The Mediating Effect of Social Controls on Delinquency among Adolescent Victims of Bullying: Mediation, Cross-Lagged, and Latent Growth Analyses in Panel Designs of Longitudinal Data.

• In Event: Innovations in Quantitative Modeling

Abstract

This study examines both direct and indirect (mediated) effects on delinquency among south Korean youth who were bullied by others; in particular, the extent to which the mediating social controls variable transmits the effect of bullying victimization to delinquency. It contributes to the methodological literature using a number of new developments in structural equation modeling that are applicable to analyze panel design: mediation, cross-lagged, and latent growth analyses. Self-reported data (N= 2351) from Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey from 2010 to 2015 were utilized for latent variable panel analyses. Results found that youth who were victims of bullying were more likely to engage in delinquent behaviors. Parental attachment transmits the effect of bullying victimization to delinquency. Also, prior experiences of bullying victimization significantly influenced later delinquency that, in turn, led to bullying victimization later. Further, the rate of changes in bullying victimization was significantly related to the rate of changes in delinquency in the predicted (positive) direction.

Author

• Sujung Cho, Southern Illinois University Carbondale