Citation

Kim YS, Koh YJ, Leventhal BL. Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 2004; 158(8): 737-741.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, Hallym University, Anyang, South Korea. kimy02@berkeley.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, American Medical Association)

DOI

10.1001/archpedi.158.8.737

PMID

15289244

Abstract

BACKGROUND: School bullying is the most common type of school violence. Victimization by or perpetration of school bullying has frequently been associated with a broad spectrum of behavioral, emotional, and social problems. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and demographic characteristics of victims, perpetrators, and victim-perpetrators in a Korean middle school sample. METHODS: We evaluated 1756 middle school students in this cross-sectional study. Students provided demographic information and completed the Korean-Peer Nomination Inventory. Descriptive statistics and the Pearson chi(2) test were used. RESULTS: We found that 40% of all children participated in school bullying. By category, the prevalence of victims, perpetrators, and victim-perpetrators was 14%, 17%, and 9%, respectively. The most common subtypes of victimization were exclusion (23%), verbal abuse (22%), physical abuse (16%), and coercion (20%). Boys were more commonly involved in both school bullying and all 4 types of victimization. The prevalence of bullying was greater in students with either high or low socioeconomic status and in nonintact families. CONCLUSIONS: School bullying is highly prevalent in Korean middle school students. Demographic characteristics can help identify students at greater risk for participation in school bullying.

Language: en