A Psychosocial Look into Types of Bullying Victimization

Abstract

Bullying affects many adolescents in America. Although widely recognized as a problem, research has been complicated by bullying’s many definitions and types. Further, findings have been mixed across types, gender, and social contexts. Although an interpersonal problem, bullying shares a compelling relationship with individuals’ sense of belonging, perceived safety, and sense of self-worth. In this study, I analyzed a sample of 8,048 eight graders (4,134 females and 3,915 males) from 501 schools who participated in the 2011 Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). I applied latent class analysis (LCA) to identify typologies associated with physical, verbal, and relational bullying. Although I did not find these specific types of bullying, for my three-class model, gender and sense of belonging were significant predictors of latent class membership. I discuss the effect of statistical remedies such as modeling direct relationships between predictors and indicators in the study of bullying and offer recommendations.