A model of achievement and bullying: analyses of the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth data

Abstract

Background: Bullying occurs largely at school. Given that the primary purpose of schools is to enhance student learning, it is important to examine the relationship between bullying and academic achievement. Purpose: A model of childhood bullying and school achievement using several family and school characteristics was developed. Sample: The sample consisted of children age 10-11 years (n ¼ 2084) drawn from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, which is a stratified random sample of 22,831 households in Canada. Design and methods: From scale and factor analyses, several factors were created and included in a latent variable path model. Results: The model fit the data well (Comparative Fit Index ¼ 0.96), and the model converged in six iterations, w 2 (32) ¼ 300.00, p 5 0.001 with a standardised residual error of 0.05. These results indicate that children who are bullied at school are likely to obtain low levels of achievement, particularly if they show little conscientiousness and enjoyment of school, and if their parents provide little support for their children's education. Conclusions:The results are discussed according to Eccles's Expectancy-Value Theory.

Bullying and victimization: Predictive role of individual, parental, and academic factors

“…This is in line with prior findings that children who participate in bullying tend to have lower academic scores or suffer from lower academic performance than other children (Beran, et al, 2008;Beran & Lupart, 2009;Ö zer & Totan, 2009). Also, poor academic performance was found to be a risk factor for being a target of bullying (Schwartz et al, 2002).…”

“…gender, age, ethnicity/race) (Spriggs, Iannotti, Nansel, & Haynie, 2007), locus of control (Andreou, 2000), problem-solving skills (Cassidy, 2009), self-efficacy (Andreou, Vlachou, & Didaskalou, 2005), self-esteem (O'Moore & Kirkham, 2001), and loneliness (Hawker & Boulton, 2000). Familial factors include family environment (Stevens, Bourdeaudhuij, & Oost, 2002), parenting style (Georgiou, 2008), and parental involvement (Flouri & Buchanan, 2003),whereas school-related factors include school/class size, school climate, and school-connectedness (Wilson, 2004), teacher practices (Wei, Williams, Chen, & Chang, 2010), school-related stress experience (Natvig, Albrektsen, & Qvarnstrøm, 2001), academic adjustment (Schwartz, Farver, Chang, & Lee-Shin, 2002), and academic achievement (Beran, Hughes, & Lupart, 2008). The increased interest in research into bullying has disclosed a variety of adverse effects of bullying and victimization, including depression (Hawker & Boulton, 2000); psychosomatic health problems (Gini & Pozzoli, 2009); psychological disturbance, hyperactivity, and internalizing/externalizing problems (Kumpulainen et al, 1998); posttraumatic stress (Mynard, Joseph, & Alexandera, 2000); suicidal ideation and/or behaviour (Kim, Leventhal, Koh, & Boyce, 2009); and substance abuse (abuse of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana and inhalants) (Tharp-Taylor, Haviland, & D'Amico, 2009).…”

Prevalence rates of drug use among school bullies and victims: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies

“…Both are prevalent problem behaviours during the school years and both of them are correlated with a broad array of negative developmental outcomes (Luk, Wang, & Simons-Morton, 2012), highlighting the need for intervening early and addressing both of these risk factors which may function as a stepping stone towards other problem behaviours in adult life (Ttofi et al, 2012). Both factors, for instance, impact negatively the academic development (Beran, Hughes, & Lupart, 2008;Schwartz, 2000) and general mental health (Birkett, Espelage, & Koenig, 2009;Fleming & Jacobsen, 2009b;Roland, 2002;Waters, Wake, Toumbourou, Wright, & Salmon, 1999;Wei, Williams, Chen, & Chang, 2010) of children.…”

School Attachment Among Taiwanese Adolescents: The Roles of Individual Characteristics, Peer Relationships, and Teacher Well-Being

“…Such experiences have a considerable impact on the victims' psychosocial well-being (Hawker and Boulton 2000;Karin Natvig et al 2001). Students' academic achievement, attachment to school, and even life satisfaction are all likely to be affected (You et al 2008;Beran et al 2008). Wei and Williams (2004) analyzed data on 1,022 US 6th grade students and found that peer victimization was associated with lower school attachment, which in turn led to inattentive school behaviors and poor academic performance.…”