Profiling Experiences of Bullying in the Elementary School: The Role of Gender

The purpose of the present study was to profile bullying behaviors in elementary schools in Saudi Arabia. A secondary purpose was to examine differences in bullying behaviors across gender. Participants were 3867 fourth graders who completed surveys during the TIMSS 2019 survey. An 11-item bullying...

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Main Authors: Georgios Sideridis, Mohammed H. Alghamdi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-03-01
Series:Children
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/4/610
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author Georgios Sideridis
Mohammed H. Alghamdi
author_facet Georgios Sideridis
Mohammed H. Alghamdi
author_sort Georgios Sideridis
collection DOAJ
description The purpose of the present study was to profile bullying behaviors in elementary schools in Saudi Arabia. A secondary purpose was to examine differences in bullying behaviors across gender. Participants were 3867 fourth graders who completed surveys during the TIMSS 2019 survey. An 11-item bullying experience scale was utilized with good internal consistency reliability. Data were analyzed using latent class analysis with Mplus 8.9 to identify profiles of bullying experiences. The results indicated the presence of five profiles with levels of low, medium, and high bullying experiences, as well as two profiles with no cyberbullying experiences and medium high and medium low physical and verbal instances of bullying. Gender effects were highly pronounced, with most maladaptive bullying profiles being predominantly male. It is concluded that physical bullying is mainly occupied by males and the levels of cyberbullying are generally low in the elementary school grades. Implications for educational policy can clearly direct the development of support groups and expert counseling for both bullies and victims, staff training for identification and course of action, and the development of standardized school policies when such incidences occur.
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spelling doaj.art-808f5a24dfde4b1f8e246c8d4c21ace72023-11-17T18:45:11ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672023-03-0110461010.3390/children10040610Profiling Experiences of Bullying in the Elementary School: The Role of GenderGeorgios Sideridis0Mohammed H. Alghamdi1Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02131, USADepartment of Self Development Skills, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2454, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaThe purpose of the present study was to profile bullying behaviors in elementary schools in Saudi Arabia. A secondary purpose was to examine differences in bullying behaviors across gender. Participants were 3867 fourth graders who completed surveys during the TIMSS 2019 survey. An 11-item bullying experience scale was utilized with good internal consistency reliability. Data were analyzed using latent class analysis with Mplus 8.9 to identify profiles of bullying experiences. The results indicated the presence of five profiles with levels of low, medium, and high bullying experiences, as well as two profiles with no cyberbullying experiences and medium high and medium low physical and verbal instances of bullying. Gender effects were highly pronounced, with most maladaptive bullying profiles being predominantly male. It is concluded that physical bullying is mainly occupied by males and the levels of cyberbullying are generally low in the elementary school grades. Implications for educational policy can clearly direct the development of support groups and expert counseling for both bullies and victims, staff training for identification and course of action, and the development of standardized school policies when such incidences occur.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/4/610bullyingTIMSSgender effectsfourth grade
spellingShingle Georgios Sideridis
Mohammed H. Alghamdi
Profiling Experiences of Bullying in the Elementary School: The Role of Gender
Children
bullying
TIMSS
gender effects
fourth grade
title Profiling Experiences of Bullying in the Elementary School: The Role of Gender
title_full Profiling Experiences of Bullying in the Elementary School: The Role of Gender
title_fullStr Profiling Experiences of Bullying in the Elementary School: The Role of Gender
title_full_unstemmed Profiling Experiences of Bullying in the Elementary School: The Role of Gender
title_short Profiling Experiences of Bullying in the Elementary School: The Role of Gender
title_sort profiling experiences of bullying in the elementary school the role of gender
topic bullying
TIMSS
gender effects
fourth grade
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/4/610
work_keys_str_mv AT georgiossideridis profilingexperiencesofbullyingintheelementaryschooltheroleofgender
AT mohammedhalghamdi profilingexperiencesofbullyingintheelementaryschooltheroleofgender