Coping with bullying and victimisation among preadolescents: the moderating effects of self-efficacy

Bullying and victimisation may result from ineffective coping with interpersonal stressors. However, little is known about the preadolescents who are most susceptible to dysfunctional coping styles. Self-efficacy beliefs may be one source of individual differences in coping among those involved in bullying and victimisation. The purpose of the present research was to examine whether links between bullying/victimisation and coping were moderated by self-efficacy beliefs. Participants were 262 Greek preadolescents who completed self-report assessments of bullying/victimisation, coping, and self-efficacy. Results indicated that self-efficacy moderated the association between bullying/victimisation and coping, in that greater use of ineffective coping (i.e., resignation, passive avoidance) predicted bullying and victimisation among preadolescents with moderate and low levels of social and emotional self-efficacy, whereas greater use of adaptive coping (i.e., positive self-instructions, social support) was reported by those with higher self-efficacy beliefs. Practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Bullying by definition: an examination of definitional components of bullying

Lack of definitional consensus remains an important unresolved issue within bullying research. This study examined the ability of definitional variables to predict overall level of victimisation (distress, power inequity, and provocation as predictors) and bullying (intention to harm, power inequity, and provocation as predictors) in 246 Australian university students. All variables were measured using the Victimisation and Bullying Inventory (VBI), with behaviour assessed separately for tertiary institution, workplace and home contexts. Regression analysis revealed that, as expected, higher levels of distress predicted higher levels of victimisation (in all contexts) and higher levels of intention to harm predicted higher levels of engagement in bullying (in work and home contexts). Challenging definitional theory, bullying was reported as most commonly occurring between two equals, from both the victim and bully perspective, and individuals who bullied others blamed the victim for provoking the behaviour twice as often as victims felt that they had provoked it.     

Psychological defense styles, childhood adversities and psychopathology in adulthood

OBJECTIVE: The present study explores the link between reported sexual and/or physical abuse and psychological defense styles, as well as the association of both with psychological distress in adulthood. In two patient samples that differ in psychological distress and somatization, we examine whether the adversities reported and immature defense styles are associated with psychopathological symptoms. METHOD: We examined 266 consecutive inpatients in the psychosomatic department and 109 consecutive inpatients who had been treated for low-back pain in the orthopedic department of a German university hospital. Psychological defense styles were assessed by a two-factor solution of the German modified adaptation of the Defense Mechanism Inventory (DMI), childhood adversities by a structured interview, psychological distress by the SCL-90-R, and somatization by the Screening for Somatoform Disorders (SOMS). RESULTS: Both samples demonstrated a significant link between immature defense styles and the extent of overall psychological distress as well as somatization. Reported sexual and/or physical abuse of patients in both patient samples was directly associated with somatization. CONCLUSION: Recollections of sexual and/or physical abuse in childhood and immature defense styles have an association with psychopathology in adulthood. This finding suggests that immature defense styles may act, in part, as mediators between the adversities investigated and adult psychopathology.     

弱智儿童父母心理压力与应付方式、生活质量的相关研究

目的 :探讨弱智儿童父母的心理压力与应付方式、生活质量的相关性。方法 :对 1 0 1位弱智儿童的父母采用残疾儿童父母心理压力问卷、应付方式问卷和生活质量综合评定问卷 (GQOLI)进行测评。结果 :父亲的心理压力的总分与自责和幻想的应付方式正相关 ;母亲的心理压力总分与自责和退避的应付方式有正相关。弱智儿童父亲和母亲的心理压力与生活质量呈显著负相关。多元回归结果表明 ,对父亲的心理压力贡献最大的因素是心理功能状态和采用退避的应付方式 ,对母亲的心理压力的总分贡献最大的因素是心理功能状态、采用退避和自责的应付方式以及生活质量     

Resilience to bullying: towards an alternative to the anti-bullying approach

Anti-bullying strategies are significant approaches addressing bullying in schools, however their capacity to produce a reduction in bullying behaviour is open to question. This article examined a resilience-based approach to bullying. One hundred and five primary and high school students were surveyed using several standardised instruments. The study found that high school students reported more victimisation than primary students; that students reporting greater resilience; experienced less distress regarding bullying; that relatedness demonstrated a stronger negative correlation than mastery with distress levels to bullying; that students exhibiting greater emotional reactivity engaged in more bullying behaviour compared to others; and that a younger group exhibited greater resilience levels compared to an older group. The results support an evolutionary psychology view of bullying and suggest an operational definition of bullying in terms of power differentials within a relational context. Further examination and development of a resilience-based intervention model focused on developing a sense of relatedness is supported.     

Psychological sequelae of childhood sexual abuse: abuse-related characteristics, coping strategies, and attributional style

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to test a model predicting the contribution of abuse-related characteristics and mediating variables such as coping and attributional style in the development of psychological sequelae in adults reporting a history of child sexual abuse (CSA). METHODOLOGY: Two hundred and eighty-five males and females from three settings (a nonpatient, psychiatric outpatient, and psychiatric inpatient) completed a battery of questionnaires that included a (1) Sexual History Questionnaire, (2) Ways of Coping Questionnaire, (3) Attributional Style Questionnaire, and (4) the SCL-90-R. RESULTS: Of the 285 participants, 33% reported unwanted or forced sexual contact before the age of 18 years. Participants who reported a history of CSA also reported higher levels of psychological distress when compared to those who did not report a history of abuse. In testing the model concerning the relationship between victim-offender characteristics, mediating variables and psychological distress in adulthood; two abuse-related characteristics (number of offenders and duration of abuse) were found to be directly associated with psychological distress in adulthood. Other abuse-related variables (i.e., relation with offender, force, resistance, age of onset, participation, and frequency of abuse) were found to be related to psychological distress in adulthood through the mediation of various coping strategies (i.e., Accepting Responsibility, Confrontive Coping) and attributions (i.e., internalization of the abuse). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study further our understanding regarding the relationship between abuse-related characteristics, mediating factors such as coping and attributional style and psychological distress in adults with a history of CSA. Future research should focus on the development of interventions that focus on variables amenable to psychotherapy to ameliorate the psychological sequelae of CSA.     

Do emotional and behavioural difficulties in primary school predict adolescent victimisation trajectories?

Chronic victimisation in adolescence is a traumatic experience with potential negative long-term health consequences. Given that victimisation has been shown to increase over the transition from primary to secondary school, longitudinal data from 1810 students transitioning from primary to secondary school were used to identify victimisation trajectory groups; classified as low-increasing, low-stable, medium-stable and not-bullied. Males with emotional and behavioural difficulties (both internalising and externalising behaviours) and females with externalising behaviours were more likely to be in the increasing and stable victimised groups than the not-bullied group. The results of this study suggest whole-school bullying intervention programmes need to occur before students reach secondary school, and that transition programmes need to emphasise and support social interaction between peers to reduce victimisation and the harms caused by long-term exposure to bullying.     

No more bullying: an analysis of primary school children’s drawings of school bullying

Bullying in schools is an international problem impacting negatively on children’s well-being. Children’s drawings can provide an insight into their emotional states. There is little published literature that uses children’s drawings to gain better understandings of the nature and impact of bullying. We report two studies using indicators of emotional distress to examine Australian primary school children’s drawings about bullying. In Study One, children’s drawings were examined using indicators of size, detail and line heaviness in terms of gender and developmental trends. The analysis showed no main differences for gender, however, there were clear developmental aspects to children’s depictions of school bullying. In Study Two, children’s self-reported victimisation was associated with the degree of detail and the relative distance between the protagonists represented in the drawings. The studies suggest that drawings could be used to counsel young people and help remediate the effects of bullying.     

Parenting styles and bullying. The mediating role of parental psychological aggression and physical punishment

Studies concerning parenting styles and disciplinary practices have shown a relationship between both factors and bullying involvement in adolescence. The scarce available evidence suggests that abusive disciplinary practices increase teenagers’ vulnerability to abuse in school or the likelihood of them becoming abusers of their peers in the same context. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the indirect effect of parenting styles in adolescents’ bullying involvement through disciplinary practices, although a relationship between parenting styles and disciplinary practices has been shown. The aim of this research was to determine the mediating role of punitive parental discipline (physical punishment and psychological aggression) between the dimensions of parents’ parenting styles and their children's involvement in bullying victimization and aggression. We used a sample comprising 2060 Spanish high school students (47.9% girls; mean age = 14.34). Structural equation modeling was performed to analyze the data. The results confirmed the mediating role of parental discipline between the parenting practices analyzed and students’ aggression and victimization. Significant gender-related differences were found for aggression involvement, where boys were for the most part linked to psychological aggression disciplinary practices and girls to physical punishment. Victimization directly correlated with parental psychological aggression discipline behavior across both sexes. In conclusion, the results seem to suggest that non-democratic parenting styles favor the use of punitive discipline, which increases the risk of adolescents’ bullying involvement. Therefore, intervention programs must involve parents to make them aware about the important role they play in this process and to improve their parenting styles.     

Cyberbullying victimisation and mental distress: testing the moderating role of attachment security,social support,and coping styles

Although it has been well established that cyberbullying leads to mental health problems, less is known about the factors that confer resilience to the adverse effects of cyberbullying among young people. To address this gap, adolescents aged 13–19 years (n = 476) completed a survey measuring cyberbullying victimisation, attachment styles, perceived social support, coping styles, and mental distress. Compared to non-victims, victims of cyberbullying experienced higher levels of depression and anxiety and endorsed more self-statements indicative of attachment anxiety. Peer support, security in attachment relationships, and the endorsement of positive coping strategies attenuated the positive relationship between cyberbullying victimisation and mental health difficulties. Family support did not appear to buffer adolescents from mental distress in this context. However, family support was the strongest bivariate predictor of reduced mental distress. Although peer relations should be the target of intervention programmes within school settings, the findings highlight the importance of including families in cyberbullying prevention programmes.     

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.     

Teaching Styles and Occupational Stress among Chinese University Faculty Members

The primary aim of this research is to investigate the predictive power of occupational stress for teaching style among university faculty members. A sample of 144 faculty members from a large university in the People’s Republic of China rated themselves on three ability scales and responded to the Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory and to four scales from the Occupational Stress Inventory‐Revised (role overload, role insufficiency, psychological strain, and rational/cognitive coping). Satisfactory reliability and validity data were obtained for the Chinese version of the four occupational stress scales. After self‐rated abilities were taken into account, occupational stress remained a significant predictor of teaching style. A stronger feeling of role overload and more frequent use of a rational/cognitive coping strategy were conducive to employing both creativity‐generating and conservative teaching styles; a stronger feeling of role insufficiency and psychological strain had a negative impact on the use of creative‐generating teaching styles. The implications of this research for both university faculty members and university administrators are discussed.     

The mediational role of posttraumatic stress in the relationship between domestic violence exposure and peer victimisation: a Cambodian sample

Research demonstrates that children exposed to domestic violence experience a myriad of internalising and externalising symptoms. The current study examines this pathway within a Cambodian sample, specifically determining if the effect of witnessing domestic violence on the child’s tendency to bully or to be bullied is mediated by symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The PTSD Checklist – Civilian Version, a revised version of a12-item bullying and victimisation questionnaire, and the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale were administered to 206 high school students in Phnom Penh. A significant mediational effect of PTSD symptoms was found for victimisation (being bullied); no such mediational model was supported for bullying as the outcome variable. However, controlling for emotional, physical, and sexual child abuse resulted in the mediation effect being non-significant. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Bullying and victimisation rates among students in general and special education: a comparative analysis

Bullying and victimisation remains a pervasive problem within the nation’s schools. International research has indicated that students who are enrolled in special education curricula are victimised and perpetrate more bullying than their general education peers. Few empirical studies have examined bullying and victimisation rates among American schoolchildren within special education programmes. The current study examined rates of bullying and fighting perpetration and victimisation among middle‐school students (n = 7331) and high‐school students (n = 14,315) enrolled in general education and special education programmes. As hypothesised, students in special education reported greater rates of bullying and fighting perpetration, and victimisation than general education students. Students who were in self‐contained classrooms reported more perpetration and victimisation than those in inclusive settings. Fighting perpetration was similar for younger and older students in special education settings, whereas fighting perpetration was lower for older students, versus younger students, in general education.     

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.     

Career coping styles: differences in career attitudes among secondary school students

The types of difficulties associated with career attitudes were studied using Super’s model of career maturity (1990) in a group of 620 Portuguese students from grades 9 and 12. A cluster analysis identified four styles with different patterns of association between time perspective, attributional beliefs, self-esteem and career attitudes. The adaptive style showed more committed career attitudes, and the other three styles—superficial, insecure and pessimistic—showed lower levels of career maturity. Implications for career counselling are further discussed.     

Self-concept,Attributional Style and Depression

The purpose of the present study was to investigate how self-concept and attributional style are related to depression in a student group. On the basis of an inventory, 166 advanced teacher students were scored on general and academic self-esteem, attribution for positive and negative events, and depression. The two self-esteem variables were found to constitute important predictors of depression, while the contributions of the attributional variables were of minor importance. In addition, pessimistic attributions to both positive and negative events resulted in higher depression than pessimistic attributions to either kind of events, and to neither kind of events. Finally, factor analysis resulted in interpretable solutions.     

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.     

Social Information Processing in Aggressive and Depressed Children

Social information processing patterns of children who were identified as being aggressive or depressed, both, or neither were compared in order to address the issue of specificity and to explore whether children who are comorbid show a unique processing style. Subjects were 220 children in the third through sixth grade. Peer nomination and teacher ratings were used to assess level of aggression, and the Children's Depression Inventory was used to measure level of depression. Aggressive children showed a hostile attributional bias, were more likely to report that they would engage in aggressive behavior, and indicated that aggression would be easy for them. Depressed children similarly showed a hostile attributional bias, although they were more likely to attribute negative situations to internal, stable, and global causes. Depressed children also reported that they would be less likely to use assertive responses and that they expected that assertive behavior would lead to more negative and fewer positive outcomes. Children who were comorbid generally showed patterns similar to both aggressive and depressed children.     

Perceived severity of school bullying in elementary schools based on participants’ roles

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived severity of school bullying among participants with different roles (victims, bullies, bullies/victims and non-involved individuals) and to determine whether interactions between type of bullying and participant roles exist. Two Olweus-like global items and a revised School Bullying Severity Scale for elementary students were used in this study. A total of 1816 valid surveys completed by students in grades 5 and 6 (mean age = 11.5, SD = .84) were collected. Data were analysed using a mixed-model two-way ANOVA. The results revealed a significant main effect of type of bullying. Physical and verbal bullying were perceived as more severe than relational and cyberbullying. A significant two-way interaction between bullying category and participant role was also identified. Bullies did not perceive the four types of victimisation behaviours differently, whereas victims and bullies/victims both rated physical victimisation as most severe and cyber-victimisation as least severe. However, effect sizes were small. Implications for bullying prevention and intervention are discussed.