Objective: To examine the levels of agreement between the reports of 452 children and their mothers on children’s experiences of bullying involvement at school and investigate the factors influencing the levels of agreement in children with ADHD. Method: The levels of agreement between children’s and mothers’ reports were examined. The influence of age, sex, ADHD symptoms, and psychiatric comorbidities on the levels of agreement was also examined. Results: The results indicated low agreement on the experiences of bullying involvement in child–mother ADHD dyads. Age and hyperactivity-impulsivity, oppositional, depressive, and anxiety symptoms significantly influenced the levels of agreement on the victimization of physical bullying. Age significantly influenced the levels of agreement on the perpetration of physical bullying. Conclusion: Multiple sources of information are required when clinicians assess the experiences of bullying involvement at school in children with ADHD. The factors influencing the levels of agreement should be considered.

Future Orientation among Students Exposed to School Bullying and Cyberbullying Victimization.

Future orientation can be defined as an individual’s thoughts, beliefs, plans, and hopes for the future. Earlier research has shown adolescents’ future orientation to predict outcomes later in life, which makes it relevant to analyze differences in future orientation among youth. The aim of the present study was to analyze if bullying victimization was associated with an increased likelihood of reporting a pessimistic future orientation among school youth. To be able to distinguish between victims and bully-victims (i.e., students who are both bullies and victims), we also took perpetration into account. The data were derived from the Stockholm School Survey performed in 2016 among ninth grade students (ages 15–16 years) (n = 5144). Future orientation and involvement in school bullying and in cyberbullying were based on self-reports. The statistical method used was binary logistic regression. The results demonstrated that victims and bully-victims of school bullying and of cyberbullying were more likely to report a pessimistic future orientation compared with students not involved in bullying. These associations were shown also when involvement in school bullying and cyberbullying were mutually adjusted. The findings underline the importance of anti-bullying measures that target both school bullying and cyberbullying.

Emotion suppression and reappraisal associated with bullying involvement and other social outcomes in young adults

The ability to regulate emotions appropriately and effectively is important in maintaining positive social interactions and outcomes. The current study investigated the association between the habitual use of suppression and reappraisal, and involvement in bullying in high school. Other social outcomes, such as current social satisfaction and support, were also considered. Two hundred and nine first-year psychology university students (mean age 19.13 years, SD = 1.523) completed online questionnaires. Results demonstrated that suppression was associated with greater retrospective reports of victimisation during high school and lower current social satisfaction and support, even when controlling for general affect. Reappraisal was mostly found to be unrelated to bullying and social outcomes, with only one association existing between higher reappraisal use and better social satisfaction, which was no longer significant when controlling for affect. The findings extend on previous research by demonstrating a negative association between suppression and involvement in bullying.

6. The Effects of Involvement in Physical Activity and Organized Athletics on the Prevalence of Peer Victimization in Adolescents

Physical activity is encouraged among adolescents to teach healthy living while also protecting youth by reducing the risk of many physical and mental health issues. Involvement in organized athletics, a common avenue for participation in physical activity among adolescents but may also inadvertently contribute to peer victimization. The goal of this paper was to assess if involvement in organized athletics moderates the relationship between physical activity and peer victimization. 21420 adolescent Canadian students completed the 2010 Health Behaviour Survey for School-aged Children, which included measures assessing physical activity, involvement in organized athletics, and involvement in bullying. Moderated regressions indicated that poor health, low physical activity, absence of involvement in organized athletics, lower grade, and gender were associated with increased peer victimization. These findings suggest that although involvement in organized athletics offers adolescents an opportunity to be physically active, it may come at cost due to an increased risk for peer victimization. This research has implications for both practice and policy.

Bullying and Suicidality in Children and Adolescents Without Predisposing Factors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Published evidence has suggested that engaging in school or cyber bullying may potentially be associated with a suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. The aim of our review/meta-analysis was to evaluate the potential association between school and cyber bullying and suicidality (including suicidal ideation, planning and/or committing a suicide attempt) in children and adolescents (< 19 years old) who are considered as a “healthy” population, without predispositions for suicidality factors (not subpopulations with characteristics that may constitute proneness to bullying and its consequences, including sexual minorities, drug users and youth with psychiatric comorbidity). Regarding school bullying, victims and bullies independently, and victims and bullies together, were significantly more likely to present suicidal ideation and commit a suicide attempt, compared to non-involved participants. Victims of school bullying were found to be significantly more likely to commit a suicide attempt that required medical treatment. Victims of cyber bullying were significantly more likely to present suicidal ideation and commit a suicide attempt. A positive relationship between involvement in both school bullying and cyber-bullying with suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior was observed. This review/meta-analysis contributes to further understanding bullying and suicidality as it includes results of participants without any predisposing factors for suicidality, thus providing more clear results with regard to the magnitude of the effects of both school and cyber bullying on suicidality.

Sibling bullying in middle childhood and psychotic disorder at 18 years: a prospective cohort study.

Being bullied by a sibling has been recently identified as a potential risk factor for developing depression and self-harm. It is unknown whether this risk extends to other serious mental health problems such as psychosis. We investigated whether sibling bullying victimization or perpetration in middle childhood was prospectively associated with psychotic disorder in early adulthood. The current study investigated 6988 participants of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a UK community-based birth cohort. Sibling bullying was reported at 12 years and psychotic disorder was assessed via a semi-structured interview at 18 years. Involvement in sibling bullying was associated with psychotic disorder in a dose-response fashion, even after controlling for a range of confounders. Those involved several times a week were 2-3 times more likely to meet criteria for a psychotic disorder [odds ratio (OR); 95% confidence interval (CI)]: victimization (OR 2.74; CI 1.28-5.87); perpetration (OR 3.16; CI 1.35-7.41). Categorical analysis indicated that particularly victims (OR 3.10; CI 1.48-6.50) and bully-victims (OR 2.66; CI 1.24-5.69) were at increased risk of psychotic disorder. Involvement in both sibling and peer bullying had a dose-effect relationship with a psychotic disorder, with those victimized in both contexts having more than four times the odds for a psychotic disorder (OR 4.57; CI 1.73-12.07). Parents and health professionals should be aware of the adverse long-term effects of sibling bullying.

Associations between callous-unemotional traits and various types of involvement in school bullying among adolescents in Taiwan.

This study examined associations between callous-unemotional (CU) traits and involvement in school bullying among 613 Taiwanese adolescents. CU traits were determined using the self-reported Chinese versions of the Inventory of Callous and Unemotional Traits (C-ICUT) and the School Bullying Experience Questionnaire (C-SBEQ). The study used logistic regression analysis to assess associations between CU traits and types of involvement in school bullying, with controls for the effect of age, sex, and residential background. Higher levels of the callous trait were positively associated with greater risk of being a victim of physical bullying and belongings snatch, or a perpetrator of verbal, relational and physical bullying and belongings snatch. Higher levels of the unemotional trait were positively associated with greater risk of being a victim of verbal and relational bullying. The uncaring trait had no significant associations with any type of bullying involvement. The role played by CU traits should, therefore, be examined when developing programs to detect and prevent school bullying.