School Climate Counts: A Longitudinal Analysis of School Climate and Middle School Bullying Behaviors

Author ORCID Identifier

Nicole Dorio: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7060-3267

Publication Title

International Journal of Bullying Prevention

ISSN

25233653

E-ISSN

25233661

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether student perceptions of school climate were associated with traditional and cyber bullying participant behaviors over the course of a school year. Additionally, gender was explored as a moderator in the associations between school climate perceptions and bullying participant behaviors. Data were collected from 870 6th through 8th grade middle school students using the Bullying Participant Behaviors Questionnaire (BPBQ; Demaray et al. 2014), the Cyber Victimization Survey (CVS; Brown et al. Computers in Human Behavior, 35, 12–21, 2014), and the Safe and Responsive Schools Safe Schools Survey–Secondary Form (SRS; Skiba et al. School Violence Research, 3, 149–171, 2004). Results indicated students’ perceptions of school climate were significantly related to maladaptive bullying role behaviors (traditional and cyber bullying, traditional and cyber victimization, assisting in bullying, and outsider behaviors) but not adaptive role behaviors (defending). There were significant gender interactions with school climate, particularly with perceptions of delinquency/major safety at school. Implications concerning these findings are discussed.

First Page

292

Last Page

308

Publication Date

9-2-2019

DOI

10.1007/s42380-019-00038-2

Keywords

Assisting, Bullying, Cyber bullying, Cyber victimization, Defending, Outsider, School climate, Victimization

Department

Department of Psychology

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