Bullying at school as a predictor of delinquency, violence and other anti‐social behaviour in adulthood
- 3 March 2011
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health
- Vol. 21 (2), 99-106
- https://doi.org/10.1002/cbm.799
Abstract
Background Although bullying at school is an important topic, its long-term relation to anti-social development is rarely investigated. Aim To study the relation between bullying in youth and anti-social outcomes in adulthood. Methods A group of 63 males (bullies and victims over-sampled) from the Erlangen-Nuremberg Bullying Study were investigated at ages 15 and 25. Bullying was assessed with the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire. Outcome measures included self-reported delinquency, violence, aggressiveness, drug use, impulsivity and psychopathy. In addition to bivariate correlations, hierarchical regressions were used to control for family and individual risk factors. Results Bullying was a strong predictor of nearly all anti-social outcomes. Physical bullying was more predictive than verbal/indirect bullying. Controlling for family risks and externalising/internalising problems reduced effect sizes, but bullying remained a sound predictor. Victimisation was not related to anti-social outcomes. Conclusions Bullying seems to be a key risk marker for anti-social development. Therefore, studies on whole-school anti-bullying programmes and child-oriented or family-oriented strategies of crime prevention should be more integrated. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Keywords
This publication has 12 references indexed in Scilit:
- Bullying as a predictor of offending, violence and later life outcomesCriminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 2011
- Longitudinal examination of physical and relational aggression as precursors to later problem behaviors in adolescents.Violence and Victims, 2009
- School‐Based Programs to Reduce Bullying and VictimizationCampbell Systematic Reviews, 2009
- Risk Factors for Violence and Relational Aggression in AdolescenceJournal of Interpersonal Violence, 2007
- Social Information Processing, Experiences of Aggression in Social Contexts, and Aggressive Behavior in AdolescentsCriminal Justice and Behavior, 2007
- A three-dimensional, cumulative developmental model of serious delinquencyPublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,2006
- A Longitudinal Study of Relational Aggression, Physical Aggression, and Children's Social–Psychological AdjustmentJournal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 2006
- Effects of Child Skills Training in Preventing Antisocial Behavior: A Systematic Review of Randomized EvaluationsThe Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2003
- Protective factors and resiliencePublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,2003
- Adult Disorders Predicted by Childhood Conduct Problems: Results from the NIMH Epidemiologic Catchment Area ProjectPsychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes, 1991