Date of Award
3-18-2024
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Discipline
Social Sciences
Department
Sociology and Social Policy
First Advisor
Prof. LAU Ka Wai Maggie
Second Advisor
Prof. LIN Li Jocelyn
Abstract
Background: Research has widely documented the risk factors for violent and property victimisation. Besides, research has predominantly examined the moderating role of social support in the associations of risky lifestyles and socioeconomic inequalities with violent and property victimisation. However, little is known about how adolescent risky lifestyle behaviours (i.e., alcohol use, traditional bullying perpetration and physical fighting) relate to traditional bullying and cyberbullying victimisation, and the moderating role of perceived family, peer and teacher social support in these relationships. Moreover, the influence of income and gender inequalities on cyberbullying and traditional bullying victimization, and whether public education expenditure moderates such relationships remain unclear.
Aim and objectives of the study: To address these gaps, this study adapted the microand macro-systems of the social-ecological model to examine the influence of risky lifestyle behaviours, income and gender inequalities on cyberbullying and traditional bullying victimisation, and the moderating role of social support in these relationships.
Methods: Country-Level data (i.e., education expenditure, income and gender inequalities) were combined with data (i.e., alcohol use, traditional bullying perpetration, physical fighting, peer, family and teacher social support) from 158,117 and 162,792 adolescents aged 11, 13 and 15 years in the 2014 and 2018 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) surveys in 27 European countries. Multilevel risk and protective factors for bullying victimisation were examined using multilevel binary logistic regression analyses.
Findings: Traditional bullying perpetration, alcohol use, physical fighting, income and gender inequalities consistently predicted traditional bullying and cyberbullying victimisation across countries. Family, peer and teacher social support moderated the association of alcohol use, physical fighting and traditional bullying perpetration with traditional bullying and cyberbullying victimisation. Education expenditure attenuated the association of income and gender inequalities with traditional bullying victimisation. While education expenditure moderated the association of income and gender inequalities with cyberbullying victimisation in the 2018 HBSC wave, education expenditure strengthened the association of income and gender inequalities with cyberbullying victimisation in the 2014 HBSC wave.
Discussion and conclusion: Higher rates of bullying victimisation are associated with greater rates of bullying perpetration, physical fighting, alcohol use, income and gender inequalities, implying that policy interventions (e.g., interventions to reduce social inequalities and prevent adolescent risky behaviours) that target multilevel risk factors for bullying victimisation could effectively reduce adolescent bullying in 27 countries. Peer, family and teacher social support offers substantial protection for adolescents against risky behaviours and bullying victimisation, signifying that peer-, family- and school-based prevention and intervention programmes may be effective to protect adolescents from engaging in risky lifestyles and reduce the risks of victimisation. Moreover, the findings demonstrate that education expenditure is an important macro-level protective factor for bullying victimisation, implying that huge education expenditure could support interventions to address social inequalities that predispose individuals to victimisation. The findings suggest that the overall multilevel theoretical model is relevant to provide an explanation of multilevel risk and protective factors for bullying victimisation, signifying that applying the social-ecological framework in developing interventions would substantially help in reducing bullying victimisation and would be more likely to improve adolescents’ well-being.
Language
English
Copyright
The copyright of this thesis is owned by its author. Any reproduction, adaptation, distribution or dissemination of this thesis without express authorization is strictly prohibited.
Recommended Citation
Chanda, P. (2024). Risk and protective factors for traditional bullying and cyberbullying victimization among adolescents: A multilevel cross-national study (Doctoral thesis, Lingnan University, Hong Kong). Retrieved from https://commons.ln.edu.hk/otd/206/
Included in
Educational Sociology Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons