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Bullying and Delinquency in Adolescence: Victims’ and Perpetrators’ Family and Peer Relations

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Sonja Perren at University of Konstanz
Sonja Perren
Rainer Hornung
Rainer Hornung
Rainer Hornung
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Abstract

This study investigated (a) the prevalence and co-occurrence of various victimisation and violence experiences among adolescents and examined (b) the quality of peer and family relationships of victims and perpetrators of bullying and violent delinquency. Self-report questionnaires were completed by 1107 Swiss adolescents (grades 7 and 9). Frequency of involvement in bully/victim problems and delinquency was used to classify pupils. Bullies and bully-victims were often also victims and/or perpetrators of violent delinquency. Sex and school type effects were found regarding involvement in bully/victim problems and delinquency. Pupils who were bullied reported lower peer acceptance than bullies and non-involved pupils. Bullies as well as perpetrators and victims of violent delinquency reported lower family support than non-involved adolescents. Implications for prevention and intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Swiss Journal of Psychology 64 (1), 2005, 51–64
In adolescence the prevalence of antisocial behaviours
such as bullying or delinquency is many times higher than
in other developmental phases across the life span. More-
over, adolescents bear a high risk of becoming victims of
crime or peer aggression (Lewit & Baker, 1996). Both bul-
lying and delinquency have been frequently investigated
(Smith, Morita, Junger-Tas, Olweus, Catalano et al., 1999;
Stoff, Breiling, & Maser, 1997), but due to diverging re-
search traditions, most studies focus on either bullying or
delinquency. Moreover, in research on adolescent delin-
quency, the perspective of victims is often neglected. Our
study aimed first at investigating the co-occurrence of be-
ing a victim and/or perpetrator of bullying and/or delin-
quency. Our second goal was to compare adolescents who
are involved in bully/victim problems with perpetrators or
victims of violent delinquency regarding their family and
peer relationship problems.
Co-occurrence of Various
Antisocial Behaviours and
Victimisation Experiences
A developmental taxonomy of antisocial behaviours
(Moffitt, 1993) suggests not only that some adolescents
show a pattern of life-course persistent antisocial behav-
iour, but also that various forms of antisocial behaviour
co-occur within the same individuals. A few studies have
established that bullying and delinquent behaviour are
positively associated (e.g., Baldry & Farrington, 2000;
Lösel & Bliesener, 2003). Baldry and Farrington (2000)
suggested that bullying might be an early stage of a de-
velopmental sequence leading to delinquency. Studies
have shown that aggressive and bullying behaviour in
school are predictors of later gang membership (Holmes
Swiss J Psychol 64 (1), 2005, © by Verlag Hans Huber, Hogrefe AG, Bern
Original communication
Bullying and Delinquency
in Adolescence: Victims’ and
Perpetrators’ Family and
Peer Relations
Sonja Perren and Rainer Hornung
Department of Psychology, Social and Health Psychology, University of Zurich
This study investigated (a) the prevalence and co-occurrence of various victimisation and violence experiences
among adolescents and examined (b) the quality of peer and family relationships of victims and perpetrators of
bullying and violent delinquency. Self-report questionnaires were completed by 1107 Swiss adolescents (grades
7 and 9). Frequency of involvement in bully/victim problems and delinquency was used to classify pupils. Bul-
lies and bully-victims were often also victims and/or perpetrators of violent delinquency. Sex and school type
effects were found regarding involvement in bully/victim problems and delinquency. Pupils who were bullied
reported lower peer acceptance than bullies and non-involved pupils. Bullies as well as perpetrators and victims
of violent delinquency reported lower family support than non-involved adolescents. Implications for preven-
tion and intervention are discussed.
Keywords: Bullying, delinquency, victimisation, adolescence, peer acceptance, family support
DOI 10.1024/1421-0185.64.4.51
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... When considering the family unit as a whole, Perren and Hornung (2005) found that perpetrators of traditional bullying were more likely to report lower family support than uninvolved children. This trend was also visible for bully-victims, but statistical significance was not reached; effect sizes were not reported for either association, making it difficult to assess the strength of this association. ...
... Two studies across 84 countries explored the topic of peer support, but focusing specifically on classmates, and found that children with high levels of support reported lower victimisation and lower perpetration of school bullying (Biswas et al., 2010;Murray-Harvey & Slee, 2010). This relationship has also been established between classmate acceptance and bullying: children who felt that they were not accepted by their classmates were more likely to report victimisation at school, whilst those who reported high levels of acceptance were more likely to be perpetrators at school (Perren & Hornung, 2005;Salmivalli et al., 1996). This could suggest that aggressive behaviours are reinforced by peers, whilst also being attractive characteristics. ...
... Some differences in age and gender have been noted when considering relationships with classmates. Firstly, younger children tend to perceive their peer relationships as more negative than their older counterparts (Perren & Hornung, 2005). This could be due to the amount of time that children have spent with their classmates, with younger children starting to establish hierarchies and friendships, whilst older children will often have been with the same children throughout much of their educational life; this may vary between countries and school systems, with the reported study being conducted in Switzerland. ...
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This thesis presents a mixed method exploration of different family factors and interpersonal relationships in relation to children’s bullying involvement at school, online, and within the home. Five studies are presented. The first is a scoping review on between-sibling bullying, offering an insight into a lesser-known type of bullying, with some consideration of how this may relate to peer bullying. Three studies utilise the Health and Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey, offering large-scale cross-national datasets: the first of these investigates the role of family structure and interpersonal relationships on peer bullying, and highlights a risk for children living in social care only; the second looks into sibling characteristics for peer bullying, but the effects of these negligible; the third focuses deeper into the vulnerability for children living in social care. The fifth and final study adopts a qualitative approach and explores bullying involvement for children living in foster care specifically. The findings from this thesis challenge the claims that family structure and sibling characteristics are directly related to peer bullying, and instead reinforce the importance of interpersonal relationships. This is particularly relevant for those living in foster care, who until now have been unheard in the bullying literature. Subsequently, this thesis provides an insight into the experiences of children in foster care, and has the potential to change the way that we support children in care.
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... Additionally, bullies often seek to gain a higher status within their peer group through their aggressive behavior, which is more instrumental than emotional (Schwartz 2000). This desire for social dominance is often reinforced by peer acceptance, making it a significant factor in the continuation of bullying behaviors (Perren and Hornung 2005). ...
... Bully victims are described as having more anger and more difficulty controlling their anger than bullies (Georgiou and Stavrinides 2008). It is worth mentioning that bullies usually do not exhibit greater degrees of anxiety, depression, and withdrawal compared to those who are not involved in bullying (Menesini et al. 2009), and their aggression is not emotional, but instrumental, motivated by the desire to gain a high position in the peer group (Schwartz 2000), and research shows that persecutors have a greater level of acceptance from peers than victims of bullying (Perren and Hornung 2005). ...
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... On the other side, a lack of independence and the inability to address problems can negatively impact teenagers, making it harder for them to tolerate bullying. [20] According to a study, [5] having more friends protects against traditional and relational bullying. Another study [21] assessed that whereas older adolescents rely more on peer social support, younger children rely more on their parents and other authority figures for social support. ...
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BACKGROUND Bullying has a lasting effect on young, vulnerable minds, especially among school-aged youngsters. With the help of this study, we intended to examine how physical and dentofacial characteristics contribute to bullying among kids and how it affects their academic performance. METHODS This retrospective cross-sectional study consisted of a self-reported anonymous, pretested questionnaire divided into three major domains, with due institutional ethical clearance being obtained before the study’s commencement. RESULTS The study population consisted of 269 schoolchildren, with 49.8% being males and the majority (55.0%) residing in Ajman. Among the schoolchildren, 35.7% reported being victims of bullying. The majority of bully victims (27.1%) skipped school because of bullying. Additionally, 64.3% of the students had a nickname, primarily used by siblings, and approximately half of the bully victims disliked their nicknames. In terms of happiness, 45.0% of students were neither happy nor unhappy in classes, while 10.8% were very unhappy. Outside of school, 56.9% of participants were very happy, and only 1.1% were very unhappy. Most students (58.7%) did not believe that bullying harms their grades, while 19.7% believed it does. Furthermore, 71.7% of students did not experience bullying due to good grades or showing interest in schoolwork. CONCLUSION Based on results, physical and dentofacial features in bullying among schoolchildren and its impact on school performance, sociodemographic patterns, and factors associated with bullying victimization highlight the need for targeted interventions and preventive strategies to address this issue. Thus, can create a safe and supportive school environment that promotes the well-being and academic success of all schoolchildren.
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... The development of social mindfulness depends on how adolescents interact with their friends and corresponding responses (Yan et al., 2022). However, the victims of bullying incidents normally have a low acceptance rate and poor peer relationships (Perren and Hornung, 2005) and have a lower tendency to express kind and help (Coulombe, 2021). Does that mean bullied experience would affect the development of their social mindfulness? ...
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Objective To determine the relationship between school bullying victimization and social mindfulness and its mechanism in light of the interdependence and schema theories. Method The Chinese version of the Delaware Bullying Victimization Scale-student, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Self-Concept Clarity Scale and The Social Mindfulness Self-report Scale (SMSRS) were distributed to 553 middle school students. Results (1) The correlations of school bullying victimization with social mindfulness, self-concept clarity, and cognition reappraisal were statistically significant. (2) School bullying victimization had a significant effect on social mindfulness. (3) The simple mediating role of self-concept clarity and cognition reappraisal between school bullying victimization and social mindfulness were significant. (4) Self-concept clarity and cognition reappraisal played a chain mediating role between school bullying victimization and social mindfulness.
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... Scholarship on youth RASB is premised on the belief that although not a homogeneous population, youth is a uniquely problematic period whereby many young people engage in aggressive, experimental, and oppositional behaviors (Arnett, 1999;K. K. Childs & Sullivan, 2013;Perren & Hornung, 2005;Sullivan et al., 2010), and are portrayed as suffering from a ''disorganization of their personal and familial lives'' (Kurtz et al., 1991, p. 310). A spectrum of RASB highlighted in existing research includes running away from home and becoming street-involved (Glowacz et al., 2020;Hail-Jares et al., 2021;Karabanow, 2003Karabanow, , 2008K. ...
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