Thursday, July 10, 2003

This presentation is part of : Family and School Health

The Influence of Demographic and Psychosocial Factors on Reported Teasing and Bullying Experiences in Middle-School Youth

Judith A. Vessey, PhD, MBA, FAAN, Lelia Holden Carroll endowed professor of nursing1, Mary E. Duffy, PhD, FAAN, professor and director, center for nursing research1, Joyce David, BSN, MSNc1, June Horowitz, PhD, FAAN, Associate Professor1, Karen L. Carlson, RNC, PhD, professor and associate dean for academic affairs2, Joan F. Bradley, RN, MSN, lecturer2, and Carolyn Montoya, RN, MSN, PNP, lecturer2. (1) School of Nursing, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA, (2) College of Nursing, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Learning Objective #1: Describe the relationships among specific demographic factors and teasing and bullying experiences
Learning Objective #2: Describe the relationship among specific psychosocial factors and teasing and bullying experiences

Objective: Teasing and bullying is a significant problem for 9-15% of youth and are associated with harmful psychological sequelae. This study determined whether demographic and psychosocial factors explain reported teasing and bullying experiences in a sample of middle-school youth.

Design: The study used a non-experimental descriptive explanatory design.

Sample, Setting: Data were collected from this nonprobability purposive sample of 618 youth in grades 6-8 from schools in Massachusetts, North Carolina, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Montana.

Study Variables: The predictor variables are youth demographics (age, race/ethnicity, siblings, school grade, course grades, SES), child’s self-concept and psychosocial problems. The outcome variable is child-reported teasing and bullying experiences.

Methods: The sample is 618 middle-school female (51%) and male (49%) children with 74% White, 11% Latino/Hispanic, 10% Black/African-American and 6% Asian or Native American. The majority were in 6th grade (51%). Almost 63% reported grades of A’s & B’s. Over 90% of parents were high school graduates. The test packet included a demographic form, Pier-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale (PHCSCS), Pediatric Symptom Checklist,and the Child-Adolescent Teasing Scale (CATS). All measures demonstrated Cronbach’s alphas ranging from (.88-.93).

Findings: Data were examined for systematic missing data, marked skewness, outliers and multicollinearity. Hierarchical multiple regression with forced entry at each step was used to answer the research question. A total of 27.4% of adjusted variance was explained mainly by four of the six PHCSCS subscales.

Conclusions: Middle-school children despite gender, race, grade, SES, and psychosocial factors, who had lower self concept scores related to behavior, anxiety and popularity but higher scores on intellectual and school status were more likely to report significantly higher teasing and bullying experiences than their counterparts.

Implications: Teasing and bullying exert significant influence on youth’s developing self-concepts. These results can be used in developing interventions designed to ameliorate sequelae in vulnerable youth.

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Sigma Theta Tau International
10-12 July 2003