How Does School Environment and Social Supports Affect Changes in Bullying Victimization?

• In Event: Bullying Victimization in Context: Institutional Systems, Marginalized Targets, and Perpetrator Networks

Abstract

Bullying victimization leads to numerous negative short- and long-term consequences such as increased negative emotions (e.g., fear, depression), lower school performance, and delinquency. Given these negative effects, it is important to identify factors that can prevent bullying victimization, especially as data from the 2011 and 2013 School Crime Supplement of the National Crime Victimization Survey reveal that both traditional bullying and cyberbullying decreased over time. The purpose of this study is to assess how changes in school climate measures such as school security, presence of drugs and gang activities in school, and the availability of social supports impacted the decline in bullying among a sample of 912 youth in grades 6 through 12. Fixed-effects models are used to assess factors that influence within student change in bullying. Preliminary findings indicate that changes in school climate have contributed to the decline in bullying victimization. The implications of these findings for policy are discussed.

Authors

• Shelley Keith, University of Memphis

• Heather L. Scheuerman, James Madison University

• Kristen L. Stives, Seton Hall University