IMPACTS OF TRADITIONAL BULLYING AND CYBERBULLYING ON THE MENTAL HEALTH OF MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

A critical debate within the field of school psychology has centered on the relationship between bullying and cyberbullying in terms of prevalence, overlap, and impact. The current study sought to address the following questions: (1) Does cyberbullying create new victims or merely a new means of victimization? (2) Does cyberbullying uniquely contribute to negative outcomes above and beyond those of traditional bullying? Utilizing an anonymous survey to examine students’ experiences with cyberbullying, traditional bullying, and negative psychological symptoms, it was found that the vast majority of students who were bullied online were also victims of in‐person bullying. Both forms of victimization were independently associated with negative outcomes. However, when controlling for traditional bullying, cyberbullying did not remain a predictor of negative mental health outcomes. In contrast, when controlling for cyberbullying, traditional bullying remained a significant predictor of negative mental health outcomes. These results suggest that although traditional and cyber forms of bullying tend to target the same victims, traditional bullying is more uniquely associated with negative psychological outcomes.     

Peer victimization in children with Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

This study explored peer victimization in 9‐ to 14‐year‐old children with and without Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The sample comprised 104 children, 52 of whom had a previous ADHD diagnosis. Children with ADHD had higher overall rates of self‐reported victimization by peers and parent‐ and teacher‐reported bullying behavior than did children without ADHD. The rates of victimization were especially high for girls with ADHD. Furthermore, children with ADHD reported higher frequencies of verbal, physical, and relational victimization than did children without ADHD. When data were pooled from children, parents, and teachers, children with ADHD were categorized as victims, bullies, and bully/victims significantly more often than were children without ADHD. Parent ratings of ADHD symptoms predicted self‐reported victimization by peers. Neither parent‐rated anxious‐shy behaviors nor parent‐ and teacher‐rated social skills predicted victimization by peers over and above ADHD symptoms. Parent ratings of oppositional behavior mediated the relationship between ADHD symptoms and parent‐ and teacher‐rated bullying. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A LONGITUDINAL INVESTIGATION OF SELF‐ AND PEER REPORTS OF BULLYING VICTIMIZATION ACROSS MIDDLE SCHOOL

Cross‐sectional studies indicate how many students are victims of bullying at a single time, but do not tell us whether the same students continue to be bullied or whether there is a cumulative impact of bullying over time. This study examined the longitudinal stability and the cumulative impact of victimization in a sample of 382 students assessed in the fall and the spring of Grades 6, 7, and 8. Victimization assessed by both self‐ and peer reports indicated substantial variability in who was bullied, with nearly 51% of students reporting bullying victimization during at least one of the six assessments. The cumulative impact of victimization over 3 years was demonstrated on Grade‐8 outcome measures of absences, disciplinary infractions, suspensions, grade point averages, standardized test scores, reports of youth risk behavior, and perceptions of school climate. This study provides new information about the cumulative impact of peer‐ and self‐reported bullying across middle school.     

INITIAL DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE BULLYHARM: THE BULLYING,HARASSMENT, AND AGGRESSION RECEIPT MEASURE

This article describes the development and preliminary validation of the Bullying, Harassment, and Aggression Receipt Measure (BullyHARM). The development of the BullyHARM involved a number of steps and methods, including a literature review, expert review, cognitive testing, readability testing, data collection from a large sample, reliability testing, and confirmatory factor analysis. A sample of 275 middle school students was used to examine the psychometric properties and factor structure of the BullyHARM, which consists of 22 items and six subscales: physical bullying, verbal bullying, social/relational bullying, cyber‐bullying, property bullying, and sexual bullying. First‐order and second‐order factor models were evaluated. Results demonstrate that the first‐order factor model had superior fit. Results of reliability testing indicate that the BullyHARM scale and subscales have very good internal consistency reliability. Findings indicate that the BullyHARM has good properties regarding content validation and respondent‐related validation, and is a promising instrument for measuring bullying victimization in school.     

Bullying and Victimisation among Taiwanese Students in Special Schools

This study examined the prevalence of bullying and victimisation among students in special schools in Taiwan. The sample included 140 students with various disabilities, aged 12–18, from 10 special schools throughout Taiwan. Trained interviewers conducted face-to-face surveys using structured questionnaires. Results show that 31.8% of students in special schools experienced peer victimisation within the past year, while 26.5% of students had bullied others during that period. While the findings did not yield gender differences, students in junior high grades tended to report more victimisation experiences than did their senior high counterparts. Severity of disability was positively associated with both bullying and being bullied; however, no difference was found regarding types of disability. Delinquency was positively associated with student bullying and victimisation. Students who suffered victimisation also reported a higher number of suicide attempts. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

THE ROLE OF PEER ATTACHMENT AND NORMATIVE BELIEFS ABOUT AGGRESSION ON TRADITIONAL BULLYING AND CYBERBULLYING

This study examined the effects of normative beliefs about aggression and peer attachment on traditional bullying, cyberbullying, and both types of victimization. Cyberbullying departs from traditional forms of bullying in that it is through forms of technology, such as the Internet, which increases situational anonymity. Eight hundred fifty students in Grades 6 through 8 completed a survey that assessed normative beliefs about aggression, peer attachment, and traditional bullying and cyberbullying behaviors, which suggested that students who are involved with traditional bullying are also involved in cyberbullying. Adolescents with higher normative beliefs about aggression are more likely to be traditional bullies, traditional victims, cyberbullies, and cybervictims. Additionally, peer attachment was found to be negatively associated with both types of bullying and victimization. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

The relationship between school belonging,sibling aggression and bullying involvement: implications for students with and without disabilities

Bullying is grounded in the interactions between an individual and complex social–ecological systems. Therefore, bullying involvement is not just confined to the classroom or school. Recent research suggests that sibling aggression may be a predictor for peer-level aggression. These findings may be more relevant for students with disabilities because studies suggest that students with disabilities are disproportionately involved in the bullying dynamic. Therefore, this study explored the intersection between sibling aggression and school belonging on bullying, victimisation and fighting for 14,508 students, including 1183 students with disabilities and 13,325 students without disabilities in grades 6 through 12. As hypothesised, students with disabilities reported higher levels of victimisation, bullying and fighting. Additionally, high levels of school belonging partially buffered fighting and bullying behaviours for students with and without disabilities. These findings demonstrate the importance of establishing an inclusive and safe environment for school-aged youth.     

Peer victimization and depression in children with and without motor coordination difficulties

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a chronic disability that impacts children's performance of everyday motor‐based activities and is associated with the development of secondary social and mental health problems. The purpose of this study was to investigate peer victimization and depression in children who were and were not at risk for DCD. Selected from a population‐based sample, 159 at‐risk fifth graders were matched for age and gender to 159 controls. Children completed measures of depression and frequency of peer victimization. Results showed that children at risk for DCD reported more symptoms of depression and more frequent verbal and relational victimization than their peers. Being at risk for DCD and being bullied more frequently, especially relationally, significantly predicted increased depression symptoms. Findings highlight the importance of school psychologists remaining aware that children with DCD are at increased risk of experiencing bullying and depression. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

THE EFFECTS OF GROUP COACHING ON THE HOMEWORK PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED BY SECONDARY STUDENTS WITH AND WITHOUT DISABILITIES

Research on the effectiveness of homework provides ample evidence that homework has a positive effect on learning, particularly for secondary students. Unfortunately, the rate of consistent homework completion for students, with and without disabilities, is low. This study used a between‐groups design to examine the differential effectiveness of coaching, a self‐management intervention, compared with the local treatment‐as‐usual (homework center) on improving the homework completion of 50 middle school students (Grades 6 to 8) with and without disabilities who were having substantial difficulty with homework. Results indicated that both group coaching and homework center (treatment‐as‐usual) were effective in significantly decreasing homework problems, with no clear indication that one intervention was, overall, superior to the other. However, preliminary analyses suggest that these interventions might be differentially effective as a function of disability status.     

TEACHERS' ATTITUDES TOWARD DIFFERENT TYPES OF BULLYING AND VICTIMIZATION IN TURKEY

In the present study, attitudes of elementary school teachers toward different types of bullying (verbal, physical, and relational) were investigated. Six written vignettes describing all types of bullying were given to 405 elementary school teachers (F = 218; M = 187). Results indicated that teachers perceived relational bullying, specifically, social exclusion, less serious than verbal and physical bullying. Unlike previous findings, however, the teachers considered verbal bullying behaviors more serious than physical bullying behaviors and were also more empathetic toward the victim physically bullied and the victim verbally bullied than the victim relationally bullied. Coherent with the findings of empathy, they were also more likely to intervene in verbal and physical bullying behaviors than relational bullying behaviors. Gender of the participant was a significant factor for all variables. The most rated intervention strategy was having a serious talk with the bully, regardless of the type of victimization. Multiple regression analysis illustrated that seriousness and empathy scores both predicted the need for intervention scores significantly in all types of bullying. The findings of this study highlight the importance of increasing teachers’ awareness and knowledge about all types of bullying, their consequences, and intervention skills to lessen bullying behaviors.     

The path of least resistance: a voice‐relational analysis of disabled students’ experiences of discrimination in English universities

Recent legislation means that it is now illegal to treat a student, for reasons relating to a disability, less favourably than a non‐disabled student unless this is justified to maintain academic standards. However, recent research has identified numerous barriers faced by students with disabilities when they attempt to access the higher education curriculum. This study uses a methodology combining life‐story approaches with a voice‐relational analysis and aims to explore in more detail these barriers by listening to first person accounts from university students with a disability. The students’ narratives suggest that disabled students have to work considerably harder than non‐disabled students to overcome a wide range of physical, attitudinal, social, cultural and political barriers. Students appear to take the path of least resistance by choosing routes where the barriers are least great and it is argued that in this way they are being discriminated against. The research shows that voice‐relational methodology is excellent at producing a thorough account of the phenomenological world of these students without neglecting a materialist and cultural analysis of their environment. These insider perspectives are then used to suggest possible improvements to policy and practice in higher education.     

Associations between peer victimization and school climate: The impact of form and the moderating role of gender

The purpose of the present study is to examine whether physical and relational victimization negatively impacts indicators of school climate–students’ perceptions of school safety, their attachment to school, and their help‐seeking behavior–and whether gender moderates these associations. Using a sample of 361 third through fifth‐grade students recruited from six public elementary schools, results reveal that relational and physical victimization were both uniquely associated with lower levels of school safety and school attachment, with stronger associations between school attachment and relational victimization. However, only physical victimization was negatively associated with help‐seeking, suggesting that physical victimization is more influential on help seeking as compared with relational victimization. Gender moderated the relationships between victimization and school attachment and help‐seeking with differences by form noted. No gender differences were evident in associations between the forms of peer victimization and school safety. Implications for prevention and intervention in schools are discussed.     

Bully/victim problems among Greek pupils with special educational needs: associations with loneliness and self‐efficacy for peer interactions

This study explores the prevalence of different types of bullying and victimisation among Greek pupils receiving special education support provision. Associations of these types with feelings of loneliness and perceived social efficacy for peer interactions are also examined. The sample consisted of 178 students of fifth and sixth primary school grades who participated in pull‐out special education delivery programmes. Participants were found to be actively involved in both bullying and victimisation, with higher rates in victimisation. Statistically significant gender and disability differences in bullying and loneliness were identified. Both bullying and victimisation were associated with loneliness/social dissatisfaction, and self‐efficacy for peer interactions. Moreover, our data provided evidence that bully/victims may be a distinct group in terms of their increased levels of loneliness. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for promoting children with special educational needs and disabilities social inclusion.     

THE EFFECTS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL BULLYING AND VICTIMIZATION ON ADJUSTMENT THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL: GROWTH MODELING OF ACHIEVEMENT,SCHOOL ATTENDANCE,AND DISCIPLINARY TRAJECTORIES

The current 5‐year longitudinal study examined the effects of middle school bullying and victimization on adolescent academic achievement, disciplinary referrals, and school attendance through high school (N = 2030; 1016 both boys and girls). Greater engagement in bullying behaviors was concurrently associated with lower achievement and school attendance for girls and higher levels of disciplinary problems, and, for girls, predicted increases in disciplinary referrals through high school. Victimization was unrelated to school adjustment difficulties when controlling for bullying. Moreover, academic achievement was longitudinally associated with disciplinary referrals and school attendance. These findings outline concurrent school adjustment difficulties associated with engagement in bullying behavior, the longer‐term behavioral ramifications for girls, and the relations of behavioral and academic development from middle school to high school.     

Violent crime against children with disabilities: A nationwide prospective birth cohort-study

BackgroundThe rate of violent victimization against children with disabilities is thought to be lower than the rate for children without disabilities but several studies shows otherwise.ObjectiveThe study focuses on examining violent crime against children with disabilities and explaining differences in victimization, in order to elucidate to what extent types of disability, family disadvantages, gender, high-risk behavior, location and indicator of ethnic minority (e.g. non-Danish citizens) influence adolescents’ risk of violent victimization. Previous population studies in this area lack scientifically sound research methodology and results are weak or inconclusive.MethodData is based on a national study of reported violent crime against children in Denmark aged between 7 and 18 years, using total birth cohorts (N = 678,000). Data on types of disability were collected from the Danish national inpatient register. Violent-crime data were extracted from Danish police records. Within the birth cohorts studied, 3.5% of children had experienced a violent crime. A discrete-time Cox model was used for the statistical analysis, which included an extended list of potential risk factors to adjust for confounding.ResultsChildren with disabilities are more likely to be victims of a reported violent crime than non-disabled children – ADHD odds ratio: 2.7 (2.6–2.8), mental retardation: 2.7 (2.6–2.7), autism 2.6 (2.5–2.7), loss of hearing 1.4 (1.2–1.5), brain injury: 1.8 (1.7–1.9), physical disabilities 1.4 (1.2–1.5), and blindness 2.0 (1.4–2.8). Speech disability, epilepsy, stuttering, and dyslexia were not associated with increased risk of violent victimization, when adjusted for confounding risk factors and age.ConclusionsThe results of our study provide empirical insight into the first-time prevalence of victimization among children with disability, and into the predicative association between family disadvantages and victimization.     

The links between students’ relationships with teachers,likeability among peers,and bullying victimization: the intervening role of teacher responsiveness

Highly responsive teachers tend to foster behaviors that are low in conflict and high in prosociality, among their students, leading to a positive classroom climate and to a decrease in bullying victimization. However, little is known about the interaction between teacher responsiveness and both student–teacher, and student–student relationship characteristics, in influencing students’ bullying victimization at school. Here, we examined student–teacher relationship quality and students’ likeability among peers as predictors of in-school victimization. Additionally, we investigated the moderating role of teacher responsiveness over this link. Study sample consisted of 386 early-adolescent students (55.2% female, mean age [SD] = 12.17 [0.73]) and 19 main teachers (females, n = 14). Findings indicated that students’ exposure to victimization was positively associated with student–teacher conflict and negatively associated with likeability among classroom peers. Teacher responsiveness did not show a significant direct association with bullying victimization. However, when teachers showed high responsiveness, the strength of the association between student–teacher conflict and students’ likelihood of bullying victimization was slightly increased. The present study highlights the importance of considering the role of teacher responsiveness when modeling the link between student and teacher relationship quality and in school bullying victimization.

     

The Experiences of Students with Mobility Disabilities in Cypriot Higher Education Institutions: Listening to their voices

This article explores the experiences of students with mobility disabilities in Cypriot higher education institutions. In order to obtain relevant information, in‐depth semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 10 Cypriot students with different forms of mobility disabilities, who attended different Cypriot higher education institutions and a variety of courses. This study yielded interesting results in terms of provision (e.g., accommodation for examinations and assignments, note‐taking services, tutorials, counselling services) as well as lecturers’ and students’ attitudes towards disability, raising interesting issues of social inclusion and rights. The quality of their experiences was affected by physical access, provision availability, positive responses by fellow students without disabilities, and the level of awareness among the members of the academic staff or the rest of the staff (e.g., cleaners, administrative officers, and accommodation staff). The findings of this study have implications at an institutional level for rethinking and refining policy and practice on disability.     

Using children's literature to decrease moral disengagement and victimization among elementary school students

Previous research has suggested that moral disengagement is strongly associated with bullying and bystander behavior. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of a 5‐week classroom‐wide bullying intervention, The Bullying Literature Project‐Moral Disengagement Version (BLP‐MD), on moral disengagement and bullying among elementary school students. A quasiexperimental design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the BLP‐MD. A sample of 84 third grade students (M_age = 7.93 years, 53.6% female) from four classrooms and their teachers participated in this study. The results revealed significant time by treatment interactions for decreasing both victimization and moral disengagement in treatment classrooms compared to waitlist control classrooms. The program also resulted in improved perception of peer friendships and was rated as having high social validity for both students and their teachers. How to incorporate the BLP‐MD into the general language arts curriculum to decrease moral disengagement and bullying, and promote positive bystanding is discussed.     

Changes in children's peer interactions following a natural disaster: How predisaster bullying and victimization rates changed following Hurricane Katrina

Youth exposed to disasters experience stress and adjustment difficulties, which likely influence their interactions with peers. In this study, we examined changes in bullying and peer victimization in two cohorts of children. Youth from an area affected by Hurricane Katrina were assessed pre‐ and postdisaster (n = 96, mean [M] = 10.9 years old, 53% female), and a comparison group from a nearby area was assessed over the same time interval 1 year prior (n = 120, M = 10.2 years old, 52% female). Within the hurricane group, relations between symptoms of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with bullying and victimization also were examined. Following the hurricane, the hurricane group reported increased relational and overt bullying relative to the nonhurricane group, and PTSD symptoms predicted increased victimization. Thus, school personnel should be vigilant and prepared to respond to increased bullying following disasters and for increased victimization in youth experiencing PTSD symptoms. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Bullying in schools and exposure to domestic violence

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to investigate the relationship between bullying and victimization in school and exposure to interparental violence in a nonclinical sample of Italian youngsters. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 1059 Italian elementary and middle school students. Participants completed a self-report anonymous questionnaire measuring bullying and victimization and exposure to interparental violence. The questionnaire also included measures on parental child abuse and socio-demographic variables. RESULTS: Almost half of all boys and girls reported different types of bullying and victimization in the previous 3 months, with boys more involved than girls in bullying others. Exposure to interparental physical violence and direct bullying were significantly associated especially for girls: girls exposed to father's violence against the mother and those exposed to mother's violence against the father were among the most likely to bully directly others compared with girls who had not been exposed to any interparental violence. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that bullying and victimization were predicted by exposure to interparental violence, especially mother-to-father violence, over and above age, gender, and child abuse by the father. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to interparental violence is associated with bullying and victimization in school, even after controlling for direct child abuse. Violence within the family has detrimental effects on the child's behavior; schools, in this regard, can play a fundamental role in early detection of maladjustment.