Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The current study explores whether the association between bullying victimization and internalizing symptoms differs when family structure is considered. The study participants were African American adolescents in four of Chicago’s Southside neighborhoods, ages 13 to 18. Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analyses were conducted. The prevalence of bullying victimization and internalizing symptoms was similar across family structures. The relationship between bullying victimization and internalizing symptoms was significant across adolescents of all family structures. These findings suggest that although the association between bullying victimization and internalizing symptoms is significant across all family structures, the relationship between adolescents and their caregivers is still an important consideration in bullying prevention and intervention efforts.

Keywords

anxiety bullying depression hopelessness internalizing symptoms

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Agnew

(2007). Pressured into crime: An overview of general strain theory. Roxbury.

Amato

P. R.

Patterson

Beattie

(2015). Single-parent households and children’s educational achievement: A state-level analysis. Social Science Research, 53, 191–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.05.012

Annie, E. Casey Foundation. (2023, May 14). Foster care race statistics. https://www.aecf.org/blog/us-foster-care-population-by-race-and-ethnicity

Aragão

Parker

K. K.

Greenwood

Baronavski

Mandapat

J. C.

(2023, September 14). The modern American family. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/09/14/the-modern-american-family/

Arshad

(2024). A correlational study of emotional deprivation and bullying victimization in adolescents with single parent. Clinical Case Reports and Studies, 6(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.59657/2837-2565.brs.24.138

Balluerka

Aliri

Goñi-Balentziaga

Gorostiaga

(2023). Association between bullying victimization, anxiety and depression in childhood and adolescence: The mediating effect of self-esteem. Revista de Psicodidáctica, 28(1), 26–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psicoe.2022.11.001

Biswas

Scott

J. G.

Munir

Thomas

H. J.

Huda

M. M.

Hasan

de Vries

T. D.

Baxter

Mamun

A. A.

(2020). Global variation in the prevalence of bullying victimisation amongst adolescents: Role of peer and parental supports. EClinicalMedicine, 20, 100276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2020.100276

Bowlby

(2018). Fifty years of attachment theory. Routledge.

Casey Family Programs. (2024, April 22). State-by-state data. https://www.casey.org/state-data/

10.

Chinweuba

N. H.

Frank

O. C.

(2023). Effect of cognitive behavioural therapy on reducing bullying among secondary school students. Journal of Addiction Research, 7(2), 54–60.

11.

City-Data. (n.d.). bbb.org. http://www.city-data.com

12.

Cohen

L. E.

Felson

(1979). Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activity approach. American Sociological Review, 44(4), 588–608. https://doi.org/10.2307/2094589

13.

Dervishi

Lala

Ibrahimi

(2019). School bullying and symptoms of depression. Archives of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 2, 48–55. https://doi.org/10.12740/APP/103658

14.

DeVoe

J. F.

Bauer

(2011). Student victimization in U.S. schools: Results from the 2009 school crime supplement to the national crime victimization survey (NCES 2012-314). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Government Printing Office.

15.

Due

Damsgaard

M. T.

Lund

Holstein

B. E.

(2009). Is bullying equally harmful for rich and poor children? A study of bullying and depression from age 15 to 27. The European Journal of Public Health, 19(5), 464–469. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurub/ckp099

16.

Ellis

R. R.

Simmons

(2014). Coresident grandparents and their grandchildren: 2012. U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2014/demo/p20-576.pdf

17.

Espelage

D. L.

Holt

M. K.

(2001). Bullying and victimization during early adolescence: Peer influences and psychosocial correlates. In Young

Loring

M. T.

(Eds.), Bullying behavior: Current issues, research, and interventions (pp. 123–142). Routledge.

18.

Fleming

L. C.

Jacobsen

K. H.

(2009). Bullying and symptoms of depression in Chilean middle school students. Journal of School Health, 79(3), 130–137. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.17466-1561.2008.0397.x

19.

Hegar

R. L.

Rosenthal

J. A.

(2009). Kinship care and sibling placement: Child behavior, family relationships, and school outcomes. Children and Youth Services Review, 31(6), 670–679. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2009.01.002

20.

Irwin

Wang

Cui

Thompson

(2024). Report on indicators of school crime and safety: 2023 (NCES 2024–145/NCJ 309126). National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, and Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2024145

21.

Jadambaa

Thomas

H. J.

Scott

J. G.

Graves

Brain

Pacella

(2020). The contribution of bullying victimisation to the burden of anxiety and depressive disorders in Australia. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 29, Article e54. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045796019000489

22.

Jantzer

Haffner

Parzer

Resch

Kaess

(2015). Does parental monitoring moderate the relationship between bullying and adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidal behavior? A community-based self-report study of adolescents in Germany. BMC Public Health, 15(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-1940-x

23.

Kaltiala-Heino

Fröjd

(2011). Correlation between bullying and clinical depression in adolescent patients. Adolescent Health, Medicine and Therapeutics, 2, 37–44. https://doi.org/10.2147/AHMT.S11554

24.

Kramer

(2019, December 12). U.S. Has world’s highest rate of children living in single-parent households. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/12/12/u-s-children-more-likely-than-children-in-other-countries-to-live-with-just-one-parent/

25.

Livingston

(2018, April 25). The changing profile of unmarried parents. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/04/25/the-changing-profile-of-unmarried-parents/

26.

Mandara

Murray

C. B.

(2006). Father’s absence and African American adolescent drug use. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 46(1-2), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1300/J087v46n01_01

27.

Minkler

Fuller-Thomson

(2005). African American grandparents raising grandchildren: A national study using the Census 2000 American Community Survey. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 60(2), S82–S92. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/60.2.S82

28.

Murphy

T. P.

Laible

Augustine

(2017). The influences of parent and peer attachment on bullying. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(5), 1388–1397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0663-2

29.

Nordhagen

Nielsen

Stigum

Kohler

(2005). Parental reported bullying among Nordic children: A population-based study. Child Care Health and Development, 31(6), 693–701. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2214.2005.00559.x

30.

Ortega

R. M.

Grogan-Kaylor

Ruffolo

Clarke

Karlo

(2010). Racial and ethnic diversity in the initial child welfare experience. In Webb

M. B.

Dowd

Harden

B. J.

Landsverk

Testa

(Eds.), Child welfare and child well-being—New perspectives from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (pp. 236–271). Oxford University Press.

31.

Pabian

Vandebosch

(2016). An investigation of short-term longitudinal associations between social anxiety and victimization and perpetration of traditional bullying and cyberbullying. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45, 328–339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0259-3

32.

Perren

Dooley

Shaw

Cross

(2010). Bullying in school and cyberspace: Associations with depressive symptoms in Swiss and Australian adolescents. Child & Adolescent Psychiatry & Mental Health, 4, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/1753-2000-4-28

33.

Pew Research Center. (2013). Breadwinner moms: Mothers are the sole or primary provider in four-in-ten households with children: Public conflicted about the growing trend. https://www.pewresearch.org

34.

Rajabi

Bakhshani

N. M.

Saravani

M. R.

Khanjani

Bagian

M. J.

(2017). Effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral group therapy on coping strategies and in reducing anxiety, depression, and physical complaints in student victims of bullying. International Journal of High Risk Behaviors and Addiction, 6(2), Article e41463. https://doi.org/10.5812/ijhrba.41463

35.

Sakai

Lin

Flores

(2011). Health outcomes and family services in kinship care: Analysis of a national sample of children in the child welfare system. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 165(2), 159–165. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.277

36.

Scharte

Bolte

; GME Study Group. (2013). Increased health risks of children with single mothers: The impact of socio-economic and environmental factors. The European Journal of Public Health, 23(3), 469–475. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/cks062

37.

Sigle-Rushton

McLanahan

(2004). Father absence and child well-being: A critical review. In Moynihan

Smeeding

Rainwater

(Eds.), The future of the family (pp. 116–155). Russell Sage Foundation.

38.

Silva-Laya

D’Angelo

García

Zúñiga

Fernández

(2020). Urban poverty and education. A systematic literature review. Educational Research Review, 29, 100280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2019.05.002

39.

Statista. (2023). Number of children living with a single mother or a single father in the U.S. from 1970 to 2023 (in 1,000s). https://www.statista.com/statistics/252847/number-of-children-living-with-a-single-mother-or-single-father/

40.

Tang

Jang

Carr Copeland

(2015). Challenges and resilience in African American grandparents raising grandchildren: A review of the literature with practice implications. Grandfamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy, 2(2), 1–31.

41.

Torres-Mackie

(2020). Cultivating capacities: How children of single mothers manage stigma and endure strain (Publication No. 228149691) [Doctoral dissertation, Columbia University]. ProQuest Dissertation & Theses Global.

42.

Tracy

Zimmerman

F. J.

Galea

McCauley

Vander Stoep

(2008). What explains the relation between family poverty and childhood depressive symptoms? Journal of Psychiatric Research, 42(14), 1163–1175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychires.2008.01.011

43.

Vacca

J. S.

Kramer-Vida

(2012). Preventing the bullying of foster care in our schools. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(9), 1805–1809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.05.014

44.

White

K. R.

Coleman

K. L.

(2015). Effects of kinship care on behavioral problems by child age: A propensity score analysis. Children and Youth Services Review, 57, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.07.020

45.

Zhong

Huang

Huebner

E. S.

Tian

(2021). Association between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms in children: The mediating role of self-esteem. Journal of Affective Disorders, 294, 322–328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.07.016

46.

Zhou

Z. K.

Liu

Q. Q.

Niu

G. F.

Sun

X. J.

Fan

C. Y.

(2017). Bullying victimization and depression in Chinese children: A moderated mediation model of resilience and mindfulness. Personality and Individual Differences, 104, 137–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.07.040

47.

Zhu

O’Brien

J. E.

Liu

(2021). Parent–child attachment moderates the associations between cyberbullying victimization and adolescents’ health/mental health problems: An exploration of cyberbullying victimization among Chinese adolescents. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(17–18), NP9272–NP9298. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519854559

Bullying Victimization and Internalizing Symptoms of Adolescents in Chicago’s Southside: Differences by Family Structure

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References