Zijn Positieve en Negatieve Relaties met Vader en Moeder Significante Predictoren van Sibling Bullying Victimisatie en Peer Bullying Victimisatie bij Brugklassers?

Abstract

This study examined to what extent positive and negative relationships with father and with mother are predictors of sibling bullying victimization and of peer bullying victimization. Participants consisted of 681 Dutch adolescents (Mage = 12.7; 44.5% boys and 55.5% girls) in the first grade of secondary school. They completed self-reports to assess the degree to which they experience victimization at school and at home and the degree of negative and positive relationships with father and mother. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that negative relationships with father and mother were both positive predictors of both types of victimization, which was in line with the expectations. For peer bullying victimization in particular, a negative relationship with father was a stronger predictor than a negative relationship with mother. Contrary to the expectation, only the direct effect of a positive relationship with mother (i.e., not with father) is negatively significant for sibling bullying victimization. No interaction with gender was found. Concluding, it is of great importance to pay more attention to the parent-child relationship with both father and mother in the prediction of victimization. Besides that, negative relationships with father and mother are related to predict sibling bullying victimization and peer bullying victimization. Positive relationships with mother appears to be a protective factor of sibling bullying victimization. Interventions programs against bullying should extend their focus to include families and the influence of parent-child relationships.