Cultural mindset and bullying experiences: An eight-year trend study of adolescents' risk behaviors, internalizing problems, talking to friends, and social support

Anett Wolgast and Matthias Donat

Children and Youth Services Review, 2019, vol. 99, issue C, 257-269

Abstract: Previous studies suggested adolescents' bullying experiences to be related to risk behaviors, internalizing problems and less perceived social support. Swearer and Hymel (2015) proposed a diathesis-stress model regarding bullying experiences. We expected the diathesis variable adolescent's sex, and the stressors bullying perpetrator or victimization experiences to be related concurrently to risk behaviors, internalizing problems, talking to friends, and perceived peer support. In a cross-cultural trend study, we aimed to test these diathesis-stress relationships across three countries at three measurement times (T1–T3, World-Health-Organization data) to get new insights for future intervention approaches. The samples consisted of n = 3458 adolescents from the United States, Germany, and Greece at T1, n = 3441 adolescents at T2, and n = 4021 adolescents (about 16 years of age) at T3. We conducted latent multi-group structural equation modeling including sex, bullying experiences as perpetrator or victim, risk behaviors, internalizing problems, talking to friends, perceived peer support, and further relevant variables (e.g., school pressure). The results support in part the diathesis-stress model. Girls and boys self-reported similar frequent risk behaviors (smoking, drinking alcohol). Sex related to internalizing problems which were higher in girls than in boys. Bullying perpetration experiences or bullying victimization experiences positively related to internalizing problems across culture and time but not or even negatively with talking to friends and perceived peer support. Talking to friends is difficult for both bullying perpetrators and bullying victims. Easy communication (e.g., talking to friends) should be a central approach in further bullying prevention and intervention programs.

Keywords: Adolescents; Bullying; Risk behavior; Internalizing problems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:99:y:2019:i:c:p:257-269

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.02.014

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