Emotional and antisocial outcomes of bullying and victimization at school: a follow‐up from childhood to adolescence
Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research
ISSN: 1759-6599
Article publication date: 16 May 2011
Abstract
Purpose
Although school bullying is an important social problem, its long‐term relation to mental health and behavioural outcomes is rarely investigated. The purpose of this paper is to address the relation between bullying in childhood and behavioural and emotional problems in adolescence.
Design/methodology/approach
Bullying and victimization were assessed in a sample of 557 German children (mean age 9 years). Nearly five years later anxious, depressive, delinquent, aggressive and other outcomes were assessed via self‐ and mother‐reports. Data analyses contained bivariate correlations and hierarchical regressions in which family and individual risk factors (measured two years before bullying/victimization) were controlled.
Findings
It was found that there were mostly small, but highly significant correlations between bullying perpetration and later antisocial behaviour. Among girls, bullying also predicted later symptoms of anxiety, depression and social withdrawal. The same was the case for victimization. Victimized girls also showed more antisocial outcomes. When controlling for other risk factors, bullying perpetration remained as a predictor of externalizing problems, however, there were no significant relations between victimization and internalizing or externalizing outcomes.
Originality/value
This paper presents longitudinal data on a large sample from a country under‐represented in the English‐language literature on bullying, also its findings reveal that bullying perpetration is a highly significant predictor of later antisocial and delinquent outcomes in adolescence.
Keywords
Citation
Lösel, F. and Bender, D. (2011), "Emotional and antisocial outcomes of bullying and victimization at school: a follow‐up from childhood to adolescence", Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 89-96. https://doi.org/10.1108/17596591111132909
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited