Well-being, school climate, and the social identity process: A latent growth model study of bullying perpetration and peer victimization.

Abstract

The present study concerns longitudinal research on bullying perpetration and peer victimization. A focus is on school factors of school climate (academic support, group support) and school identification (connectedness or belonging), which are conceptualized as related but distinct constructs. Analysis of change on these factors as well as individual well-being across time contributes to understanding bullying behavior. Latent growth modeling was employed to examine the predictors of anxiety, depression, 2 school climate factors and school identification in understanding change in physical and verbal bullying behavior. The sample included 492 Australian school students (means age 15 years, 53.5% male) in Grades 7 to 10 who completed measures over 3 years. Academic support and group support were the strongest predictors of change in bullying and victimization. Positive change in school identification also predicted a decrease in bullying behavior over time. An increase in depression or anxiety across time predicted an increase in rates of both bullying and victimization over time. Future research should continue to examine the complex relationship between individual-psychological and social-psychological variables in impacting on incidence of school-based bullying. On a practical note, school-based intervention programs may benefit from an approach that aims to target the school climate, social identity with the school, and promote individual psychological well-being.

Correlates of traditional bullying and cyberbullying perpetration among Australian students

“…This finding contradicts some of the existing literature (e.g., Bellmore et al, 2004;Turner et al, 2014) reporting that classroom makeup had an impact on bullying perpetration behaviors of the students. As this is one of the earliest studies investigating the impact of school setting regarding traditional bullying and cyberbullying in Australia, reasons for this contradiction can only be surmised.…”

“…However, we know that religious identity has been noted as one of the reasons for bullying perpetration (Collins, McAleavy, & Adamson, 2004;Puhl, Peterson, & Luedicke, 2013). Additionally, school climate (Klein, Cornell, & Konold, 2012), social identity with the school (Turner, Reynolds, Lee, Subasic, & Bromhead, 2014), classroom norms (Pozzoli, Gini, & Vieno, 2012) and classroom makeup (Bellmore, Witkow, Graham, & Juvonen, 2004) all have an important influence on bullying perpetration. We therefore, anticipate that a school context which is shaped by religious values can also have an impact on bullying perpetration of school children.…”

“Depression is who I am”: Mental illness identity, stigma and wellbeing

“…For instance, people with depression who engage in recreational social groups, or group psychotherapy, only experience improvement in their symptoms over time to the extent that they identify with the group in question (Cruwys, Haslam, Dingle, et al 2014a). The benefits of social identification for health have been demonstrated for a wide array of populations and specific conditions, including in pilgrims (Tewari et al 2012), school children (Turner et al 2014), people with multiple sclerosis (Wakefield et al 2013), or people who have experienced a traumatic event ).…”

Changes in the Perception of School Climate among Brazilian High School Students Between 2001 and 2011

“…Another study found that the relationship between adolescent social support and behavioral problems were moderated by the perception of the school climate, and when changes over the course of a number of school years were negative, the behavioral problems increased (9). On the other hand, Australian high school students that perceived that there was more academic support and who had a good feeling with respect to the school environment saw fewer reports of victimization and bullying (12).…”