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Perceptions of the Frequency and Importance of Social Support by Students Classified as Victims, Bullies, and Bully/Victims in an Urban Middle School

Taylor & Francis
School Psychology Review
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Abstract

The present study examined the perceptions of the frequency and importance of social support for students classified as bullies, victims, bully-victims, and comparison students (nonbully/nonvictim). The sample included 499 sixth-through eighth-grade students from a predominantly Hispanic urban middle school. Students completed an anonymous survey that included 18 questions on both the receipt and provision of bullying behavior and were categorized into four groups (bully, victim, bully/victim, and comparison). Perceptions of both the frequency and importance of social support from parents, teachers, classmates, close friends, and the school were assessed via the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale - Revised (CASSS-R; Malecki, Demaray, & Elliott, 2000). The goals of the current study were to (a) present descriptive data on bullying behavior; (b) investigate differences in the frequency and importance ratings of perceived social support by bully status (bully, victim, bully/victim, and comparison); and (c) investigate what sources of support were most related to victim, bully, bully/victim, and comparison students' scores. Significant differences were found among the four groups on both the frequency and importance of total social support and support from the various sources. Results and implications are discussed.
... Nasprotno naj bi mladostniki, ki se pogosteje nasilno vedejo, zaznavali manj vrstniške opore (Flaspohler idr., 2009;Moran idr., 2013). Podobno ugotavljata tudi Demaray in Malecki (2003), ki poročata, da naj bi tisti, ki izvajajo nasilje, poročali o nižji zaznani opori vrstnikov. ...
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Medvrstniško nasilje je kompleksen pojav, vpet v socialni kontekst, zato ga je treba proučevati z uporabo različnih pristopov in z vključevanjem različnih perspektiv. V znanstveni monografiji so predstavljeni ključni izsledki projekta, v katerem smo z uporabo raznovrstnih virov podatkov (samoporočanje, vrstniška imenovanja, poročanje učiteljev) in naprednih raziskovalnih načrtov (vzdolžna raziskava, fokusne skupine) raziskali vzajemen odnos med psihosocialnimi značilnostmi učencev in razredov ter vključenostjo učencev v medvrstniško nasilje v zgodnjem mladostništvu. Dodatno smo proučili vlogo psihosocialnih značilnosti posameznikov in razredov ter vključenosti v medvrstniško nasilje v odnosu do šolske prilagojenosti učencev. Projekt je vključeval dve raziskavi: osrednjo vzdolžno raziskavo s tremi meritvami, izvedeno na velikem vzorcu mladostnikov, in kvalitativno raziskavo. Na podlagi ugotovitev obeh raziskav smo oblikovali smernice za oblikovanje preventivnih in intervencijskih dejavnosti za podporo takšnim razrednim kontekstom, ki predstavljajo varovalni dejavnik medvrstniškega nasilja v mladostništvu.
... Students were asked how often they engaged in these behaviors in the last 30 days (0 = never, 1 = once to twice, 2 = three to four times, 3 = five to six times, and 4 = seven or more times). No prior definition of bullying was given to avoid priming the students (Demaray & Malecki, 2003;Espelage & Holt, 2001;Houbre et al., 2006;Kert et al., 2010). However, the questions contain the characteristics of bullying behaviors. ...
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Abstract This study aims to identify possible profiles of bullying types by clustering different bullying roles (bully, victim, assistant, defender, and outsider) and to determine differences between demographic groups such as age, sex, and special educational needs (emotional and behavioral difficulties and learning difficulties). Data was collected from N = 245 students between 10 and 16 years old, of which 33 (13.5%) had special education needs. The Bully Participant Behavior Questionnaire was used to determine the bullying roles. Post-hoc cluster analytic strategies were applied to determine the co-occurrence of the different bullying roles. Based on the bullying roles, two clusters were formed. The first cluster included adolescents (70%) with low scores on all cluster variables, called involvement low, while the second cluster included highly involved adolescents (30%) with high scores on the victim and defender variables. Significant group differences were found for the two clusters regarding all five cluster variables. The distribution for children with SEN is similar to that for students without SEN, and no significant differences emerged regarding the cluster affiliation. The results of this study may have implications for the development of tailored intervention and prevention strategies for different bullying profiles and demographic groups, like focusing on the group dynamic as a whole and identifying students who are highly involved. The study included students with emotional and behavioral difficulties and learning disabilities and aimed to contribute to a better understanding of the co-occurrence of bullying roles and the implications for students with special educational needs. Keywords: Bullying roles, social-emotional difficulties, learning difficulties, adolescents, cluster analysis
... Conversely, if adolescents feel consistently unsupported by their parents during times of stress and pain, they tend to shift their attention from their parents to the environment to suppress the expression of their negative emotions 41 . Bullying perpetrators and bully-victims report receiving less parental social support compared to their peers who are not involved in bullying behaviors 42 . A study have shown that perceived parental autonomy support negatively predicts children's loneliness 37 . ...
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Background: School bullying is a widespread phenomenon affecting a significant proportion of adolescents worldwide, yet the relationship between school bullying and loneliness has received little attention. The aim is to understand the relationship between adolescents experiencing school bullying and loneliness, and to explore the role of social connectedness and parental support in this relationship. Methods: This study used cluster sampling to select 1,277 students from grades 7 to 12 in four middle schools across two cities in Sichuan Province. Data were collected via questionnaires and analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics, chain mediation model tests, and moderation model tests. Results: The results showed that: (1) Bullying was significantly positively correlated with adolescent loneliness (r = 0.55, P < 0.001); (2) Social connectednessplayed a mediating role between bullying and adolescent loneliness (effect size of 51.57%); (3) After controlling for gender, age, and household registration type, parental support moderated the relationship between bullying and loneliness among adolescents (β = -0.05, p < 0.01). Moreover, as the level of parental support increased, the positive predictive effect of bullying on loneliness weakened significantly, although this moderating effect was not significant among "non-left-behind children." Conclusion: The study confirmed the relationship between school bullying and loneliness and revealed the internal logical relationship between social connectedness, parental support, loneliness, and school bullying, providing agreat significance for preventing the negative effects of school bullying on left-behind children.
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