Attachment Styles of Different Groups of Vocational Learners in Bullying Behavior

Abstract

This research addresses the question of whether or not vocational students who bully others and/or are victimised can be distinguished by their current attachment styles. The aim of the present study is to explore the attachment styles of the different groups of vocational school students involved in bullying behaviour -victims, bullies, bully/victims, and not-involved. A total of 402 vocational school students (195 girls and 207 boys) ages 17 to 28 years old (main age 20.87) completed a self-reported measure (the Revised Adolescent Peer Relations Instrument -Bully and Target) to determine the status of bullying behaviour (bullies N = 57; victims N = 74; and bully/victims N = 41; non-participants of bullying N=230) and a selfreported measure to examine attachment style (the Multiple-item Attachment Scale). Results of the study indicated that: (1) bullies and victims had higher scores in avoidant and anxious/ambivalent attachment scales than bully/victims, whereby all three victim/bullying group members had lower scores than nonparticipants of bullying; and (2) non-participants of bullying behavior demonstrated higher levels of secure attachment than bullies, victims and bully/victims, whereas the first two bullying group members had lowest level of secure attachment. Findings reflected the role of insecure attachment as a risk factor in the development of bullying behaviour in late adolescence in the context of vocational school settings.