Bullies and Their Mothers: Who Influence Whom?

Even though most researchers would agree that in symbiotic relationships, like the one between parent and child, influences become reciprocal over time, empirical evidence supporting this claim is limited. The aim of the current study was to develop and test a model describing the reciprocal influence between characteristics of the parent-child relationship, such as closeness and conflict, and the child-s bullying and victimization experiences at school. The study used data from the longitudinal Study of Early Child-Care, conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The participants were dyads of early adolescents (5th and 6th graders during the two data collection waves) and their mothers (N=1364). Supporting our hypothesis, the findings suggested a reciprocal association between bullying and positive parenting, although this association was only significant for boys. Victimization and positive parenting were not significantly interrelated.

Authors:

• Kostas A. Fanti
• Stelios Georgiou

Keywords:

• bullying
• parenting
• reciprocal associations
• victimization

References:

[1] Seals, D., & Young, J., (2003). Bullying and victimization: prevalence
and relationship to gender, grade level, ethnicity, self-esteem and
depression. Adolescence, 38 (152), 735-747.
[2] Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at School: What we Know and What We
Can Do. Oxford: Blackwell.H. Poor, An Introduction to Signal
Detection and Estimation. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1985, ch. 4.
[3] Farrington, D.P. (1993). Understanding and preventing bullying. In
M.Tonry & N. Morris (Eds.). Crime and Justice, (381-458). Chicago:
Chicago University press.
[4] Rigby, K. (2002). New perspective on bullying. London: Jessica
Kingsley.
[5] Naylor, P., Cowie, H., & del Rey, R. (2001). Coping strategies of
secondary school children in response to being bullied. Child
Psychology and Psychiatry Review, 6, 114-120.
[6] Tanaka, T. (2001). The identity formation of the victim of shunning.
School Psychology International, 22, 463-476.
[7] Kaltiala-Heino, R., Rimpelä, M., Rantanen, P., & Rimpelä A. (2000).
Bullying at school - an indicator of adolescents at risk for mental
disorders. Journal of Adolescence, 23, 661-674.
[8] Dodge, K., & Pettit, G. S. (2003). A biopsychosocial model of the
development of chronic conduct problems in adolescence.
Developmental Psychology, 39(2), 349-371.
[9] Reitz, E., Dekovic, M., & Meijer, A. M. (2006). Relations between
parenting and externalizing and internalizing problem behavior in early
adolescence: Child behavior as moderator and predictor. Journal of
Adolescence, 29(3), 419-436.
[10] Besag, V. E. (1989). Bullies and Victims in Schools. Buckingham:
Open University Press.
[11] Connolly, I., & O-Moore, M. (2003). Personality and family relations of
children who bully. Personality and Individual Differences, 35, 559-
567.
[12] Perren, S. & Hornung, R. (2005). Bulling and Delinquency in
Adolescence: Victim-s and Perpetrators- Family and Peer Relations.
Swiss Journal of Psychology, 64 (1), 51-64.
[13] Baldry, A. C. & Farrington, D.P. (2000). Bullies and Delinquents:
Personal Characteristics and Parental Styles. Journal of Community &
Applied Social Psychology, 10, 17-31.
[14] Lytton, H. (1990). Child and parent effects in boys- conduct disorder: A
reinterpretation. Developmental Psychology, 26(5), 683-697.
[15] Bell, R. (1977). Socialization findings re-examined, In R. Q. Bell & R.
V Harper (Eds.), Child effects on adults (pp. 53-84). Hillsdale, NJ:
Erlbaum.
[16] Beaver, K. M. & Wright, J. P. (2007). A child effects explanation for the
association between family risk and involvement in antisocial lifestyle.
Journal of Adolescent Research, 22(6), 640-664.
[17] Simons, R.L., Chao, W., Conger, R.D., & Elder, G.H. (2001). Quality of
parenting as mediator of the effect of childhood defiance on adolescent
friendship choices and delinquency: A growth curve analysis. Journal of
the Marriage and Family, 63, (1), 63-79.
[18] Fanti, K. A., Henrich, C. C., Brookmeyer, K. A., & Kuperminc, G. P.
(2008). Toward a transactional model of parent-adolescent relationship
quality and adolescent psychological adjustment. Journal of Early
Adolescence, 28(2), 252-276.
[19] Scaramella, L. V., Conger, R. D., Spoth, R. & Simons, R. L. (2002).
Evaluation of a social contextual model of delinquency: A cross study
replication. Child Development, 73(1), 175-195.
[20] Stice, E., & Barrera, M. (1995). A longitudinal examination of the
reciprocal relations between perceived parenting and adolescents-
substance use and externalizing behaviors. Developmental Psychology,
27, 814-825.
[21] Kerr, M., & Stattin, H. (2003). Parenting of adolescents: Action or
Reaction? Chapter 9 (pp. 121-151) in A. C. Crouter & A. Booth (Eds)
Children-s influence on family dynamics: The neglected side of family
relationships. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
[22] Bell, R. & Harper, L. (1977). Child Effects on Adults. Hillsdale, NJ:
Erlbaum.
[23] Smokowski, P. R., & Kopasz, K. H. (2005). Bullying in school: An
overview of types, effects, family characteristics, and intervention
strategies. Children & Schools, 27(2), 101-110.
[24] Collins,W. A., & Laursen, B. (2004). Parent-adolescent relationships
and influences. In R. M. Lerner&L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of
Adolescent Psychology (2nd ed., pp. 331-361). New York: Wiley.
[25] Paikoff, R. L. & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1991). Do parent-child relationships
change during puberty? Psychological Bulletin, 110(1), 47-66.
[26] Offord, D. R., Boyle, M. H., & Racine, Y. A. (1991). The epidemiology
of antisocial behavior in childhood and adolescence. In D. J. Pepler &
K. H. Rubin (Eds.), The development and treatment of childhood
aggression (pp. 31-54). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
[27] Youngstrom, E., Findling, R., & Calabrese, J. (2003). Who are the
comorbid adolescents? Agreement between psychiatric diagnosis, youth,
parent, and teacher report. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology,
31(3), 231-245.
[28] Schwartz, D., Proctor, L. J., & Chin, D. H. (2001). The aggressive
victim of bullying: Emotional and behavioral dysregulation as a
pathway to victimization by peers, ln J. Juvonen & S. Graham (Eds.),
Peer harassment in school The plight of the vulnerable and victimized
(pp. 147-174). New York/London: The Guilford Press.
[29] Seals, D., & Young, J., (2003). Bullying and victimization: prevalence
and relationship to gender, grade level, ethnicity, self-esteem and
depression. Adolescence, 38 (152), 735-747.
[30] Solberg, M. E., Olweus, D., & Endresen, I. M. (2007). Bullies and
victims at school: Are they the same pupils? British Journal of
Educational Psychology, 77, 441-464.
[31] Keenan, K., & Shaw, D. (1997). Developmental and social influences
on young girls- early problem behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 121(1),
95-113.
[32] Hay, D. F., Vespo, J. E., & Zahn-Waxler, C. (1998). Young children-s
quarrels with their siblings and mothers: Links with maternal
depression and bipolar illness. British
[33] Laursen, B. (2005). Conflict between mothers and adolescents in singlemother,
blended, and two-biological-parent families. Parenting:
Science and Practice, 5(4), 347-370.
[34] Baumrind, D. (1991). Parenting styles and adolescent development. In J.
Brooks-Gunn, R. Lerner, and A. Petersen (Eds.), The encyclopedia of
adolescence (pp. 746- 758). New York: Garland.
[35] Finnegan, R., Hodges, E., & Perry, D. (1998). Victimization by peers:
associations with children-s' reports of mother-child interaction.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 1076-1086.
[36] Fanti, K. A., Frick, P. J., & Georgiou, St. (2009). Linking callousunemotional
traits to instrumental and non-instrumental forms of
aggression. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment,
31, 285-298.
[37] Ladd, G. W., Kochenderfer, B. J., & Coleman, C. C. (1996). Friendship
quality as a predictor of young children's early school adjustment. Child
Development, 67, 1103-1118.
[38] Pianta, R. (1992). Student-Teacher Relationship Scale. Charlottesville,
VA: University of Virginia.
[39] Muthén, L. K. & Muthén, B. (2010). Mplus User-s Guide. Los Angeles,
CA: Muthén & Muthén.
[40] Kline, R. B. (1998). Principles and practice of structural equation
modeling. New York: The Guilford Press.
[41] Little, T. D. (1997). Mean and covariance structures (MACS) analyses
of cross-cultural data: Practical and theoretical issues. Multivariate
Behavioral Research, 32, 53-76.
[42] Cernkovich, S., & Giordano, P. (1987). Family relationships and
delinquency. Criminology, 25, 295-322.
[43] Craig, W., Peters, R., & Konarski, R. (1998). Bullying and victimization
among Canadian school children. Applied Research Branch, Human
Resources Development: Quebec, Canada.
[44] Hagan, J. & McCarthy, B. (1997). Mean streets: Youth crime and
homelessness. Cambridge: Cambridge University press.
[45] Olweus, D. (1980). Familial and Temperamental Determinants of
Aggressive Behavior in Adolescent Boys: A Causal Analysis.
Developmental Psychology, 16 (6), 644-660.
[46] Flouri, E. & Buchanan, A. (2003). The Role of Mother Involvement and
Father Involvement in Adolescence Bullying Behaviour. Journal of
Interpersonal Violence, 18 (6), 634-644.
[47] Georgiou, St. (2008). Bullying and victimization at school: the role of
mothers. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 78, 109-125.
[48] Stevens, V., De Bourdeaudhuij, I. & Van Oost, P. (2002). Relationship
of the Family Environment to Children-s Involvement in Bully/Victims
Problems at School. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31 (6), 419-
428.
[49] Snyder, J., Cramer, A., Afrank, J., and Patterson, G.R. (2005). The
contributions of ineffective discipline and parental hostile attributions of
child misbehavior to the development of conduct problems at home and
school. Developmental Psychology, 41, 30-41.
[50] Borg, M.G. (1998). The emotional reactions of school bullies and their
victims. Educational Psychology, 18 (4), 433-444.
[51] Hunter, S.C., Boyle, J.M.E., & Warden, D. (2004). Help seeking
amongst child and adolescent victims of peer-aggression and bullying:
The influence of school-stage, gender, victimization, appraisal, and
emotion. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 74 (3), 375-390.
[52] Glover, D., Gough, G., Johnson, M., & Cartwright, N. (2000). Bullying
in 25 secondary schools: Incidence, impact and intervention.
Educational Research, 42 (2,) 141-156.
[53] Peskin, M. F., Tortolero, S. R., Markham, C. M., Addy, R. C., &
Baumler, E. R. (2007). Bullying and victimization and internalizing
symptoms among low-income Black and Hispanic students. Journal
of Adolescent Health, 40(4), 372-375.
[54] Oland, A. A, & Shaw, D. S. (2005). Pure versus co-occurring
externalizing and internalizing symptoms in children: The potential role
of socio-developmental milestones. Clinical Child and Family
Psychology Review, 8(4), 247-270.
[55] Sameroff, A. J., & MacKenzie, M. J. (2003). Research strategies for
capturing transactional models of development: The limits of the
possible. Development & Psychopathology, 15(3), 613-640.
[56] Graber, J. A., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1996). Transitions and turning points:
Navigating the passage from childhood through adolescence.
Developmental Psychology, 32(4), 768-776.