NCJ Number
226688
Journal
Journal of School Violence Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: January-March 2009 Pages: 18-28
Date Published
January 2009
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study examined the relationships between social withdrawal, peer rejection, and peer victimization among Taiwanese students.
Abstract
Results show that social withdrawal was significantly associated with peer rejection and victimization. Analyzing path models also supported the notion that withdrawn children are at a high risk of being rejected. These findings seem contradictory to the general impression, but correspond to certain studies done in other Asian countries, such as South Korea. Taken together, the evidence suggests that shyness and timidity are associated with peer rejection even in cultures that traditionally hold more positive perceptions of such characteristics. Given the high regard assigned to submissiveness in many Asian cultures, it is tempting to explain the association between withdrawal and victimization from a dyadic perspective, in which a timid child is harassed by an unpopular and aggressive bully. The results of model testing, however, suggested otherwise. Rather than a direct path from withdrawal to victimization, peer rejection played the mediating role between the withdrawal and the victimization. Social withdrawal was associated with rejection, which then led to victimization. This contradicted common beliefs and showed that such attributes were no longer viewed as favorable. Data were collected from 219 7th grade Taiwanese students in Taipei City. Tables, figures, and references