A factor analytical study of bullying among adolescents in context of family and school environment

Pages: 625-628
Sujata Bhau and Suninder Tung (Department of Psychology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab)

Bullying among adolescents is a serious issue and a major public health concern all over the world. The social-ecological framework of bullying among youth (Swearer & Espelage, 2004) highlights the role of various contextual factors like family, peers, school and community that can influence bullying. Keeping in view the socio-ecological perspective of bullying, the present research aimed to study the role of family environment and school environment in bullying among adolescents. For this purpose, sample constituting of 614 adolescents (291 males & 323 females) of age 12-18 years with mean age of 14.36 years was collected from various schools of Jammu (J & K). Family Environment Scale (Moos & Moss, 1986); School Environment Scale (Misra, 2012); and Illinois Bully Scale (Espelage & Holt, 2001) were used for data collection. Factor Analysis was used to analyse the data obtained. The results reveal a structural relationship of cohesion, conflict, organization, rejection and bullying among adolescents. The obtained results are discussed in the light of available literature.