The Effects of Life Domains on Cyberbullying and Bullying: Testing the Generalizability of Agnew’s Integrated General Theory

Abstract

In 2005, Robert Agnew published his book Why Criminals Offend in which he synthesized an array of theoretical predictors of crime and delinquency into a parsimonious integrated general theory. He argued that delinquency is influenced by mechanisms found in five distinct life domains: self, family, peer, school, and work. Using longitudinal data from South Korea, the current research tested the generalizability of Agnew’s theory by applying it to bullying and cyberbullying. Results from a negative binomial regression model provided mixed support for Agnew’s theory as a general theory of crime. The significant effects of life domains were found to differ across types of bullying.

Joint Growth Trajectories of Bullying Perpetration and Victimization Among Korean Adolescents: Estimating a Second-Order Growth Mixture Model–Factor-of-Curves With Low Self-Control and Opportunity Correlates

“…This is important because one’s living arrangement impacts the opportunity factors (e.g., exposure to delinquent peers, lack of parental supervision) one has to engage and/or desist from bullying behaviors. Relatedly, J. Choi and Kruis (2019) found that low self-control and peer delinquency was significantly associated with both direct and indirect forms of bullying.…”

“…According to Olweus (1991), the behavior has to be intentional; a power imbalance between the bullies and victims must exist; and the incident has to be repeated over long periods of time. Bullying can be divided into direct and indirect bullying—the former involves tangible contact made directly by the bully to the victim (e.g., pushing, kicking, name-calling), whereas the latter refers to less direct behaviors (e.g., spreading rumors, social exclusion) (J. Choi & Kruis, 2019; Farrington & Ttofi, 2009; Greeff & Grobler, 2008).…”

“…In fact, early bullying studies using South Korean samples frequently operationalized the construct “gipdan-ttadolim,” translating to “group-isolation” (Koo et al, 2008). Understanding the unique bullying relationships within South Korea is crucial in providing a comprehensive explication of the behavior (see also J. Choi & Kruis, 2019).…”

“…It may also be the case that those who frequently interact with delinquent peers are differentially exposed to potential offenders (i.e., other bullies), leading to greater odds of experiencing bullying victimization themselves. As South Korean students spend an average of 12 hours per day in school, they may be differentially exposed to bullying because of their heightened opportunity for peer to peer contact (see J. Choi & Kruis, 2019).…”

“…In fact, lower self-control and increases in peer delinquency were associated with involvement in both traditional and cyberbullying. In terms of interaction effects, J. Choi and Kruis (2019) found that peer attachment and low self-control interacted to predict cyberbullying (i.e., the negative impact of peer attachment on cyberbullying was stronger at moderate or higher levels of self-control).…”