Student- and context-related factors associated with telling about peer victimization to adults among Finnish primary and lower secondary school students
Blomqvist, Katri (2018-02-26)
Student- and context-related factors associated with telling about peer victimization to adults among Finnish primary and lower secondary school students
Blomqvist, Katri
(26.02.2018)
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Turun yliopisto
Tiivistelmä
This study looked into the prevalence of telling about victimization in a Finnish sample. It also examined student- and context-related factors potentially related to victimized students’ decisions to tell about victimization to adults at school and at home. Studying victims’ telling behavior is of importance to find out ways to encourage telling, to better intervene in bullying, and to provide support for the victims. The study sample consisted of 1,266 Finnish victims of bullying from Grades 4 – 6, 8, and 9. Data were collected as part of the randomized controlled trial or the KiVa antibullying program. The participants answered a questionnaire at two time points. Independent variables (i.e., gender, grade, victim’s own bullying behavior, and popularity of the student, perceived teacher attitude towards bullying, and perceived support from peers to victims) were measured at Time 1 and outcome variables (i.e., telling a teacher, another member of the school staff, or an adult at home about victimization), together with student’s victim status and chronicity of bullying, measured at Time 2, resulting in a longitudinal setting. A structural equation model (SEM) of the associations of the independent variables with a latent variable measuring telling to adults was formed.
The prevalence of telling about victimization in general and especially to adults was rather low. Only 55.4% of the participants reported having told about bullying to someone, and the prevalence of telling adults varied between 12.7% and 34.0%. Factors related to increased likelihood of telling to an adult were female gender, lower grade, chronic victimization, perceived negative teacher attitude towards bullying, and perceived peer support for victims. A weak negative association was found between popularity and telling an adult, whereas none was found between bully-victim status and telling. In the light of these findings, it is important to pay special attention to students at increased risk of being left without any help from adults, that is, males and students on higher grades. Teachers should be clear to students about not tolerating bullying, and efforts to increase peer support to the victims should be made. Also, confidentiality and peer group norms should be considered when intervening in bullying so that interventions would pose as little threat to the victims’ social status and peer relationships as possible. More research, especially on the telling behavior of popular students and bully-victims is warranted. Efforts should also be made to form a comprehensive theory of what promotes students’ telling about victimization to adults.
The prevalence of telling about victimization in general and especially to adults was rather low. Only 55.4% of the participants reported having told about bullying to someone, and the prevalence of telling adults varied between 12.7% and 34.0%. Factors related to increased likelihood of telling to an adult were female gender, lower grade, chronic victimization, perceived negative teacher attitude towards bullying, and perceived peer support for victims. A weak negative association was found between popularity and telling an adult, whereas none was found between bully-victim status and telling. In the light of these findings, it is important to pay special attention to students at increased risk of being left without any help from adults, that is, males and students on higher grades. Teachers should be clear to students about not tolerating bullying, and efforts to increase peer support to the victims should be made. Also, confidentiality and peer group norms should be considered when intervening in bullying so that interventions would pose as little threat to the victims’ social status and peer relationships as possible. More research, especially on the telling behavior of popular students and bully-victims is warranted. Efforts should also be made to form a comprehensive theory of what promotes students’ telling about victimization to adults.