Psychology Commons^™

Indirect Aggression And Victimization: Investigating Instrument Psychometrics, Gender Differences, And Its Relationship To Social Information Processing, Taylor Steeves

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study of indirect bullying behaviors, relational aggression and social aggression, has been of theoretical importance and interest to researchers and psychologists within the last few decades. In this investigation, using a convenience sample of 451 late adolescents attending a private university in the mid-Atlantic U.S., I examined the factor structure of two measures of indirect bullying, the Young Adult Social Behavior Scale – Victim (YASB-V) and the Young Adult Social Behavior Scale – Perpetrator (YASB-P). Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), I found that the YASB-V comprised a four-factor model, differing from the model that had been identified in the …

Success Over Stress Support Group, Sophia Pescador-Torrance

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Harden Wellness Center is located in Salinas, California on the campus of Harden Middle School. After surveying and interviewing eighth-grade students at Harden Middle School, it was determined that there was a need to provide healthy coping skills for stress and anxiety. The project provided students a place to learn healthy coping skills along with normalizing mental health services among adolescents. In order to engage students and keep them interested each week, focus on a new skill with an activity attached to reinforce the coping skill. By the end of the six weeks, the group started to talk about …

Moderating Factors In The Relationship Between Bully Victimization And Psychosomatic Symptoms, Tonya Paulson

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between bully victimization and psychosomatic symptoms, and to examine the protective influence of perceived parent and peer support across developmental age groups. Bully victimization frequency, somatic symptom severity, perceived parent support, and perceived peer support were assessed using archival data from 7,304 youth who participated in the 2009-2010 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) U.S. survey, excluding perpetrators of bullying. Bully victimization and somatic symptoms were significantly positively correlated. Older adolescents consistently reported more severe somatic symptoms, but age did not moderate the relationship between bullying and somatic symptoms. Higher …

Types Of Bias-Based Bullying And School Climate Perceptions, Attendance, And Grades, Erin Bonham, Meghan Cosier, Desiree Crevecoeur-Macphail

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Bias-based bullying relating to disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity has extremely detrimental effects on the victim’s school climate perceptions, attendance records, and academic achievement. This study used a cross-sectional research design to compare the self-reported school climate perceptions, attendance habits, and grades of student victims of disability-based bias-related bullying and sexual orientation- and gender identity-based bias-related bullying using secondary data from the California Healthy Kids Survey. Participants (N = 713,107) filled out the California Healthy Kids Survey self-report surveys in the years 2017, 2018, and 2019. Regression analyses and a two-sample t-test were used to analyze and compare the …

Social Influences And Social Desirability On Recollections Of Childhood Bullying, Jaynee L. Bohart

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Parents and peers play important roles in shaping attitudes toward a variety of matters during adolescence. However, little research has investigated parental and peer influence on developing attitudes toward bullying. Further, few studies have looked at whether socially desirable responding (SDR) impacts self-reports in bullying research. To address these gaps in literature, the current study recruited college students from a mid-sized public university in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States to complete a survey. The survey assessed the participants’ past attitudes toward bullying, perceptions of their parents’ and peers’ influence on their attitudes, and bullying participant roles during …

Bullying Prevention And Social Justice: Recommendations For Teachers, Anna Grigorian-Routon

Theses and Dissertations

Though bullying was once considered a "rite of passage," in recent years experts have begun to re-conceptualize bullying as an imbalance of power between the bully and the victim and to recognize the deleterious mental health outcomes that are often the result of having experienced or having participated in bullying. This phenomenon is also coming to be viewed more broadly as a human rights violation as it creates and perpetuates barriers for specific student populations to equal access to education. Historically, teachers have been among the most outspoken advocates of social justice issues and are on the front lines of …

Understanding Gender Differences In Traditional And Cyberbullying: An Evaluation Of Construct Validity Of The 2013 School Crime Supplement To The National Crime Victimization Survey, Anthony Betancourt

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Few measures assess cyberbullying and traditional bullying simultaneously while also reporting standards of reliability and validity. As a result, it remains unclear whether cyberbullying should be considered a separate type of bullying. This dissertation advances the literature by examining data from the 2013 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS-SCS) to provide psychometric information about the factor structure of the 2013 NCVS-SCS traditional and cyberbullying scales. Furthermore, the dissertation uses that information to evaluate if cyberbullying emerges as a unique factor. Finally, measurement invariance will determine if bullying holds the same meaning for boys and girls (e.g. …

Bullying Hurts, Katrina Marie Gonzalez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research projects purpose was to research the prevalence of bullying/harassment in schools in a city within the Inland Empire. The city is left confidential to protect the confidentiality of study participants. The researcher utilized the post positivist approach to guide the research processes. The study was completed through interviews with parents which contained qualitative questions. The researcher will create a webpage that’s link was posted to Facebook city sites. This website lead to a more private location where research participants were able to gather more information about the study and sign up to participate.

The research participants needed to …

Examining The Moderating Role Of Promotive Factors On The Relationship Between Bullying Victimization And Suicidal Behavior, Rachel Simonds

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bullying is one of the most common challenges that youth in the United States face that can often have negative impacts on children’s lives and mental health. One potential negative outcome of bullying victimization is increased risk for suicidal behavior, including suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Implementing interventions and supports for youth involved in bullying has the ability to decrease risk for suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.

Previous literature supports that those involved in bullying are at an increased risk for both suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. Evidence supports promotive factors that help minimize negative outcomes those who are involved …

Examining The Coping Resources Of Polyvictimized Youth And Young Adults, Zachary Robert Myers

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Bullying represents a significant concern for many youth and young adults in the United States and abroad. However, the growth of technology has allowed for new platforms in which perpetrators can engage in bullying behaviors, such as text and video messaging, social media applications, and online gaming. In addition, research has suggested that the majority of cyberbullied individuals experience co-occurring in-person victimization as well. These trends are concerning, given that findings within both the traditional and cyberbullying literatures place victimized youth at-risk for a host of social and emotional concerns. However, research has yet to fully explore the unique experiences …

Bully-Victimization, Depression, And School Connectedness In Early Adolescent Students, Irene Gonzalez-Herrer

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

During early adolescence, schools play a significant role in the development of students. An issue that continues to be a serious concern for students, parents, teachers, and school officials in the U.S. and around the world is bullying. The primary purpose of this study was to examine school connectedness as a mediator between bully-victimization and depressive symptomatology in early adolescence. The secondary purpose of the study was to explore how gender and bullying classification groups (i.e., bully, victim, bully-victim, and non-involved) may relate to levels of reported school connectedness. The current study found low school connectedness partially mediated the relationship …

Cyberbullying, Relational, And Social Aggression, Latitia Lattanzio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cyberbullying is a relatively new phenomenon that has only begun to be significantly investigated within the last decade. To date, researchers have failed to develop a uniform definition or determine appropriate terminology. These deficits have inhibited a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. Although a comprehensive conceptualization of cyberbullying has yet to be established, the phenomenon has been recognized as a significant problem affecting our youth. Many of the existing studies are descriptive in nature and emphasize the need for more research. In an effort to drive future studies, many have postulated on the possible similarities between cyberbullying and traditional indirect …

Bullying Of Linguistically Diverse Learners: Results From The Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Jenna Woodarek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bullying is a serious phenomenon yielding significant consequences for youth who are victimized, often targeted due to their perceived level of difference from their peers. This “otherness” can often be amplified in minoritized populations, especially those which have multiple, cooccurring vulnerabilities to be targets of bullying. After a period of bullying rates decreasing in the US, special interest group inquiries found bullying rates to be on the rise again and reportedly motivated by ethnicity or race, immigrant status, and proficiency in the English language. The present research study aims to expand upon the existing pertinent literature base specific to the …

Inclusion For A Student With Vision Impairment: “They Accept Me, Like, As In I Am There, But They Just Won’T Talk To Me.”, Jill L. Opie, Jane Southcott

The Qualitative Report

We explore the experiences of Nick, a secondary school student with vision impairment in an Australian mainstream school in this study, and we particularly focus on whether he perceived his education as inclusive. We have used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis in this single individual case as this approach explores our participant’s understandings which may be revealed by close examination of mindful experiences. The “gem” spoken by Nick (pseudonym), our 16-year old participant, was “They accept me, like as in I am there, but they just won’t talk to me.” This statement summarises his sense of not belonging, of being other, and …

Cyberbullying And School Climate, Emily Payton Fisher

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between demographic variables known to predict bullying and victimization, traditional bullying victimization, cyberbullying victimization, and school climate. Participants were 214 fourth and fifth grade students from three elementary schools in Warren County, Kentucky. Students answered demographic questions and completed a series of surveys including the Positive Experience Checklist and the School Climate Survey Suite. Demographic variables and traditional bullying victimization were regressed on the students’ perception of school climate (Model 1). Additionally, cyberbullying victimization was included in a second block to estimate its explanatory value (Model 2). The present study …

The Role Of Traditional And Cyberbullying Victimization In Predicting Emotional Difficulties In Elementary Schools, Sarah Bleam

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Bullying victimization is a pressing concern in schools across the United States. Victimization to bullying has been associated with various negative outcomes in a child’s life. Of concern, victims can experience emotional difficulties, such as anxiety and depression, that can have lifelong implications for a child. For this reason, identifying victimization as a contributing factor is imperative for successful intervention in schools. We measured traditional and cyberbullying victimization experiences and emotional difficulties in 214 fourth and fifth grade students in the Southeastern United States. A multiple linear regression and sequential regression analysis identified that traditional and cyber victimization contributed to …

Chronic Pain Profiles And Past Bullying Experiences, Stephen Ratliff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The biopsychosocial model of chronic pain posits that chronic pain is influenced by factors such as depression, somatization, and psychological trauma (Gatchel, Peng, Peters, Fuchs, & Turk, 2007). Being bullied in childhood is one such factor that has been shown to be associated with chronic pain (Sigurdson, Wallander, & Sund, 2014; Voerman et al. 2015). Furthermore, those with chronic pain fit into one of three distinct psychological profiles (Williams, Urban, Keefe, Shutty, & France, 1995). The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between chronic pain profiles and reports of past bullying experiences. It was hypothesized that …

Adolescent Perceptions Of Behavioral Functioning: Measuring Perceptions Of One's Own Behavior, Aaron Hale

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

As bullying type behaviors have increased in recent years, many school districts have responded by implementing rigid zero-tolerance policies that punish students with no regard toward situational or social contexts. These policies have been shown to have many negative social, psychological, and academic consequences. Numerous social and developmental factors involved in bullying-type situations make it necessary to gather information on both the frequency and the social contexts in which they occur: exhibiting these behaviors toward close friends versus exhibiting these behaviors toward individuals who are not close friends. Of particular interest is if students exhibit bullying-type behaviors more often in …

Relations Between Harsh Discipline From Teachers, Perceived Teacher Support, And Bullying Victimization Among High School Students, Lorelie Ann Banzon-Librojo, Melissa R. Garabiles, Liane Peña Alampay

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

This study examined how the experience of harsh discipline from teachers is related to students' experience of bullying victimization in a Philippine high school. Respondents were 401 first- to fourth-year high school students of an urban public school in the Philippines. Using structural equation modeling, a hypothesized model with direct associations between harsh discipline and bullying victimization, and an indirect path via students' perception of teacher support, was tested. The data adequately fit the model and showed that experiences of harsh teacher discipline predicted higher bullying victimization and students' negative perception of teacher support. There were no significant indirect effects. …

Using Student Voice To Respond To Middle School Bullying: A Student Leadership Approach, David L. Shriberg, Keeshawna Brooks, Kisha Jenkins, Jennifer Immen, Caroline Sutter, Karen Cronin

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

Bullying prevention and intervention are ongoing challenges for all educators, school psychologists included. A lack of research exists regarding the potential role of middle school students as direct actors in bullying prevention and intervention. This article describes a novel student leadership group for seventh graders in which the primary leadership task was the creation of bullying prevention ideas for their school. The details of this group are described, as are the results of postgroup student interviews. Results indicate that the students found the group to be valuable. However, the broader collaborative effort between educators at this school and the university …

Indirect Bullying And Conflict Management Skills In Childhood And Adolescence, Charles Albright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this study, the Young Adult Social Behavior Scale (YASB) and Conflict Resolution Scale (CRS) measures were administered to students from three private middle and high schools in the mid-Atlantic US as part of a larger study regarding the effects of a group counseling curriculum in reducing forms of indirect bullying. Research questions were developed to evaluate differences according to student age and gender in relational aggression, social aggression, and interpersonal maturity, as well as relationships between relational aggression, social aggression, interpersonal maturity, and conflict resolution skills. These questions were evaluated using MANOVA, Chi-square, and multivariate regression analyses, respectively. Results …

Bully Victimization, Depression, And The Role Of Protective Factors Among College-Age Lgbtq Students, Theresa E. Bhoopsingh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examined the prevalence and impact (or intensity) of four different bullying-victimization forms (physical, verbal, relational, cyber) as experienced by the LGBTQ college-age population. In addition, this study also investigated LGBTQ college students’ bully victimization experiences and their links to depressive symptomatology. The relationship between self-rated victimization and its impact and depression was also explored. Furthermore, given the potential for protective factors of various types to mitigate the negative impact of bullying, this study investigated social supports from family, friends, and campus to determine the strength of their moderating effects, individually and in combination, for each of the sexual …

Psychological Factors That Underlie Hazing Perceptions: A Mixed Methods Study, Jenna Strawhun

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The quantitative phase of this mixed-methods study examined psychological predictors, including previous bullying involvement, moral disengagement, the need to belong, and their influence on students’ perceptions of hypothetical hazing behaviors. The following qualitative phase was used to explain and contextualize Phase I results through an understanding of the psychological processes related to participants’ constructed meanings of their experiences as perpetrators, witnesses, and/or victims of bullying and hazing. Study participants for Phase I and Phase II included undergraduate students enrolled in psychology courses who participated in the study for research credit. Phase II participants also received a $25.00 gift card as …

Standing Up Or Standing By: Examining The Bystander Effect In School Bullying, Scott M. Fluke

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

School bullying represents a serious mental health problem for youth in the United States. Bullying is a social phenomenon that is affected by the social context in which it occurs. Bystanders (i.e., individuals who witness bullying), are present in the vast majority of bullying situations. When bystanders choose to intervene on behalf of the victim, they are able to stop the bullying about 50% of the time. Unfortunately, bystanders rarely stand up for victims, instead frequently choosing to help the perpetrator or passively observe the bullying situation. Researchers have identified the bystander effect (i.e., the inhibitory effect of other bystanders …

Effects Of Bullying And Victimization On Friendship Selection, Reciprocation, And Maintenance In Elementary School Children, Marisa Lynn Whitley

Masters Theses

This study examined the effects of elementary school children’s bullying and victimization experiences on their friendships over time. The majority of children experience acts of aggression or bullying before the end of elementary school, and bullying and peer victimization is associated with academic, social, behavioral, and psychological difficulties. This study used social networks analysis (R SIENA 4.0) to examine whether peer reports of forms of bullying and victimization (i.e., overt and relational) affect the likelihood of friendship selection, reciprocation, and maintenance in 2^nd-4^th grade children. Children (N = 143) from the Midwestern region of the United …

Bullying In Elementary Schools, Matthew Earnhardt, Meline M. Kevorkian, Albert Rodriguez, Tom D. Kennedy, Robin D'Antona, Jia Borror

Publications

The goal of this study was to report key descriptive data from 1,588 third through fifth graders who completed a survey regarding their perceptions of bullying in schools. Key findings were that 40 % of third through fifth graders reported being bullied, while girls reported being victims of bullying more often than boys. When bullying was reported to a school administrator or a parent/guardian, only about 19 % of those bullied reported that bullying stopped completely; 16 % reported that bullying had stopped for a while, and 11 % indicated that bullying never stopped and in some cases got worse. …

Bullying Experiences Among First Nations Youth: Identifying Effects On Mental Health And Potential Protective Factors, Caely I. Dunlop

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Bullying represents a substantial issue facing Canadian youth, and is associated with negative outcomes across domains of function throughout the lifespan. Despite significant literature examining bullying involvement among adolescents in Canada, a paucity of research explores the bullying experiences of First Nations, Metis and Inuit (FNMI) youth. This is particularly concerning, as these youth may be at higher risk for bullying and its related consequences due to the cultural marginalization and systemic inequalities experienced by Indigenous peoples nationwide. The present study aims to address this gap in the literature, examining the bullying experiences of FNMI youth, the effects of these …

Bullying Intervention In Adolescence: The Intersection Of Legislation, Policies, And Behavioral Change, Susan M. Swearer, Meredith Martin, Marc Brackett, Raul A. Palacios Ii

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This article reviews current research on bullying during adolescence. The complexity of bullying behaviors during the adolescent time period are discussed and a review of the developmental literature on adolescence provides suggestions for why current bullying prevention and intervention programs are less effective for this age group. Current anti-bullying policies and legislation are reviewed under a framework of adolescent brain development and the development of consequential thinking. Suggestions for implementing social-emotional learning programming during the adolescent period are provided and a novel approach using social media is presented. In order to effectively combat bullying during this developmental period, programming must …

Evaluating A Skills-Based Approach To Bullying Prevention, Rebecca Pister

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In the following paper, I present an evaluation of the bullying prevention program designed and delivered by the John Howard Society of Waterloo-Wellington (JHS WW). A mixed-methods approach involving both quantitative and qualitative data collection was used to assess the program impacts on children receiving the primary stream of the program (Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 3), and the junior stream of the program (Grades 4 through 6). A case study was also conducted to assess the impacts of the program one year after program delivery and after two consecutive years of programming. Finally, all school staff members were invited to respond …

Adolescent Bullying: Do Weight, Body Size, And Body Size Dissatisfaction Influence Victimization?, Paige T. Lembeck

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The current study investigated how body mass index (BMI) z-score, peer context, and body size dissatisfaction influence bullying victimization in adolescents. Participants were 11-18 year-old patients at pediatrician’s offices in a mid-sized Midwestern city. Path analyses and percentile bootstrapping procedures were employed to investigate the research questions. A zero-inflated Poisson approach was used to examine whether there was an indirect effect between BMI z-score and bullying victimization through perceived difference from friends’ body size and body size dissatisfaction. An alternative model was investigated to determine whether BMI z-score indirectly affected body size dissatisfaction through perceived difference from friends’ body size …