The Relationship between Social Support and Bullying Involvement: The Mediating Role of School Belonging

• In Event: Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Topic - Social Relationships

Abstract

Bullying has been widely identified as a problematic behaviour that jeopardizes both students’ well-being and academic performance (e.g., Juvonen & Espinoza, 2011; Rigby, 2003). Fortunately, social support from important figures (i.e., peers, parents, teachers) not only plays an essential role in adolescents' well-being (e.g., Cornwell, 2003), but recent research has also shown that it plays a protective role against bullying involvement (e.g., victim, bully, bystander) among adolescents (e.g., Duggins et al., 2016; Eşkisu, 2014; Holt & Espelage, 2007). In this context, school belonging seems to be particularly crucial, since the need for relatedness is integral during adolescence (Deci & Ryan, 2012; Norwalk et al., 2016), and since school belonging seems to mediate the relationship between social support and bullying involvement (e.g., Allen et al., 2018; Doumas & Midgett, 2019). Still, little is known about how specifically school belonging mediates these supportive resources, especially in the Québec context. Therefore, this study aims to examine the role of belonging as mediator of the relationship between social support (from family, peers, teachers) and bullying involvement (as a victim, bully, bystander) among adolescents. We hypothesize that: (1) social support will negatively predict bullying involvement; (2) social support will positively predict school belonging; and (3) school belonging will mediate the relationship between social support and bullying involvement. Participants include high school students from Greater Montréal. Data collection is completed. All variables have been measured by the School-Climate Questionnaire (Konishi et al., in press). Descriptive and inferential statistics will be generated using SPSS Statistics 26. Mediation path analyses will first verify the relationship between perceived social support and bullying involvement, then the relationship between social support and school belonging, and lastly the mediating role of school belonging on the relationship between social support and bullying involvement. As gender differences seem to exist in bullying involvement (Espelage & Mebane, 2004), adolescent gender will be controlled.

Based on extant literature (e.g., Duggins et al., 2016; Eşkisu, 2014; Holt & Espelage, 2007), it is anticipated that perceived social support will be a significant negative predictor of participants’ bullying involvement, and a significant positive predictor of adolescents’ sense of school belonging (e.g., Allen et al., 2018; Doumas & Midgett, 2019). Furthermore, sense of school belonging is expected to be mediating the relationship between social support and bullying involvement (Doumas & Midgett, 2019). Lastly, it is expected to obtain gender differences in these results. This poster presentation will discuss these potential findings and the critical role of school belonging in bullying involvement in relation to social support. Moreover, these results have important implications, since school-based bullying prevention programs could pay special attention to cultivating a warm and welcoming environment, as well as fostering students’ sense of connection with others, and belonging to the school. Similarly, these findings could uncover the particularities of how specific types of social support are related to specific types of bullying involvement. Lastly, results could highlight the importance of a supportive environment, both at home and at school, to ameliorate students’ bullying involvement.

Authors

• Yining Long, McGill University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Francisco Vargas-Madriz, McGill University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ziyu Wang, McGill University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Melody Zhang, McGill
  Presenting Author

• Chiaki Konishi, McGill University
  Non-Presenting Author