Speaker
Description
Background and aims Research on trajectories of bullying perpetration during elementary and middle school years has found some children engaging in very little bullying and others exhibiting high or chronic levels of bullying across time (e.g., Zych et al., 2018). This study examined the association of trajectories of bullying perpetration across middle school years (grade 6 to grade 8) with bullying perpetration in high school (grade 9). Furthermore, we analyzed moral cognitive distortions (CDs) and exposure to community violence (ECV) as predictors of trajectories of bullying perpetration.
Methods The sample included 338 Italian students (186 males). Peer ratings of bullying perpetration were collected, whereas CDs and community violence exposure were self-reported in grade 6 by completing the How I Think Questionnaire (Barriga et al., 2001) and an adapted scale of violence exposure from Schwartz and Proctor (2000), respectively.
Results Three trajectory groups were identified: High and increasing (5%), medium and stable (12%), and low and declining (83%). Trajectory membership predicted grade 9 bullying, with the high/increasing and medium/stable groups scoring higher. Using the low and declining trajectory as the reference group, we found that children high in CDs and ECV were more likely to be classified in the high and increasing trajectory; only ECV was associated with being in the medium and stable trajectory.
Conclusions Prevention and intervention efforts should target children who display early and chronic patterns of CDs and ECV to address the risk of engaging in bullying perpetration and its persistence over time.
Keywords
bullying perpetration; trajectories; moral cognitive distortions; exposure to violence
| Please also indicate what kind of contribution it is: | Scientific |
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| Please indicate what type of scientific contribution it is | Quantitative method study |
