Apparent bullying and victimization rates vary, depending on how these rates are measured. This study used Olweus-type global items and a short version of the School Bullying Scales to investigate the prevalence rate and behavioral ranking of bullying and victimization among secondary students in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macao. We used the response categories and cut-off points from the World Health Organization Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. A total of 11,876 secondary students (grades 7–12) participated in this study. Results revealed that the rates of self-reported bullying, victimization, and combined bullying/victimization were 5.1, 9.3, and 1.8 %, respectively. The prevalence rates of bullying and victimization in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macao were quite similar. More male students were involved in bullying and victimization than female students. Prevalence rates of bullying and victimization decreased as grade level increased. Verbal bullying and victimization were the most common categories of school bullying. Implications of the results for bullying research are discussed.
Keywords: Adolescents Bullying Gender difference Grade difference Prevalence rate VictimizationIE Behavior Intent: A Study on ICT Ethics of College Students in Korea
Analitis, F., Velderman, M. K., Ravens-Sieberer, U., Detmar, S., Erhart, M., Herdman, M., et al. (2009). Being bullied: Associated factors in children and adolescents 8 to 18 years old in 11 European countries. Pediatrics, 123, 569–577. doi:10.1542/peds.2008-0323.
Bond, T. G., & Fox, C. M. (2007). Applying the Rasch model: Fundamental measurement in the human sciences (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Bond, L., Wolfe, S., Tollit, M., Butler, H., & Patton, G. (2007). A comparison of the Gatehouse Bullying Scale and the peer relations questionnaire for students in secondary school. Journal of School Health, 77, 75–79. doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2007.00170.x.
Bradshaw, C. P., Sawyer, A. L., & O’Brennan, L. M. (2007). Bullying and peer victimization at school: Perceptual differences between students and school staff. School Psychology Review, 36, 361–382.
Cheng, Y–. Y., Chen, L.-M., Liu, K.-S., & Chen, Y.-L. (2011). Development and psychometric evaluation of the School Bullying Scales: A Rasch measurement approach. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 71, 200–216. doi:10.1177/0013164410387387.
Cheng, T. K., & Leung, K. Y. (2004). A survey on physical bullying in Macao secondary schools. Journal of Macao Studies, 23, 307–318. (In Chinese).
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Craig, W., Harel-Fisch, Y., Fogel-Grinvald, H., Dostaler, S., Hetland, J., Simons-Morton, B., et al. (2009). A cross-national profile of bullying and victimization among adolescents in 40 countries. International Journal of Public Health, 54, 216–224. doi:10.1007/s00038-009-5413-9.
Currie, C., Zanotti, C., Morgan, A., Currie, D., de Looze, M., Roberts, C., et al. (2012). Social determinants of health and well-being among young people: HBSC international report from the 2009/2010 survey. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe.
Delfabbro, P., Winefield, T., Trainor, S., Dollard, M., Anderson, S., Metzer, J., & Hammarstrom, A. (2006). Peer and teacher bullying/victimization of South Australian secondary school students: Prevalence and psychosocial profiles. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 71–90. doi:10.1348/000709904X24645.
DeSouza, E. R., & Ribeiro, J. (2005). Bullying and sexual harassment among Brazilian high school students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 1018–1038. doi:10.1177/0886260505277731.
Due, P., Merlo, J., Harel-Fisch, Y., Damsgaard, M. T., Holstein, B. E., Hetland, J., et al. (2009). Socioeconomic inequality in exposure to bullying during adolescence: A comparative, cross-sectional, multilevel study in 35 countries. American Journal of Public Health, 99, 907–914. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2008.139303.
Eslea, M., Menesini, E., Morita, Y., O’Moore, M., Mora-Merchán, J. A., Pereira, B., et al. (2003). Friendship and loneliness among bullies and victims: Data from seven countries. Aggressive Behavior, 30, 71–83. doi:10.1002/ab.20006.
Fleming, L. C., & Jacobsen, K. H. (2010). Bullying among middle-school students in low and middle income countries. Health Promotion International, 25, 73–84. doi:10.1093/heapro/dap046.
Harel-Fisch, Y., Walsh, S. D., Fogel-Grinvald, H., Amitai, G., Pickett, W., Molcho, M., et al. (2011). Negative school perceptions and involvement in school bullying: A universal relationship across 40 countries. Journal of Adolescence, 34, 639–652. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.09.008.
Hartung, C. M., Little, C. S., Allen, E. K., & Page, M. C. (2011). A psychometric comparison of two self-report measures of bullying and victimization: Differences by sex and grade. School Mental Health, 3, 44–57. doi:10.1007/s12310-010-9046-1.
Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind: Intercultural cooperation and its importance for survival. New York: McGraw Hill.
Hokoda, A., Lu, H. H. A., & Angeles, M. (2006). School bullying in Taiwanese adolescents. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 6(4), 69–90. doi:10.1300/J135v06n04_04.
Jolliffe, D., & Farrington, D. P. (2011). Is low empathy related to bullying after controlling for individual and social background variables? Journal of Adolescence, 34, 59–71. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.02.001.
Jutengren, G., Kerr, M., & Stattin, H. (2011). Adolescents’ deliberate self-harm, interpersonal stress, and the moderating effects of self-regulation: A two-wave longitudinal analysis. Journal of School Psychology, 49, 249–264. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2010.11.001.
Karatzias, A., Power, K. G., & Swanson, V. (2002). Bullying and victimization in Scottish secondary schools: Same or separate entities? Aggressive Behavior, 28, 45–61. doi:10.1002/ab.90005.
Kendrick, K., Jutengren, G., & Stattin, H. (2012). The protective role of supportive friends against bullying perpetration and victimization. Journal of Adolescence, 35, 1069–1080. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.02.014.
Lee, E. (2009). The relationship of aggression and bullying to social preference: Differences in gender and types of aggression. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 33, 323–330. doi:10.1177/0165025408098028.
Linacre, J. M. (2006). A user’s guide to WINSTEPS Rasch model computer program. Chicago, IL: Winsteps.
Marsh, L., McGee, R., Nada-Raja, S., & Williams, S. (2010). Text bullying and traditional bullying among New Zealand secondary school students. Journal of Adolescence, 33, 237–240. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.06.001.
Masters, G. N. (1982). A Rasch model for partial credit scoring. Psychometrika, 47, 149–174.
Menzer, M. M., & Torney-Purta, J. (2012). Individualism and socioeconomic diversity at school as related to perceptions of the frequency of peer aggression in fifteen countries. Journal of Adolescence, 35, 1285–1294. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.04.013.
Molcho, M., Craig, W., Due, P., Pickett, W., Harel-Fisch, Y., Overpeck, M., et al. (2009). Cross-national time trends in bullying behaviour 1994–2006: Findings from Europe and North America. International Journal of Public Health, 54, 225–234. doi:10.1007/s00038-009-5414-8.
Ng, J. W. Y., & Tsang, S. K. M. (2008). School bullying and the mental health of junior secondary school students in Hong Kong. Journal of School Violence, 7, 3–21. doi:10.1300/J202v07n0202.
Nordhagen, R., Nielsen, A., Stigum, H., & Köhler, L. (2005). Parental reported bullying among Nordic children: a population-based study. Child: Care, Health, & Development, 31(6), 693–701. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2214.2005.00559.x.
Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Olweus, D. (1996). The revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire. Norway: Bergen.
Olweus, D. (2010). Understanding and researching bullying. Some critical issues. In S. R. Jimerson, S. M. Swearer, & D. L. Espelage (Eds.), Handbook of bullying in schools: An international perspective (pp. 9–33). New York: Routledge.
Rigby, K., & Smith, P. K. (2011). Is school bullying really on the rise? Social Psychology of Education, 14, 441–455. doi:10.1007/s11218-011-9158-y.
Rothon, C., Head, J., Klineberg, E., & Stansfeld, S. (2011). Can social support protect bullied adolescents from adverse outcomes? A prospective study on the effects of bullying on the educational achievement and mental health of adolescents at secondary schools in East London. Journal of Adolescence, 34, 579–588. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.02.007.
Sapouna, M. (2008). Bullying in Greek primary and secondary schools. School Psychology International, 29, 199–213. doi:10.1177/0143034308090060.
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, 171–177. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300308.
Solberg, M., & Olweus, D. (2003). Prevalence estimation of school bullying with the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire. Aggressive Behavior, 29, 239–268. doi:10.1002/ab.10047.
Wang, J., Iannotti, R. J., & Luk, J. W. (2012). Patterns of adolescent bullying behaviors: Physical, verbal, exclusion, rumor, and cyber. Journal of School Psychology, 50, 521–534. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2012.03.004.
Wang, J., Iannotti, R. J., & Nansel, T. R. (2009). School bullying among adolescents in the United States: Physical, verbal, relational, and cyber. Journal of Adolescent Health, 45, 368–375. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.03.021.
Wei, H.-S., Jonson-Reid, M., & Tsao, H.-L. (2007). Bullying and victimization among Taiwanese 7th graders: A multi-method assessment. School Psychology International, 28, 479–500. doi:10.1177/0143034307084137.
Wright, B. D., & Linacre, J. M. (1994). Chi square fit statistics. Rasch Measurement Transactions, 8, 370.
Wu, M. L., Adams, R. J., Wilson, M. R., & Haldane, S. A. (2007). ACER ConQuest: Generalized item response modelling software, Version 2.0. Camberwell, Victoria: ACER Press.