NCJ Number
208449
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2002 Pages: 129-137
Date Published
February 2002
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study compared the childhood environment of adult psychiatric patients who reported having been bullied in school with those who were not bullied in school.
Abstract
Victimization in schools has increasingly been the subject of public attention and scientific studies. Few studies have connected bullying in school with the psychosocial environment of childhood and later psychiatric problems. The current study hypothesized that adult psychiatric outpatients who reported being bullied in school would also report poor psychosocial functioning and environments in their childhood and adolescence. Participants were 160 patients at a general outpatient clinic in Norway who completed self-report questionnaires regarding their psychosocial environment during childhood and adolescence. Bullying was measured using a school-based inventory, while familial relationships and psychiatric outcomes were measured with the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Results of statistical analyses indicated that males who reported being bullied in school tended to grow up without biological fathers, while females who reported being bullied tended to score significantly lower on the Father Care portion of the PBI. These bullied women also scored significantly higher on the Emotional Neglect, Emotional and Physical Abuse, and Physical Neglect portions of the CTQ compared with women who were not bullied in school. The findings suggest that children who are bullied in school may also have problems at home that need attention. Tables, references