Protective Factors as Moderators of Risk Factors in Adolescence Bullying

Authors: Baldry, Anna¹; Farrington, David²

Source: Social Psychology of Education, Volume 8, Number 3, September 2005 , pp. 263-284(22)

Publisher: Springer

Buy & download fulltext article:

Price: $47.00 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Abstract:

The present study examined the role played by protective factors in moderating the effects of risk factors over bullying and victimization in a sample of 679 male adolescents recruited in Italian high schools. Boys’ involvement in bullying revealed that one in three students has bullied others at least sometimes in the previous three months, and one in six has been victimized at the same rate; victimization decreases with age. The family related risk factor (conflicting parents) was positively associated with bullying and with victimization (together with punitive parenting); the same applied for risk factor related to the individual ways of dealing with problems (emotionally oriented coping skills). Protective factors related to the family context (supportive and authoritative parents) and to the individual (problem solving coping skills) were negatively associated to bullying and victimization. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed a moderating effect of supportive parenting on punitive parenting and on emotionally oriented coping strategies in predicting victimization. Problem solving coping strategies helped buffer the negative impact of emotionally oriented coping strategies over bullying. Implications of results for practitioners and for future studies are addressed.

Keywords: bully; victim; family; problem-solving skills; protective factors; risk factors

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11218-005-5866-5

Affiliations: 1: Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Italy, Email: anna.baldry@unina2.it 2: Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, UK,

Publication date: 2005-09-01