Term of Award

Spring 2012

Degree Name

Master of Science in Experimental Psychology (M.S.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Psychology

Committee Chair

Rebecca Ryan

Committee Member 1

Janice Kennedy

Committee Member 2

Jeff Klibert

Abstract

Author's abstract: Bullying is a pervasive problem in our society. Contributing to this problem is the fact that bullying is not well understood. This makes it difficult to design successful interventions. The current study aims to create a complete picture of bullying in order to increase understanding of this behavior. For this study, 59 adolescents completed a survey packet including measures of bullying behaviors and other variables expected to relate to bullying. The results revealed that bullying is a problem for both genders. Multivariate analyses revealed males to be more directly and indirectly aggressive, but there were no significant gender differences on verbal and physical aggression. Regression analysis revealed that age and negative coping created a significant model predicting cyber-bullying. Regression analysis also showed belief in a just world, self-esteem, age, and negative coping created a significant model predicting traditional bullying. The findings particularly highlight belief in a just world as a variable that should be further explored. The findings are discussed in relation to current research on bullying and interventions.

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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