Spirituality and peer victimization in early adolescence: associations within a Christian school context.

Carter, J. Carrick ; Flanagan, Kelly S. ; Caballero, Ann B. 等

Early adolescence (i.e., 11 to 14 years of age) is a time of biological, psychological, social, and spiritual evolution and is characterized by dramatic changes for self and relationships with family and peers (Lerner, 1993). The sensitive nature of early adolescence creates a delicate space for exploration and metamorphosis. Spirituality is a facet of development that is influenced by the changes of early adolescence, as youth explore new ideas and reconsider spiritual beliefs their parents have taught them (Good & Willoughby, 2008).

Spirituality is inherent in all humankind and can be observed in the lives of children from all backgrounds (Coles, 1990; Ratcliff & May, 2004). It is a multifaceted construct that involves multiple dimensions such as beliefs and attitudes, personal experiences, and motivation for the search of connectedness, meaning, and purpose (Benson, Roehlkepartain, & Rude, 2003; King & Boyatzis, 2004). This facet of development is not only core to humankind but particularly pertinent to the adolescent experience. Utilizing data from the National Study of Youth and Religion, a large and comprehensive study, Smith and Denton (2006) reported that over 80% of adolescents believe in God and 3% definitely do not believe in God. Half of adolescents reported that religious faith is very or extremely important to their lives, and only 8% reporting that religious faith is not important to their lives (Smith & Denton, 2006). Though not all adolescents have faith in a higher being or value religious faith, the majority do, which makes the study of spirituality during adolescence relevant. Additionally, a search for connectedness, meaning, and purpose is characteristic of adolescent development (Erikson, 1968) making spirituality a salient topic during adolescence. Therefore, it behooves researchers to explore adolescent spirituality within developmentally relevant contexts.

Another characteristic dimension of development that changes significantly during early adolescence is peer relations. To fully understand early adolescent spirituality within its unique sociocultural context, the importance of peers and the distinctive social context of middle school need to be considered (Haight, 2004; Kingery & Erdley, 2007). Negative peer experiences are visible and real in the United States, especially in middle schools (Pellegrini, 2002). Bullying or peer victimization is traditionally defined as an aggressive, intentional act or behavior that is carried out by a group or an individual repeatedly over time against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself (Olweus, 1993). Social changes during early adolescence create a larger social network and social dynamics conducive to bullying (Card & Schwartz, 2009; Craig, Pepler, Connolly, & Henderson, 2001), which is a concern because of the negative outcomes associated with being victimized, particularly when victimization is frequent (Kochenderfer-Ladd & Ladd, 2001; Perry, Kusel, & Perry, 1988; Eslea et al., 2004; Hawker & Boulton, 2000).

Though there was not previous research relating spirituality and peer victimization, research on other forms of interpersonal trauma (i.e., childhood abuse) has been shown to be related with spirituality in adults (Walker, Reid, O'Neill, & Brown, 2009; Bryant-Davis et. al, 2012) and was helpful in creating hypotheses for the current study. Such research suggests that although spirituality may help an adolescent make sense of mild, infrequent incidences of peer victimization, chronic and stressful social situations may cause adolescents to struggle with their spirituality. Research has revealed that in some cases spiritual beliefs can buffer the negative effects of abuse, effectively strengthening spirituality, and in other cases spirituality does not protect against the negative effects of abuse, which inhibits spirituality (Reinert & Edwards, 2003). Variations in these associations are accounted for in some studies by differences in the frequency, duration, and severity of the abuse (see Walker et. al, 2009). The current study examines associations between peer victimization (frequency and severity) and specific aspects of spirituality (i.e., daily spiritual experiences, spiritual forgiveness, spiritual practices, religious attendance) within a sample of middle-to upper-middle class students attending a Christian middle school.

Defining and Conceptualizing Spirituality

Global interest in spirituality is growing among both the general public and academic scholars with particular focus on understanding the unique spirituality of children and adolescents (RoehWepartain, Benson, King, & Wagener, 2006). One emerging perspective from this research is of spirituality as a core universal dynamic in human development much like the more recognized facets of development (i.e., cognitive, social, emotional, moral; Roehlkepartain et al., 2006). Despite the increased interest and favorable climate for the study of the spirituality of children and adolescents, this is a relatively new area of research and therefore poses an opportunity for further exploration. Benson et al. (2003) found that less than 1% of published articles about children and adolescents in social science databases (i.e., Social Science Abstracts and PsycINFO) address spirituality. Although researchers have more recently explored relations between spirituality among youth and constructs such as recovery from traumatic events, happiness, integration with psychotherapeutic techniques, and measurement of spirituality, the need for further exploration has been emphasized (Bryan-Davis et al., 2012; Holder, Coleman, & Wallace, 2010; Walker, 2012; Ruddock & Cameron, 2010).

Developing a definition that accounts for the complexity of spirituality and respects the varying perspectives across disciplines and religious traditions is a significant challenge (Roehlkepartain, 2004). Though definitions vary, common themes include connectedness, meaning, and purpose. Yust et al. (2006) offer the following broad working definition:

  Spirituality is the intrinsic human capacity for self-transcendence
  in which the individual participates in the sacred--something greater
  than the self. It propels the search for connectedness, meaning,
  purpose, and ethical responsibility. It is experienced, formed,
  shaped, and expressed through a wide range of religious narratives,
  beliefs, and practices, and is shaped by many influences in family,
  community, society, culture, and nature. (p. 8)

Yust et al. (2006) elaborate upon this definition by discussing its assumptions. First, spirituality is an intrinsic human capacity seen across history and culture. Religion and faith are related to but not synonymous with spirituality. Spirituality is a process of growth and change that occurs across childhood and adolescence. It must be actively nurtured in order to be fully realized and it is embedded in and shaped through relationships and community.

The construct of forgiveness is relevant to a study of spirituality within a Christian population because it is central to the Judeo-Christian tradition. Additionally, research has shown that forgiveness is associated with positive adjustment and restoration of interpersonal relationships (Toussaint & Webb, 2005; Al-Mabuk, Enright, & Cardis, 1995; Witviliet, 2001) and therefore relevant to the current study, which involves peer relations. Like spirituality, many definitions and models of forgiveness have been considered by researchers (Worthington, 2006). Denham, Neal, Wilson, Pickering, & Boyatzis (2005) present the following working definition:

  Forgiveness is a transformation of one's affect, cognitive
  judgments, and motivations toward an offender. The victim
  makes an assessment of the harm done and acknowledges the
  perpetrator's responsibility but voluntarily chooses to
  cancel the debt, giving up the need for revenge,
  punishments, or restitution. Importantly, one removes
  oneself from the negative emotions directly related to
  the transgression. Over time, there is a motivational
  transformation, including a reduction in negative
  motivations and an increase in constructive motivations
  toward the perpetrator. The forgiver may be motivated
  toward positive social behaviors toward the offender.
  (p. 129)

This definition describes a spiritual process of transformation, which may contribute to adolescents' connections with others and facilitation of making meaning from relational hurts.

In summary, spirituality is an inherent human capacity that is salient during adolescence. It is shaped by relationships and sociocultural contexts. Previous exploration of spirituality has revealed it to be a complex, multifaceted construct that is associated with positive developmental outcomes for adolescents. Further understanding of adolescent spirituality and relevant social factors, such as peer victimization, that may influence it, is necessary.

Defining and Conceptualizing Peer Victimization

As discussed, spirituality should be explored within developmentally relevant contexts, including peer relations. Peer victimization is a facet of peer relations among early adolescents that may be related to their spirituality. Though peer victimization among youth is not new, the systematic study of this phenomenon is relatively recent (Olweus, 1993). Highly publicized reports of school violence and adolescent suicide related to peer victimization has increased focus on the topic. According to the definition offered by Olweus (1993), peer victimization includes three elements: intention to harm or disturb the victim, repeated occurrence over time, and a power imbalance with the less powerful person being victimized. Several different types of peer victimization have been identified over time, including physical (e.g., shoving, kicking), verbal (e.g., name calling, threatening), and relational (e.g., spreading rumors, purposefully excluding; Smith, Madsen, & Moody, 1999).

Though prevalence rates of peer victimization vary, it has been shown to be a widespread problem among youth, particularly during middle school. According to Elias and Zin (2003), peer victimization affects at least 70% of children and adolescents. These experiences occur primarily at school due in part to the peer group dynamics embedded in schools (Pellegrini, 2002) and making the school context salient for the study of peer victimization. Frequent peer victimization, which is defined as peer victimization that occurs one or more times a week, has been reported by about 10% of schoolchildren (Perry et al., 1988; Nansel et al., 2001). Thus, these negative peer interactions are a part of many early adolescents' regular experience with previous research showing that bullying peaks in middle school (Eslea et al., 2004).

Current Study

The current study develops a deeper understanding of spirituality, an innate facet of development, within the salient context of peer relations during middle school. The spirituality of youth is particularly relational and it has been shown to be influenced by salient relationships, such as parents and friends (e.g., Benson, Donahue, & Erickson, 1989). Peer victimization is a painful relational experience and a widespread problem in middle schools. Within psychology, negative peer relations have not been addressed in conjunction with spirituality. The current study considers associations between multiple aspects of spirituality (i.e., daily spiritual experiences, spiritual forgiveness, spiritual practices, religious attendance) and peer victimization of varying frequency and severity.

Three major goals were explored in the present study. The first goal was to examine associations between spirituality and peer victimization within a sample of middle- to upper-middle class middle school students attending a Christian school. It was hypothesized that victimization at low levels of severity would be associated with spirituality scores that were higher than those who experienced no victimization because the experience of victimization would promote engagement with spirituality to deal with and make sense of the victimization. However, at higher levels of victimization severity, spirituality scores would decline because adolescents would not have the ability to make sense of severe incidences of abuse, hindering their ability to relate to God and others. The second goal of the present study was to examine the spirituality of groups of students who have been bullied at different frequencies. It was hypothesized that each group would show distinct levels of spirituality with the victim group having the highest scores and the frequent victim group having the lowest scores. The third goal of the present study was to explore the spirituality of adolescents who experienced severe levels of victimization. The third hypothesis was that groups of adolescents who experienced high severity of victimization would report lower spirituality than the groups who experienced low levels of victimization severity or no victimization at all.

Method

Participants

Participants were 133 seventh- and eighth-grade students attending a private Christian school in a suburban area of the Midwest. Families of participants were generally middle- to upper-middle class. The population was evenly distributed among grades, 68 seventh-grade students (51%) and 65 eight-grade students (49%). The sample was 53% female and 47% male. Of the sample, 77% identified themselves as Caucasian, 9% African American, 5% Latino/His-panic, 2% Asian-American, 1% Eastern-European, and 5% Biracial. Additionally, all participants reported that they are Christians. The most common denominations were Christian Reformed, Baptist, and Nondenominational.

Procedure

Data for the current study were collected as part of a larger study in November 2006. In collaboration with the school administration, letters explaining the study were sent to parents/legal guardians along with passive consent forms. Parents/legal guardians were given the option to sign and return passive consent forms if they did not give their child permission to participate in the study. On the day of the study, students who were not excluded by their parents/legal guardians received an explanation of the study and provided their consent prior to participation. During a single class period, 133 students completed the questionnaire. Doctoral research assistants explained and administered the questionnaire to students.

Measures

Spirituality. Spirituality was measured using four subscales (Daily Spiritual Experiences, Spiritual Forgiveness, Spiritual Practices, Religious Attendance) of the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality for Use in Health Research (BMMRS). The BMMRS was developed to assess dimensions of spirituality and religiosity as well as their associations with health both mental and physical (Fetzer Institute, 1999).

Daily spiritual experiences. Eight items from the sixteen items Daily Spiritual Experiences (DSE) subscale were used. The items (e.g., "I feel close to God," "I feel deep inner peace and harmony") were rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Never, 2= Rarely, 3 = Sometimes, 4 = Often, 5 = Always). The scale has primarily been used with adults showing strong reliability across studies ([alpha] = .94, .95, Underwood & Teresi, 2002). When administered to adolescents (Pearce, Little, & Perez, 2003) it has been found to have strong internal consistency ([alpha] = .93, Harris et al., 2008; [alpha] = .88, Desrosiers & Miller, 2007) as in the current study ([alpha] = .86).

Spiritual forgiveness. Spiritual forgiveness was measured using six-items from the Forgiveness subscale of the BMMRS. These items are intended to measure forgiveness of self, forgiveness of others, forgiveness by God (e.g., "I know that God forgives me," "I have forgiven those who hart me"). Items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly Agree). Idler et al. (2003) reported that with a nationally representative, adult population, internal consistency of the BMMRS Forgiveness subscale was [alpha] = .66. Harris et al. (2008) found similar internal consistency with an adolescent population ([alpha] = .68). In the current study, the six-item Forgiveness subscale had acceptable internal consistency ([alpha] = .72) similar to that found in previous studies.

Spiritual practices. Three items from the Private Religious Practices subscale were used to measure Spiritual Practices (e.g., "How often do you pray in places other than at a place of worship ?"). Items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Not at all, 2 = Hardly, 3 = Sometimes, 4 = Most of the time, 5 = All of the time). Acceptable internal consistency has been reported using three items from the subscale with adult (a = .72; Idler et al., 2003) and five items with adolescent (a = .76; Harris et al., 2008) populations. The internal consistency of this subscale in the current study was lower (a = .57).

Religious attendance. Religious attendance was measured by a single item "How often do you attend religious services and other religious activities at a place of worship?" rated on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = Never, 1 = A few times a year, 2 = One or more times a month, 3 = One or more times a week, 4 = Almost daily).

Peer victimization. Peer victimization was measured using the Bully Youth Survey- Student Version (BYS-S; Swearer, 2001). Internal consistency reliability for the BYS-S has been reported as adequate (Swearer, Song, Cary, Eagle, & Mickelson, 2001). In the current study, a definition to bullying was given, and participants were asked about times when they were bullied during the school year.

Victimization frequency. Victimization frequency was assessed using two items. An initial question, "Have you been bullied this school year?" was followed with "If yes, how often have you been bullied this year?" The following options were given: "One or more times a day," "One or more times a week: "One or more times a month: "Less than once a month."

Victimization severity. Eight items were used to measure the victimization severity experienced by the participants who responded "Yes" to the question, "Have you been bullied this school year?" These participants were asked to rate the severity at which they experienced certain bullying behaviors. These items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Never Happened, 2= Rarely Happened, 3= Sometimes Happened, 4 = Of ten Happened, 5 = Always Happened). A total score of the eight items served as the Victimization Severity scale and had acceptable internal consistency (a = .70). Participants who were exempt from answering this section because they answered No to Have you been bullied this school year?" were given a score of one (Never Happened) for each item.

Results

Prevalence of Peer Victimization

Calculations of prevalence rates of overall peer victimization and percentage of participants who were frequently victimized revealed consistency between this sample and rates reported in other adolescent samples. The overall rate of participants indicating that they had been bullied during the school year (44%) was consistent with other reported samples of middle school bullying (e.g., Swearer et al., 2001; Dinkes, Kemp, & Baum, 2009), and rates of frequent victimization (8%) were consistent with rates from adolescent samples (e.g., Perry ct al., 1988).

Correlations Between Measures

The means and standard deviations as well as the intercorrelations among the scales in the current study are presented in Table 1. The four measures of spirituality were significantly positively related (rs ranged between .21 -.55), which indicates that these measures are assessing related but distinct aspects of spirituality. The Severe Total Victimization and Victimization Frequency scales were highly correlated (r = .73), which is consistent with findings that frequent victimization is likely to be experienced by youth as more severe than infrequent victimization (Kochenderfer-Ladd & Ladd, 2001).

TABLE 1

Means, Standard Deviations, and Correlations of Scales

Scale               1    2    3    4     5      6  Means    (SD)

1 Daily Spiritual  --  .55  .51  .25  -.07    .06   3.70   (.62)
Experiences             **   **   **
(n = 132)

2 Spiritual             --  .42  .21  -.23  -.21*   3.89   (.53)
Forgiveness                  **   **    **
(n =133)

3 Spiritual                      .26  -.04   -.06   3.12   (.63)
Practices                         **
(n =133)

4 Religious                       --  -.19    .05   2.94   (.47)
Attendance                               *
(n = 132)

5 Victimization                         --    .73   1.44   (.63)
Severity                                       **
(n = 133)

6 Victimization                                     0.70  (1.04)
Frequency
(n= 132)

Note. * p < .05, ** p < .01.

Means are reported above with standard deviations in parentheses.

Associations Between Spirituality and Peer Victimization

As shown in Table 1, there were significant, negative associations between spiritual forgiveness and peer victimization. That is, with more victimization adolescents reported lower levels of spiritual forgiveness. Also, Severe Total Victimization was modestly and negatively correlated with religious attendance, indicating that higher rates of Severe Total Victimization were associated with less frequent religious attendance. Neither Daily Spiritual Experiences nor Spiritual Practices were found to have significant associations with peer victimization.

Scatter plots were used to examine the hypothesis that as victimization severity increased daily spiritual experiences, spiritual forgiveness, and spiritual practices would also increase until peer victimization reached high levels of severity and then measures of spirituality would decrease, effectively displaying curvilinear relations. None of these bivariate plots revealed curvilinear relations. The relation between victimization severity and both daily spiritual experiences and spiritual practices revealed no linear relations, which is consistent with the non-significant correlation coefficients (rs = -.07, -.04, respectively). Spiritual forgiveness and victimization severity appeared to have a modest negative, linear relation, which is consistent with the correlation coefficient of the two scales.

Differences in Spirituality Among Victimization Groups

Differences in spirituality among groups of victimization frequency were examined with analyses of variance among frequency groups (i.e., frequent victim, victim, nonvictim) for each measure of spirituality (i.e., daily spiritual experiences, spiritual forgiveness, spiritual practices, religious attendance; see Table 2). No significant effects were found indicating that the frequency groups did not have significantly different scores on measures of spirituality.

Next, to examine the mean spirituality scores of adolescents who experienced significant levels of victimization severity (Severe Victimization group) and those who did not (Not Severe Victimization group), groups were created and independent t-tests were conducted. As shown in Table 3, there was a significant difference in spiritual forgiveness scores for the Severe Victimization and Not Severe Victimization groups (t[131] = 2.79, p < .01). This difference indicated higher spiritual forgiveness in the group that did not experience severe victimization.

TABLE 2

Analysis of Variance Among Victimization Frequency Groups
on Spirituality Scales

Groups           Daily    Spiritual   Spiritual   Religious
             Spiritual  Forgiveness   Practices  Attendance
           Experiences  F(2, 130) =  F(2,130) =  F(2,129) =
           F(2, 129) =         2.68         .39        1.60
                  0.57

Frequent          3.89         3.62        2.67        2.81
Victim
(n = 9)

Victim            3.69         3.80        3.16        3.05
(n = 39)

Nonvictim         3.68         3.96        3.12        2.81
(n = 83)

TABLE 3

Victimization Severity Group Differences on Spirituality Scales

Group                Daily      Spiritual   Spiritual   Religious
                 Spiritual    Forgiveness   Practices  Attendance
               Experiences

Severe Total
Victimization

Severe          3.53 (.64)           3.62  3.13 (.49)  2.79 (.66)
(n = 24)                    [(.54).sub.a]

Not Severe      3.74 (.61)           3.95  3.12 (.66)  2.98 (.41)
(n = 109)                   [(.51).sub.b]

Note. Means are reported above with standard deviations
in parentheses.

Statistically significant (p < .05) mean group differences
are denoted by different subscripts.

Discussion

The current study sought to explore associations between adolescent spirituality and the common adolescent experience of peer victimization. Modest, significant associations between certain dimensions of spirituality and peer victimization were found and suggest possible negative relations between spirituality and peer victimization.

Conceptualization of Spirituality within Peer Victimization Context

It was expected that adolescents who experienced the most severe abuse would report the lowest levels of spirituality. It was also expected that because early adolescence is a time of spiritual exploration, adolescents who experienced victimization of low severity would have opportunities to engage in daily spiritual experiences, spiritual forgiveness, spiritual practices, and religious attendance to deal with and make meaning from their victimization. However, it was thought that more severe victimization might create spiritual disillusionment and therefore be associated with lower levels of spirituality.

In the current study, all levels of peer victimization were negatively related to spirituality. This hypothesis therefore was only partially upheld by the findings of this study. Scatter plots of victimization severity and measures of spirituality did not reveal curvilinear relations. Instead, negative, linear correlations were found between spiritual forgiveness and both victimization severity and frequency as well as between religious attendance and victimization severity. Group differences were found between groups of students who had experienced severe victimization and those who had not on spiritual forgiveness and daily spiritual experiences.

Spiritual Forgiveness and Peer Victimization

Spiritual forgiveness was the dimension of spirituality that had the most significant associations with measures of peer victimization. Significant negative correlations were found between spiritual forgiveness and both victimization frequency and victimization severity. Spiritual forgiveness as well as daily spiritual experiences and spiritual practices involve a search for connectedness, meaning, and purpose, which are fundamental to spirituality. Although all aspects of adolescent spirituality may not be associated with peer victimization, one that involves dealing with a hurtful relational experience (i.e., spiritual forgiveness) may be most affected.

Several explanations support the notion that as victimization becomes more frequent or more severe, adolescents may be less open to spiritual forgiveness and therefore be less willing or able to forgive their offender(s). For one, engaging in the process of spiritual forgiveness within the context of peer victimization may be particularly challenging for middle school students because of their changing social climate and the importance of peer acceptance during early adolescence (Lerner, 1993). Additionally, middle school students are in the process of transitioning from childhood to adolescence and may still be holding on to the justice-oriented understanding of forgiveness (Enright, Santos, & Al-Mabuk, 1989). Therefore, these students may believe that more frequent or severe acts of victimization do not merit forgiveness.

It is also possible that unforgiving adolescents are more susceptible to feeling victimized. Adolescents who are frequently bullied tend to fall within a cycle of victimization--interpret interactions with peers as threatening, expect to be victimized, respond in a manner consistent with victimization, and continue to be victimized as a result (Rosen, Milich, & Harris, 2009). Spiritual forgiveness may fit into this cycle because adolescents who do not have an attitude of spiritual forgiveness may harbor feelings of resentment toward others, interpret interactions with peers as threatening, react in a manner consistent with victimization, and be or perceive that they are being victimized. In sum, adolescents who do not experience spiritual forgiveness may actually experience or might perceive more victimization than adolescents who more easily able to experience spiritual forgiveness. Enright et al., (1989) found that friends help to facilitate the process of forgiveness. However, frequent victimization is associated with having few or no friends (Hodges, Peets, & Salmivalli, 2009). Therefore, adolescents who experience frequent and/or severe victimization may not explore spiritual forgiveness to the degree their peers do.

Religious Attendance and Peer Victimization

Religious attendance was also negatively associated with measures of peer victimization. Though religious attendance represents a dimension of spirituality as defined in the current study, it is unique from the other spirituality dimensions assessed. Adolescents generally attend church with their families and therefore attendance may be related more to their parents' religious beliefs and practices than a true expression of adolescents' spirituality (Bao, Whitbeck, Hoyt, & Conger, 1999). It is interesting therefore to consider possible explanations for correlations between religious attendance and peer victimization.

The social dynamics experienced by youth during their religious attendance should be discussed. It is common among religious organizations to have organized groups for youth. Within Christian churches, these groups generally called youth groups and provide opportunities for peer interactions. About twenty to thirty-five-percent of adolescents report participating in youth groups at places of worship (Lyons, 2002; Gallup & Bezilla, 1992). A 1998 Gallup poll asked adolescents why they want to be involved in these groups: 82% reported wanting to learn more about religion, 73% said their parents encouraged them to join, and 71% wanted a place to talk about what is important to them in their everyday lives (Lyons, 2002). It appears as though participation in youth groups is associated with religious/spiritual exploration, family influence, and social support, possibly making these groups a formative context. Religious engagement among youth both promotes positive development and serves as a protective factor against risk behaviors (King & Furrow, 2008; Bryant-Davis et. al, 2012). Therefore, attending youth groups has possible positive developmental outcomes for youth.

Findings of the present study suggest associations between religious attendance and peer victimization. Most of the participants of the current study attended one of three churches, which likely means that many of the students were members of the same few youth groups. Just like in any other group of adolescents, there are certain social dynamics within youth groups. Participating in such groups allows adolescents to share experiences and build relationships with peers. However, negative experiences within these groups may influences an adolescent's feeling of acceptance at church and/or school and may influence their desire to attend church and/or socialize with others in their youth group at school.

Additionally, one way adolescents respond to bullying is refusing to go to school (Ladd, 2005). Adolescents who experience victimization within their youth groups or at school by members of their youth groups may have decreased religious attendance. In particular, feeling left out or social ostracized at church or school may lead to adolescents being less willing go to church activities, which may make them more isolated. Associations between religious attendance and peer victimization seem to be relevant and should be further explored.

Frequency and Severity Group Differences

Victimization frequency was found to be less salient than was hypothesized. No differences were found among groups of students based on their self-report of victimization frequency (i.e., nonvictim, victim, frequent victim) on the studied dimensions of spirituality. That is, adolescents who experienced peer victimization did not report spirituality that was significantly different than those who experienced victimization less often or not at all. This finding may be limited because the scale used to measure victimization frequency did not render evenly spaced frequency groups, thus limiting the comparison of mean scores across groups.

However, differences were found between groups of students based on the severity of their peer victimization (i.e., severe victimization, not severe victimization). It is possible that differences were found using the victimization severity because it is a more comprehensive measure of peer victimization. The differences found among victimization severity groups can be explored further. The adolescents who had not experienced severe victimization had significantly higher mean scores on spiritual forgiveness than the severe victimization group. This means that participants who reported experiencing severe victimization reported using less spiritual forgiveness than those who did not experience significant victimization severity. These findings are consistent with the negative correlations found between victimization severity and spiritual forgiveness and has been previously discussed.

Implications for Intervention

Though the current findings are tentative and need to be replicated, they suggest consideration of implications for intervention within multiple contexts. Spirituality, particularly spiritual forgiveness, seems to offer promising approaches for promoting positive peer relations. Because peer victimization most commonly occurs at school, school-based interventions are the primary means for addressing bullying. Empirical evidence suggests that such programs reduce and prevent peer victimization (e.g., Newman, Home, & Bartalumucci, 2000; Olweus, 1993; Beane, 1999). These interventions tend to focus on providing psycho-education to teachers, students, and parents, as well as establishing school-wide expectations and consequences related to bullying. Little attention has been given to helping individuals deal with their experiences of being victimized or to foster possible reconciliation between bullies and victims (see Beane, 1999). Forgiveness may be an important process through which these goals can be addressed.

Forgiveness is associated with decreases in stress, anger, depression, and anxiety as well as restoration of interpersonal relationships (Toussaint & Webb, 2005; Al-Mabuk et al., 1995; Witviliet, 2001). Findings of the present study suggest that forgiveness interventions may be needed within religious groups (e.g., youth groups). Forgiveness is a fundamental Judea-Christian principle and bullying may be a practical context within which to teach it. It may be a particularly appealing intervention to Christian church leaders, adolescents, and parents. One challenge of such an intervention would be to make it general enough that it was accepted within a variety of religious communication ties or to make it adaptable for certain religious traditions.

Limitations of the Current Study and Directions for Future Research

A few limitations of the current study should be noted, including measurement limitations. According to Card and Hodges (2008), there is not currently a well-established, standardized measure of peer victimization. The measure used in the present study was created to provide relevant feedback to schools, which is important for developing interventions. A different measurement approach might yield different results.

It is also important to note the advantages and disadvantages of using self-report measures in assessing peer victimization. According to Cord and Hodges (2008), the victims' report of being bullied is most important because they are likely most aware of and influenced by their victimization. Twemlow et al. (2010) however recommend collecting multiple sources of data, which was not done in the present study. Card and Hodges (2008) outlined some of the disadvantages of using self-report measures to assess peer victimization, including underreporting by victims due to embarrassment or fear of retaliation. Overreporting may also be a problem if victims misattribute the behaviors of peers as hostile.

Furthermore, spirituality is a broad, complex construct and any measure that attempts to quantify it will likely come up short in its attempt. The four subscales of the BMMRS, which were utilized in the present study, cannot fully capture the complete picture of adolescent spirituality. However, they do correspond with elements of the definition chosen for the present study. Additionally, while the Spiritual Forgiveness offered insight into spirituality, it was somewhat limited in measuring forgiveness as defined in the present study because it did not assess forgiveness as a process involving a transformation of affect, cognition, and motivations toward an offender. Overall, the study of adolescent spirituality could be improved by developing more comprehensive, nuanced measures of adolescent spirituality.

Limitations also include the study's sample and setting. The participants were from a predominantly white, middle to upper-middle-class, Christian middle school, and thus generalization of the results to other populations is limited. Future research should examine the relation between adolescent spirituality and peer victimization among samples that represent greater diversity in age, ethnicity, religious beliefs, and socioeconomic status. Also, spirituality and peer victimization were explored exclusively within the school context though findings of the study may suggest that the dynamics of church communities are relevant. It is recommended that future studies examine spirituality in the context of peer victimization within church youth groups and consider how dynamics in these groups may influence dynamics at school.

Understanding the relation between spirituality and peer victimization may be enhanced through the study of other factors. For example, Schwartz, Bukowski, & Aoki (2006) indicated that friendships have been shown to have positive influences on spirituality. Future studies should consider the type of relationship between the bullies and victims, particularly as it affects forgiveness.

Conclusion

Spirituality and peer relations are relevant constructs in adolescent development. Findings of the current study suggest that peer victimization and certain aspects of spirituality (i.e., spiritual forgiveness, religious attendance, daily spiritual experiences) are negatively related. Additionally, spirituality, particularly spiritual forgiveness, has potential for peer victimization interventions in school and religious organizations though future study of adolescent spirituality within the context of peer relations is needed. To this end, more sophisticated measures for examining the spirituality of children and adolescents are needed.

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J. Carrick Carter, Kelly S. Flanagan, and Ann B. Caballero

Wheaton College

J. Carrick Carter, Department of Psychology, Wheaton College; Kelly S. Flanagan, Department of Psychology, Wheaton College; Ann B. Caballero, Department of Psychology, Wheaton College. We would like to thank the doctoral graduate students who were involved in this research project, including Holly A. Reich, Daniel Post, Kendra Battaglia, Keelah Andrews, and Brooke Wright. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kelly S. Flanagan, Department of Psychology, Wheaton College, 501 College Ave., Wheaton, IL 60187. E-mail: [email protected].

Author Information

CARTER, J. CARRICK. Address: Psychological Services, PLLC (Private Practice), 1006 24th Ave., NW, Suite 100, Norman, OK 73069. Degrees: PsyD (Clinical Psychology) Wheaton College.

FLANAGAN, KELLY S. Address: Wheaton College Psychology Department, 501 College Avenue, Wheaton, IL 60187. Title: Associate Professor of Psychology, PsyD Program Director. Degrees: Phd (Clinical Psychology) Pennsylvania State University. Specializations: negative peer experiences and the role of forgiveness and spiritual well-being in children's psychological adjustment.

CABALLERO, ANN B. Address: Wheaton College Psychology Department, 501 College Avenue, Wheaton, IL 60187. Title: Doctoral Student. Degrees: MA (Clinical Psychology) Wheaton College.