General Strain Theory and School Bullying

Abstract

Despite recognition of bullying as a serious school and social problem with negative effects on students' well-being and safety, and the overlap between aggressive bullying acts and delinquent behavior, few empirical studies test the applicability of criminological theories to explaining bullying. This limitation in research is especially evident in studies of non-Western countries. Using longitudinal data on 2,817 South Korean youth, the current study attempts to fill the gaps by examining whether general strain theory can explain school bullying. As the theory suggests, youth who experience victimization by peers and conflict with parents are more likely to engage in bullying. However, there is limited evidence of the expected interaction effects between strains and conditioning factors. Inconsistent with general strain theory, parental attachment and positive relationships with teachers do not condition the effects of strains, and anger is not a mediating variable. Implications for interventions and for future research are discussed.

A Contemporary History of Bullying & Violence in South Korean Schools

“…Yet what was not highlighted was the -more positive -finding that only 9.2% of the perpetrators said they had 'punched' another classmate, while only 7.1% of the victims reported to have suffered any kind of 'physical injuries.' Against popular perception, this relatively low rate of physical violence in South Korea has been found in other research (Kim et al, 2004;Koo et al, 2008;Moon et al, 2012).…”

“…Thus rates of victimization can range anywhere from 2% (CYP, 2002) to 3.7% (Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office, 1998) to 6.6% (Lee & Kwak, 2000) to 24% (Park, Son & Song, 1998) to 30% (Kim & Park, 1997) to 41.8% (Yi, 2013). The massive variation between the rates is generally attributed to the 'differing terms and methodologies used' (Moon, Morash & McCluskey, 2012); and not, importantly, to rapidly changing socio-cultural conditions. Consequently, research indicating high rates of bullying and victimization -which tends to signify that the definition has been widen to include some acts as 'bullying' that should not be defined as such -can then be used to demonstrate its (seemingly increasing) pervasiveness.…”

Saúde do escolar: uma revisão integrativa sobre família e bullying

“…Different qualitative aspects and different aspects of family relationships associated with involvement with bullying include: ineffective parental styles 20,21 ; severe and corporal punishment when disciplining children [19][20][21] ; family conflicts [22][23][24] ; lack of parental supervision and lack of affection 25,26 ; low quality of relationship between parents and children 13,27 ; and communication problems between parents and children 12,28 . Other determinants include the low educational level of parents 8,22 , low socioeconomic conditions 8,29 , living with a single parental figure 28; [30][31][32] , and experiencing or witnessing domestic violence 10,21,33,34 .…”

“…Moderate F* Bowes et al 10 Foster e Brooks-Gunn 34 Lereya e Wolke 40 Low e Espelage 25 Moon et al 23 Yang et al 28 Barboza et al 20 Bayraktar 37 Bowes et al 27 Cuervo et al 22 Healy et al 41 Lepisto et al 19 Kokkinos 38 Magklara et al 29 Murray-Harvey e Slee 39 Papadaki e Giovazolias 42 Pinheiro e Williams 33 Povedano et al 24 Romaní e Gutiérrez 30 Romaní et al 31 Sentenac et al 13 Sevda e Sevim 32 Teisl et al 35 Totura et al 36 Uribe et al…”

Applying the social–ecological framework to explore bully–victim subgroups in South Korean schools.

“…An additional risk factor is the degree to which parent and child interactions are characterized by conflict. Girls who have conflicts with their parents are particularly likely to bully their peers in school (Lee, Song, & Ahn, 2015;Moon, Morash, & McCluskey, 2012).…”