Predicting Bullying and Victimization, Based on School Connectedness and Family Cohesion in an Iranian Sample

Abstract

The aim of this research was to predicting bullying and victimization in school students (boys & girls) in Shiraz, in accordance to the school connectedness and the family cohesion. For this purpose, 564 students from middle schools were selected by cluster random sampling and they completed Illinois Bullying Scale, Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES II), and Student Perceptions of School Connectedness scale. Analysis was performed using SPSS16 software showed that the school connectedness with the standard beta coefficient -0.372, t= -9.28 at the 99% confidence level (p<0.01) and family cohesion, with standardized beta coefficient -0.184, t= -4.59 at the 99% confidence level (p<0.01) predicted 22% of the variance of bullying. Also, was found that the school connectedness with the standard beta coefficient -0.310, t=-7.313 at the 99% confidence level (p<0.01) and family cohesion, with standardized beta coefficient -0.090, t= -2.115 at the 99% confidence level (p<0.01) predicted 13% of the variance of victimization. In general, findings indicate that the weakness of family cohesion and school connectedness can be fertile ground for violent behavior at school (bullying and being victimized) by the students.