Examining the Relationships Between Peer Bullying, Empathic Tendency, and Tolerance in Adolescents

Year 2023, Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 225 - 242, 31.10.2023

Burcu Türkan Aydın , Adem Peker , Osman Keleş , Serkan Cengiz

https://doi.org/10.31463/aicusbed.1344065

Abstract

Bullying has become a common problem among adolescents. However, relatively little is known about what variables contribute to the development of bullying prevention. This study examined the relationships among adolescents' empathic disposition, tolerance, and peer bullying. 372 students studying between 9th and 12th grades participated in the study. The data were analyzed using the structural equation model and the t-test for independent samples. The results revealed that there is a significant relationship between students' empathic tendencies and tolerance levels and peer bullying. In addition, it was determined that empathic disposition and tolerance predicted peer negatively. In addition, in the present study, students' peer bullying levels showed significant differences according to gender. Peer bullying scores of male students were higher than female students. Current results highlight the role of positive traits such as empathy and tolerance in reducing peer bullying.

Keywords

Bullying, empathic tendency, tolerance, adolescence, gender

ERGENLERDE AKRAN ZORBALIĞI, EMPATİK EĞİLİM VE HOŞGÖRÜ ARASINDAKİ İLİŞKİLERİN İNCELENMESİ

Abstract

Akran zorbalığı ergenler arasında yaygın bir sorun haline gelmiştir. Ancak akran zorbalığını önleme gelişimine hangi değişkenlerin katkıda bulunduğu konusunda nispeten az şey bilinmektedir. Bu çalışma, ergenlerin empatik eğilim, hoşgörü ve akran zorbalığı arasındaki ilişkileri incelemiştir. Çalışmaya 9 ile 12. sınıflar arasında öğrenim gören 372 öğrenci katılmıştır. Veriler yapısal eşitlik modeli ve bağımsız örneklemler için t testi kullanılarak incelenmiştir. Sonuçlar, öğrencilerin empatik eğilimleri ve hoşgörü düzeyleri ile akran zorbalığı arasında anlamlı bir ilişki olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Ayrıca empatik eğilim ve hoşgörünün akran negatif olarak yordadığı belirlenmiştir. Bunun yanında mevcut araştırmada, öğrencilerin akran zorbalık düzeyleri cinsiyete göre anlamlı farklılık göstermiştir. Erkek öğrencilerin akran zorbalık puanları kız öğrencilere göre daha yüksek bulunmuştur. Mevcut sonuçlar, akran zorbalığını azaltmada empati ve hoşgörü gibi olumlu özelliklerin rolünü vurgulamaktadır.

Keywords

Akran zorbalığı, empatik eğilim, hoşgörü, ergenlik, cinsiyet

References

• Arcadepani, F.B., Eskenazi, D.Y., Fidalgo, T.M., & Hong, J.S. (2021). An exploration of the link between bullying perpetration and substance use: A review of the literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 22(1), 207-214. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838019837593
• Bradshaw, C. P., & Waasdorp, T. E. (2009). Measuring and changing a “culture of bullying.” School Psychology Review, 38, 356–361. https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2009.12087820
• Cohen, D., & Strayer, J. (1996). Empathy in conduct-disordered and comparison youth. Developmental Psychology, 32, 988–998. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0012-1649.32.6.988
• Costa, M. R. D., Xavier, C. C., Andrade, A. C. D. S., Proietti, F. A., & Caiaffa, W. T. (2015). Bullying among adolescents in a Brazilian urban center–“Health in Beagá” study. Revista de saude publica, 49, 56. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-8910.2015049005188
• Espelage, D. L., & Colbert, C. L. (2015). School-based bullying: Definition, prevalence, etiology, outcomes, and preventive strategies. In Critical ıssues in school-based mental health (pp. 132-144). Routledge.
• Fekkes, M., Pijpers, F. I., Fredriks, A. M., Vogels, T., & Verloove-Vanhorick, S. P. (2006). Do bullied children get ill, or do ill children get bullied? A prospective cohort study on the relationship between bullying and health-related symptoms. Pediatrics, 117(5), 1568-1574. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2005-0187
• Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2012). How to design and evaluate research in education (Vol. 7, p. 429). McGraw-Hill.
• García-Díaz, V., Fernández-Feito, A., Bringas-Molleda, C., Rodríguez-Díaz, F. J., & Lana, A. (2020). Tolerance of intimate partner violence and sexist attitudes among health sciences students from three Spanish universities. Gaceta Sanitaria, 34, 179-185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaceta.2019.01.003
• Gini, G. (2006). Bullying as a social process: The role of group membership in students' perception of inter-group aggression at school. Journal of School Psychology, 44(1), 51-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2005.12.002
• Graf, D., Yanagida, T., & Spiel, C. (2019). Through the magnifying glass: Empathy’s differential role in preventing and promoting traditional and cyberbullying. Computers in Human Behavior, 96, 186–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.02.007
• Jolliffe, D., & Farrington, D.P. (2011). Is low empathy related to bullying after controlling for individual and social background variables?. Journal of Adolescence, 34(1), 59-71.
• Karami, A., Khodarahimi, S., Ghazanfari, F., Mirdrikvand, F., & Barigh, M. (2020). The prediction of distress tolerance based on the feeling of loneliness and self-handicapping in students. Personality and Individual Differences, 161, 109994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.109994
• Kim, S., Kimber, M., Boyle, M. H., & Georgiades, K. (2019). Sex differences in the association between cyberbullying victimization and mental health, substance use, and suicidal ideation in adolescents. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 64(2), 126–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743718777397
• Lovett, B. J., & Sheffield, R. A. (2007). Affective empathy deficits in aggressive children and adolescents: A critical review. Clinical Psychology Review, 27(1), 1–13. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2006.03.003.
• Martinez, J., Rodriguez-Hidalgo, A. J., & Zych, I. (2020). Bullying and cyberbullying in adolescents from disadvantaged areas: Validation of questionnaires; prevalence rates; and relationship to self-esteem, empathy and social skills. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(17), 6199. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176199
• Menesini, E., & Salmivalli, C. (2017). Bullying in schools: The state of knowledge and effective interventions. Psychology Health & Medicine, 22(1), 240-253. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2017.1279740
• Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school: Wlxat we know and what we can do. Blackwell
• Polat, F., & Sohbet, R. (2020). Ortaöğretim öğrencilerinde akran zorbalığı. Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Dergisi, 15(2), 41-51.
• Potard, C., Pochon, R., Henry, A., Combes, C., Kubiszewski, V., & Roy, A. (2021). Relationships between school bullying and frustration intolerance beliefs in adolescence: A gender-specific analysis. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-021-00402-6
• Pouwels, J.L., Lansu, T.A., & Cillessen, A.H. (2016). Participant roles of bullying in adolescence: Status characteristics, social behavior, and assignment criteria. Aggressive behavior, 42(3), 239-253. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21614
• Przybylski, A.K., & Bowes, L. (2017). Cyberbullying and adolescent well-being in England: a population-based cross-sectional study. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 1(1), 19-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(17)30011-1
• Reardon, B. A. (2000). Hoşgörü: barışa açılan kapı (2. Bs.) (T. Asrak Hasdemir ve N. Ziyal, Çev.). UNESCO Yayınları.
• Robson, C., & Witenberg, R. T. (2013). The influence of moral disengagement, morally based self-esteem, age and gender on traditional bullying and cyberbullying. Journal of School Violence, 12(2), 211–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2012.762921.
• Rodriguez-Hidalgo, A. J., Solera, E., & Calmaestra, J. (2018). Psychological predictors of cyberbullying according to ethnic-cultural origin in adolescents: a national study in Spain. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 49(10), 1506-1522. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022118795283
• Salmivalli, C., & Peets, K. (2018). Bullying and victimization. In Handbook of peer interactions, relationships, and groups (Eds. K. Rubin, W. Bukowski, & B. Laursen). Guilford Press.
• Salmivalli, C., Laninga‐Wijnen, L., Malamut, S.T., & Garandeau, C.F. (2021). Bullying prevention in adolescence: Solutions and new challenges from the past decade. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 31(4), 1023-1046. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12688
• Schneider, S. K., O'donnell, L., Stueve, A., & Coulter, R. W. (2012). Cyberbullying, school bullying, and psychological distress: A regional census of high school students. American Journal of Public Health, 102(1), 171-177.
• Segura, L., Estévez, J. F., & Estévez, E. (2020). Empathy and emotional intelligence in adolescent cyberaggressors and cybervictims. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(13), 4681. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17134681
• Shirley, E. L., & Cornell, D. G. (2012). The contribution of student perceptions of school climate to understanding the disproportionate punishment of African American students in a middle school. School Psychology International, 33(2), 115-134. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034311406815
• Smith, R.L., & Rose, A.J. (2011). The “cost of caring” in youths’ friendships: Considering associations among social perspective taking, co-rumination, and empathetic distress. Developmental Psychology, 47, 1792–1803. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025309.
• Storer, H. L., Casey, E. A., & Herrenkohl, T. I. (2017). Developing “whole school” bystander interventions: The role of school-settings in influencing adolescents responses to dating violence and bullying. Children and Youth Services Review, 74, 87-95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.01.018
• Stubbs-Richardson, M., Sinclair, H. C., Goldberg, R. M., Ellithorpe, C. N., & Amadi, S. C. (2018). Reaching out versus lashing out: Examining gender differences in experiences with and responses to bullying in high school. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 43, 39-66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-017-9408-4
• Tural Hesapçıoğlu, S., & Yeşilova, H. (2015). Lise öğrencilerinin zorbalığa ve zorbalara ilişkin duyguları, düşünceleri ve tutumları. Anadolu Psikiyatri Dergisi, 16(4), 284-293.
• Underwood, M., Galen, B., & Paquette, J. (2001). Top ten challenges for understanding gender and aggression in children: Why can't we all just get along? Social Development, 10, 248–266. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9507.00162
• Van Lissa, C. J., Hawk, S. T., Branje, S., Koot, H. M., & Meeus, W. H. J. (2016). Common and unique associations of adolescents’ affective and cognitive empathy development with conflict behavior towards parents. Journal of Adolescence, 47, 60–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.12.005.
• Van Noorden, T. H. J., Haselager, G. J., Cillessen, A. H. N., & Bukowski, W. M. (2015). Empathy and involvement in bullying in children and adolescents: A systematic review. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(3), 637–657. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-014-0135-6
• Van Ryzin, M. J., & Roseth, C. J. (2019). Effects of cooperative learning on peer relations, empathy, and bullying in middle school. Aggressive Behavior, 45(6), 643-651. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21858
• Vujanovic, A. A., Bernstein, A., & Litz, B. T. (2011). Traumatic stress. In, Distress tolerance: Theory, research, and clinical applications (Eds. M. J. Zvolensky, A. Bernstein, & A. A. Vujanovic) (126–148). Guilford Press
• Xie, Y., Wang, X., Wang, X., & Liu, L. (2022). Gender differences in the effects of BMI on school bullying and victimization in China: comparing normal weight, underweight and overweight secondary school students. Children, 9(9), 1388. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9091388
• You, S., Lee, J., Lee, Y., & Kim, A. Y. (2015). Bullying among Korean adolescents: The role of empathy and attachment. Psychology in the Schools, 52(6), 594–606. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21842.
• Zych, I., Ttofi, M. M., & Farrington, D. P. (2019). Empathy and callous–unemotional traits in different bullying roles: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 20, 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838016683456