School Bullying and Effectiveness of Support: Who do Children Talk to About Their Experiences?

• In Event: Children in Adversity: Social Support for School Bullying, Cumulative Risks and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The deleterious effects of school bullying and victimization experiences on children’s adjustment is well documented in research. One common strategy for coping with victimization is help-seeking. Although previous research has shown that children were more likely to turn to their parents or peers for help (Dowling & Carey, 2013), little is known about how these sources of support are associated with actual adjustment in children who have experienced bullying and victimization. Understanding who children turn to for support and the effect of help-seeking on children’s adjustment are critical to intervention efforts. We examined how bullying and victimization were associated with children’s behavioral problems and well-being, who they turned to for support, and the perceived and actual effectiveness of these support sources.

Participants were 570 parents/guardians (73.9% mothers, 23.9% fathers) and their children (49.3% males) who attended Grades 4 to 6 in Singapore between 2018 and 2019. Children were between nine and 13 years old (M = 11.00 years, SD = .79). More than half were ethnic Chinese (58.1%). Children’s self-reports of school bullying and victimization (California Bullying Victimization Scale; Felix et al., 2011), and well-being (Stirling Children’s Well-being Scale; Liddle & Carter, 2015). Children also reported who they talked to about the experiences and whether it made things better, the same, or worse for them. Parents reported on their child’s behavioral problems (Child Behavior Checklist; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) and academic grades.

Latent class analysis (Figure 1) was conducted based on items related to bullying and victimization experiences and power differences between bullies and victims. A three-class solution was found: (1) bully-victim (n = 38; 6.7%), (2) victim only (n = 134; 23.5%), (3) not involved (n = 398, 69.8%). Controlling for demographic variables, regression analyses (Table 1) showed that compared to the uninvolved, being a victim or a bully victim was associated with more behavioral problems, poorer well-being, and poorer academic grades. Nearly all children who were victims or bully-victims (n = 159, 92.4%) indicated that they told someone about their experiences, and the first person they told was peers (n = 72, 45.3%) or parents (n = 67, 42.1%). Few children told a teacher or counselor about their experiences (n = 8, 5.0%). Telling someone made things better for 75.8% of the children. However, independent samples t-tests indicated that there were no differences in children’s adjustment between children who perceived the support to be effective and those who did not.

These findings suggest that school intervention programs should encourage children to seek support from parents or peers beyond adults at schools. Although perceived effectiveness was not associated with children’s actual adjustment, children may continue to seek help from persons whom they perceive as effective sources of support. Anti-bullying programs should thus work on equipping children with skills to be effective peer support and encourage closer home-school partnership. Future research should also pay closer attention to the peer bystander effect, given the importance of peers as a source of support.

Authors

• Jerrine Zi Ning Khong, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
  Presenting Author

• Hoi Shan Cheung, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Denise Liu
  Non-Presenting Author

• Rebecca P Ang, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
  Non-Presenting Author