| Summary: | Previous research has suggested that bullying may be considered the most prevalent
form of violence among schoolchildren (Batsche & Knoff, 1993). Bullying and victimization is
being increasingly recognized as a psychologically harmful aspect of childhood for significant
percentages of children (Slee, 1995). The purpose of this study was to examine the
prevalence, age/grade, and gender trends of bullying and bully-victimization among
elementary-aged Canadian students. The second aim of the present study was to extend the
investigation of the association between bullying and victimization and social-emotional health
by examining depression, anxiety, and self-esteem among children involved in bully/victim
problems.
Self-report measures were administered to 417 children (210 girls, 207 boys) ranging in
age from 9 to 12 years. Measures included the Bully-Victim Inventory (BVI: Reynolds &
Arndt, 1997), the Reynolds Child Depression Scale (RCDS: Reynolds, 1989), the Revised
Manifest Anxiety Scale (RMAS: Reynolds & Richmond, 1985) and the Self-Esteem Inventory
(SEI, Coopersmith, 1967).
Results revealed that 9.4% of the children acknowledged that they engaged in
significant bullying and 18.9% reported being victims of bullying. As predicted, a higher
percentage of elementary boys (13 %) as compared to girls (5.7%) were involved in the
bullying of other children and a higher percentage of boys (23.7%) than girls (14.3%) were
identified as victims. Girls were equally likely to become victims of bullies regardless if they
were in lower (grades 4 and 5) or higher(grades 6 and 7) elementary grades. Tboys, on the
other hand, were more likely to be victims of bullies when in lower as compared to higher
grades. The percentage of boys identified as bullies in lower (grades 4 and 5) as compared to
higher grades (grades 6 and 7) was not significantly different. Consequently, it may be
implied that, among elementary boys aged 8 to 12 years, bullying involvement may not be
necessarily related to age. Findings from multiple regression analyses indicated that anxiety
and depression were moderately related to victimization among boys and girls. This finding
highlights the importance of assessing social-emotional factors such as level of anxiety and
depression among youngsters identified as victims of bullying. The association between self-esteem
and victimization for boys and for girls was not found to be significantly related to
victimization. The results of this study lend support for the association between social-emotional
factors and bullying behaviours among elementary-aged boys and girls. That is,
multiple regression analyses revealed a moderate relationship between bullying behaviour and
depression for girls but not for boys. However, anxiety and self-esteem were not significantly
related to bullying among girls. Among boys, a significant although low relationship was
found between self-esteem and bullying involvement.
|
|---|
