Predicting Physical, Verbal, Social, Racial, and Sexual Bullying with Individual and Environmental Factors from an Evolutionary Ecological Framework

Evidence exists for subtypes of bullying, but there is a lack of studies simultaneously investigating the factors that influence each subtype. The purpose of my thesis was to investigate how individual and environmental factors independently and interactively predict physical, verbal, social, racial, and sexual bullying using an evolutionary ecological framework. Adolescents (N = 225, M = 14.05, SD = 1.54) completed self-reports on demographics, HEXACO personality, Rothbart’s temperament, parenting, friendship quality, school connectedness, and socio-economic status. Subtypes were predicted by low Honesty-Humility in addition to other personality and demographic factors with the exception of physical bullying, which was predicted by environmental factors. Results suggest adolescents adaptively and selectively use bullying to exploit victims and obtain resources, although the subtype used may depend on individual factors bullies possess within Bronfenbrenner’s microsystem, instead of the meso- and exo- systems. Anti-bullying efforts should target these factors and reinforce alternative strategies to obtain resources.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A. Child and Youth Studies

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Faculty of Social Sciences

Department dc:contributor.department

Department of Child and Youth Studies

Grantor

Brock University

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Farrell, Ann

• bullying
• subtypes
• adolescents
• ecology
• evolution

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10464/5602

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:brocku.scholaris.ca:10464/5602