School-Related Strain Factors of Bullying Perpetration and Victimization Joint Trajectories Among South Korean Adolescents

Background/Purpose:

Bullying is a complex phenomenon that manifests in various development patterns over time. Bullying perpetration and victimization can coexist, indicating that bullying trajectories require a joint developmental perspective that considers both roles. These bullying trajectories can vary by individuals’ personal and contextual characteristics. In particular, South Korean adolescents face many school-related strains due to prolonged school hours and the competitive meritocratic environment. Thus, this study draws on general strain theory (GST) to explore the joint trajectories of bullying perpetration and victimization among South Korean adolescents and examine how school-related strains predict membership in these trajectories.

Methods:

This study used nationally representative data from waves 3 to 6 (9^th grade ~ 12^th grade) of the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey 2010 (KCYPS 2010) provided by the Korean National Youth Policy Institute (NYPI) (N=1,987). First, a parallel-process latent class growth analysis was conducted to derive the joint trajectories of bullying perpetration and victimization. Next, multinomial logistic regression was conducted to analyze the association between school-related strains and trajectory membership. School-related strains consist of peer relationships (average score of 5 items), teacher relationships (average score of 5 items), and grade satisfaction (1 item). The model controlled for factors identified in previous literature to be associated with bullying trajectories (sex, household income, parental abuse, anger, depression, and deviant peer affiliation).

Results:

Three trajectory groups were identified: “high victim/steeply decreasing” (4.8%; Trajectory 1), “high bully/slightly decreasing” (2.9%; Trajectory 2), and “low risk” (92.3%; Trajectory 3). Trajectory 1 exhibited high and moderate levels of victimization and perpetration, respectively, during middle school, followed by a steep decline in high school. Trajectory 2 showed relatively high and moderate levels of perpetration and victimization, respectively, across all study years. Comprising the majority of adolescents, Trajectory 3 displayed negligible levels of bullying behavior throughout the study period. Multinomial logistic regression revealed that greater levels of strains such as peer relationship (OR=1.258, p<.001), grade (OR=1.371, p<.05) and depression (OR = 1.080, p<.001) predicted a higher likelihood of belonging to Trajectory 1 than Trajectory 3. Being male (OR=4.189, p<.001) and anger (OR=1.634, p<.01) were significant predictors of membership in Trajectory 2 compared to Trajectory 3.

Conclusions and Implications:

This study identified three distinct joint trajectories of bullying perpetration and victimization, and examined the relationship between trajectory groups and school-related strains. First, this study found that school-related strains were more strongly associated with the “high victim/steeply decreasing” trajectory. Furthermore, results indicated that, relative to strain-related factors, personal factors like sex and negative emotion were more predictive of membership in the “high bully/slightly decreasing” trajectory. From a policy perspective, the higher occurrence of bullying behaviors in middle school than in high school suggests a critical need for early intervention. Interventions that address school-related strains may be an effective strategy for adolescents in the “high victim/steeply decreasing” trajectory. Lastly, the co-occurrence of perpetration and victimization in the “high bully/slightly decreasing” trajectory underscores the importance of comprehensive programs that address both bullying perpetration and victimization behaviors.