Are Communities Breeding Grounds for Bullies: A Social Ecological Perspective

Background/Purpose: Bullying is an identified widespread public health problem in the United States. Bullying contributes to the development and maintenance of hostile environments that promote ineffective problem-solving behavior patterns, while simultaneously demoralizing youth. To date, a wealth of research suggests that socio-demographic identifiers, family/peer relationships, model learning, and lack of parental monitoring fosters youth problem and victimizing behaviors such as bullying. Despite the growing literature on outcomes, consequences, and predictability of bullying, research on community-level influences on bullying is scarce. This study sought to utilize a social ecological lens to increase our understanding of bullying as a multifaceted, multilevel problem, our study had two aims: 1) to examine whether social disorder increases the likelihood that one will bully/threaten others and the frequency to which one will engage in such behaviors compared to physical disorder, and 2) examine the relationship between individual characteristics (e.g., age, gender, and ethnicity) and bullying choice and frequency.  

Methods: This exploratory study utilized a non-probability sample of 1,354 serious juvenile offenders from the Research on Pathways to Desistance [Maricopa County, AZ and Philadelphia County, PA]; Subject Measures 2000-2010 longitudinal multi-site study dataset. Logistic regression was utilized to ascertain what factors predict a greater likelihood of bullying choice. Additionally, a multinomial regression was used to analyze the frequency to which one will bully/threatening others.

Measures: Bullying choice was assessed through a single item, “Did you/do you bully or threaten others?” Response choice were dichotomously coded with “yes” or “no”. The second outcome variable, bullying frequency was assessed through a single item, “How often do you bully or threaten others?” The variable was re-coded for a multinomial logistic regression. Responses choices were, “does not bully others, 3-7 times per week, 1-2 times per week, less weekly/more than monthly, and less than monthly” This coding scheme separates those who bully regularly, moderately, and less frequently from those who do not bully. A 9-item (social disorder) and 12-item (physical disorder) scale measured neighborhood conditions, with responses ranging from “never (1)” to “often (4)”, with higher scores indicating greater levels of disorder within the participants community. Furthermore, demographic characteristics such as age, ethnicity, and gender were examined.  

Results: Data analysis reveals social disorder in the community increase the odds of youth engaging in victimizing behaviors (e.g., bullying/threatening) and at higher frequencies (3-7 times per week) than physical disorder. Furthermore, demographic variables were considered, females are two times more likely than males to bully 3-7 times a week versus not bully, and individuals who identified as Black, Hispanic, and Other were less likely than White individuals to choose to bully and bully less frequently vs not bullying others.

Conclusion/Implications: Findings suggest that social disorder increases one susceptibility to bully, as it has a greater effect on the odds of youth bullying frequently and engaging in bullying/threatening behaviors. This way of conceptualizing the problem underscores the need for macro level systems to play a proactive role in creating safer environments for its inhabitants.