Anna C. Baldry

Bullying in schools and exposure to domestic violence

OBJECTIVES The study aimed to investigate the relationship between bullying and victimization in school and exposure to interparental violence in a nonclinical sample of Italian youngsters. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 1059 Italian elementary and middle school students. Participants completed a self-report anonymous questionnaire measuring bullying and victimization and exposure to interparental violence. The questionnaire also included measures on parental child abuse and socio-demographic variables. RESULTS Almost half of all boys and girls reported different types of bullying and victimization in the previous 3 months, with boys more involved than girls in bullying others. Exposure to interparental physical violence and direct bullying were significantly associated especially for girls: girls exposed to fathers violence against the mother and those exposed to mothers violence against the father were among the most likely to bully directly others compared with girls who had not been exposed to any interparental violence. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that bullying and victimization were predicted by exposure to interparental violence, especially mother-to-father violence, over and above age, gender, and child abuse by the father. CONCLUSIONS Exposure to interparental violence is associated with bullying and victimization in school, even after controlling for direct child abuse. Violence within the family has detrimental effects on the childs behavior; schools, in this regard, can play a fundamental role in early detection of maladjustment.

Bullies and Delinquents: Personal Characteristics and Parental Styles

This research aimed to analyse the personal characteristics and parental styles of bullies and delinquents, and to establish which factors were related to the bully/delinquent group and which were related to only bullies or only delinquents. A self-report questionnaire on bullying and delinquency was completed by 113 girls and 125 boys aged 11–14 in a middle school in Rome. Bullying and delinquency were more common among boys than among girls. Bullying did not vary significantly with age, but delinquency increased with age. Bullying and delinquency were especially related for boys and for older students. Only bullies were younger, while only delinquents were older, suggesting that bullying might be an early stage on a developmental sequence leading to delinquency. Only bullies and only delinquents had different parenting correlates; only bullies had authoritarian parents and disagreed with their parents, whereas only delinquents had conflictual and low supportive parents. This suggested that bullying and delinquency are not merely different behavioural manifestations of the same underlying construct. Parent training interventions might prevent both bullying and delinquency. Copyright

Effectiveness of Programs to Prevent School Bullying

Abstract Sixteen major evaluations of programs to prevent school bullying, conducted in 11 different countries, are reviewed in detail. Of these 16 evaluations, 8 produced desirable results, 2 produced mixed results, 4 produced small or negligible effects, and 2 produced undesirable results. These varying findings may reflect variations in programs, in implementation, in assessment methods, or in evaluation designs. It is concluded that high-quality evaluations are needed in the future, with randomized designs, theoretically grounded interventions, multiple measures of bullying, and attempts to disentangle the effectiveness of different program components.

Animal Abuse and Exposure to Interparental Violence in Italian Youth

Abuse against animals is an indicator of children’s maladjustment associated with domestic violence. This study empirically assesses the effects of exposure to interparental violence on animal abuse in 1,392 Italian youth aged 9 to 17. Results indicate that half of all youth ever abused animals, with boys more often involved than girls. Almost half of the whole sample has been exposed to violence by fathers against mothers or by mothers against fathers, with no gender differences. Results are in line with the social learning theory model, indicating that the strongest predicting variable for animal abuse is exposure to violence against animals by peers and by mothers. The only-exposed group is more negatively affected by parental violence against the animal; the abuse-exposed group is more negatively influenced by mothers’ violence against animals and fathers. Results are critically discussed with a focus on plausible intervention strategies.

Stick and stones hurt my bones but his glance and words hurt more. The impact of emotional and physical violence by current and former partners in Italian battered women.

Domestic violence causes short- and long-term negative consequences, both physical (e.g., bodily injury) and psychological (e.g., depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder). It is possible that these negative consequences vary according to the type of violence victims experience (physical versus psychological) and its duration, as well as the relationship with the offender. The present study investigated the relative contribution of psychological and physical abuse to the development of psychological symptoms in domestic violence cases. A sample of 145 women recruited from three shelters in Rome completed a face-to-face interview and a structured questionnaire measuring different types of abuse and psychological symptoms, as well as demographic variables. Multiple regression analyses revealed that psychological abuse was a stronger predictor of anxiety and depression, low self esteem, and intrusion/ avoidance symptoms than physical abuse, even though psychological and physical abuse experiences were highly correlated. Psychological symptoms were not associated with who committed the violence (husband or cohabiting partner) or whether the relationship was terminated or still ongoing. These findings have implications for mental health professionals who try to reduce the suffering of women who are abused.

The rule of law at time of masculine honor: Afghan police attitudes and intimate partner violence

This paper examines how attitudes toward violence against women (VAW)—in terms of justification—influence the behavioral intentions of Afghan police officers when dealing with a case of intimate partner violence (IPV). An experimental study was carried out with 108 Afghan police officers who took part in a training course at the NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan (NTM-A) bases in Herat and Kandahar. Participants read an extract of a police intervention for an IPV case. They were faced with honor-related attitudes and possible actions to be taken to help victims and arrest perpetrators. In the experimental condition, in the questionnaire provided to police officers, there was reference to the victim admitting to an affair with another man. No such reference was present in the control condition. Results showed that admitting an infidelity produced more lenient attitudes toward the violence against the woman, which in turn reduced police officers’ intention to intervene by arresting the man and providing support to the victim. Results are discussed in terms of the role and function of the so-called culture of (masculine) honor and the rule of law and its implications.

Mental and Physical Health of Italian Youngsters Directly and Indirectly Victimized at School and at Home

Internalizing symptoms, such as depression, anxiety/withdrawal, as well as somatic complaints are indicators of maladjustment. Mental and physical complaints may be related to victimization at home and at school. In the present study we investigated the independent impact of direct victimization at home (parental severe scolding and physical harming) and at school (i.e. peers physical and verbal bullying) and that of indirect victimization at home (i.e. exposure to interparental violence), and at school (exclusion, spreading rumors) on the development of internalizing symptoms in a sample of 661 Italian youngsters. Results revealed an overall high rate of reported victimization; direct and indirect victimization at home and at school were significantly associated with internalizing symptoms. Hierarchical regression analyses, conducted separately for boys and girls, showed that the strongest risk factor for both boys and girls for all forms of internalizing symptoms is being indirectly victimized at school; for girls another significant risk factor is exposure to mothers violence against the father (for withdrawal); whereas for boys it is fathers violence against the child predicting somatic complaints. Implications for mental health practitioners are discussed.

School Bullying and Cyberbullying Among Boys and Girls: Roles and Overlap

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate gender differences in the overlap between school and cyberbullying according to the different types of involvement in such behaviors. The current study involved 2,785 Italian students, ages 11–17 recruited from 7 secondary schools, who anonymously self-reported about school and cyberbullying as victims and/or perpetrators. Based on their responses, students were classified as ‘only-bullies,’ ‘only-victims,’ ‘bully/victims,’ or ‘not involved’ in school and/or online. To explain the relationship between school and online bullying, 2 theoretical frames were tested: role continuity and role inversion. Results showed that, for girls, ‘school only-bullies’ were not overlapping with ‘cyber only-bullies,’ and ‘school only-victims’ were not overlapping with ‘cyber only-victims,’ but these categories were related for boys. ‘School bully/victims’ were significantly overlapping with ‘cyber bully/victims’ for both boys and girls. It was concluded that the role continuity approach is most appropriate to explain these 2 disturbing problems in adolescents especially for boys. Intervention efforts should especially target the bully/victims group.

She’s Not a Person . . . She’s Just a Woman! Infra-Humanization and Intimate Partner Violence

This article examines the association between a target’s perceived humanness and individuals’ willingness to provide help and support in cases of violence against women (VAW), specifically, intimate partner violence (IPV). In an experimental study, undergraduates read a fictitious article from a newspaper describing an IPV episode of a man hitting his wife and accusing her of cheating on him. According to the experimental condition, they then read that the victim either had or had not admitted the infidelity. Participants then judged the victim on an infra-humanization scale and expressed their willingness to provide help and support to the victim herself as if they were a neighbor witnessing the attack. Results showed that a victim admitting an affair with another man (admission condition) elicited lower perceived humanness and lower willingness to provide help than a victim denying such adultery (no admission condition). Moreover, targets’ perceived humanness mediated the effect of contextual features on participants’ willingness to provide help to the victim. Results are discussed in terms of victim blaming, and practical implications for prevention strategies are presented.

School Bullying and Cyberbullying: Prevalence, Characteristics, Outcomes, and Prevention

This chapter reviews knowledge about school bullying and cyberbullying. It first reviews the historical development of these problems and of research on these topics. Then it reviews the prevalence and personal characteristics of school bullies and cyberbullies, and family influences on them. Instruments used to measure school bullying and cyberbullying, and the long-term outcomes of these problems, are also reviewed. Finally, there is a review of effective interventions to reduce these problems.