期刊名称:International Journal of Adolescence and Youth
印刷版ISSN:0267-3843
电子版ISSN:2164-4527
出版年度:2020
卷号:25
期号:1
页码:1-15
DOI:10.1080/02673843.2019.1622582
出版社:Taylor and Francis Ltd
摘要:Previous research finds that low achievers and students from lower
socioeconomic status backgrounds are more likely to bully peers, but
fails to satisfactorily explain why. This paper tests the hypothesis that
feelings of insecurity mediate the relationship between family background
and low achievement, as predictors, and self-perception of
being a bully, as the outcome. It operationalizes feelings of insecurity
as self-esteem and academic-status insecurity. Using a large and diverse
dataset of survey responses from secondary school males in the U.S.
(N = 7,291, 45% White, 30% Black, 25% Latino from 6th-12th grade), the
paper applies multi-level mediation analyses to test the hypothesis
separately for Blacks, Whites, and Latinos. For all three groups, the
insecurity measures account for virtually all of the relationship between
a grade point average and self-perception of being a bully, and about a
third of the relationship between family background and the same
bullying measure. Implications are discussed.