قلدری و بزهکاری. نقش واسطه خشم

The principal aim of the study was to examine the relationship between bullying, both studying those who bully and those who are victims of bullying, and non-violent delinquency (i.e., theft and burglary). We used structural equation modelling, while controlling for sex of participants, family structure and parental education, to examine the relationship between bullying and bully victimisation and delinquent behaviour, and whether this association is mediated through anger. The data for the analysis were drawn from a cross-sectional, population-based sample of 7149 15- and 16-year-old adolescents in Iceland. Results revealed that: (1) bullying behaviour and bully victimisation both increased the likelihood of delinquent behaviour, but the effects were significantly stronger for bullying behaviour than bully victimisation, explaining 40% and 30% of the variance in delinquency, respectively; and (2) the association between bullying behaviour and bully victimisation and delinquent behaviour was in both groups partly mediated through anger. The findings support Agnew’s revised general strain theory that emotions such as anger are important in delinquency.

Research and understanding of bullying behaviour and bully victimisation has progressed greatly since Olweus (1978) produced his seminal work in Scandinavia in the 1970s into bullying in schools. The main focus of research continues to be in school settings (Farringdon, 1993, Nitza, 2009, Olweus, 1994 and Solberg et al., 2007), although in recent years bullying has also received attention in other settings, such as prisons (Ireland, 2002 and Wood et al., 2009). The fact that bullying typically occurs in peer group settings, makes it a group phenomenon (Espelage, 2003). Indeed, Ireland (2002) found that bullying often involves more than one perpetrator and points to the importance of peer influence in bullying incidents. Farringdon (1993) points to the frequency with which bullying occurs among children and adolescents and states that “Like offending, bullying arises from interactions between potential offenders and potential victims in environments that provide opportunities” (p. 383). Within a school setting, bullying is an aggressive act where children or a group of children use or abuse their position of power or circumstances to intimidate and harm other children (Craig & Pepler, 2007). Bullying is a destructive interpersonal behaviour, which adversely affects both the bullies and their victims in terms of their development and mental health (Farringdon, 1993 and Juvonen et al., 2003). Victims of bullying are at heightened risk of making false confessions to police during questioning (Gudjonsson et al., in press and Gudjonsson et al., 2008). Bullying is not an isolated form of behaviour; it is one type of aggression, which is related to general antisocial behaviour (Farringdon, 1993). Sourander et al. (2007) showed in a longitudinal study of 2551 boys from ages 8 to 16–20 years in Finland that being childhood bullies and victims of bullying are both significant predictors of later criminality. It significantly predicted the most common type of offences (property, violence, traffic violation). Bullies and bully-victims only comprised 8.8% of the total sample, but they were responsible for 33.0% of the total number of offences at follow-up. However, there were significant interactions with conduct disorder and hyperactivity. This means that risk of later offending was only predicted by bully and victim status if there was comorbid conduct disorder or hyperactivity. What has not been researched is the possible role of anger as a mediating factor between bullying and delinquency. Gudjonsson and Sigurdsson (2007) suggested on the basis of their research into motivation for offending that acting in the pursuit of self-interest and angry disposition are salient factors in offending among young people. Sigfusdottir, Asgeirsdottir, Gudjonsson, and Sigurdsson (2008) found, drawing on Agnew’s (1992) general strain theory of offending, that anger was a more important mediating factor than depression between history of childhood sexual abuse and offending, whereas depression was a more important mediator than anger in relation to suicidal behaviour. The authors suggested that anger is a particularly important mediating variable in relation to outwardly-directed forms of delinquency, such as theft, burglary, vandalism and violence. In the present study we investigate the relationship between group bullying among pupils in their final two years of compulsory education and delinquency. We draw on Agnew’s (1992) general strain theory to examine the relationship between bullying and delinquency, and specifically test the possible mediating role of anger in accordance with Agnew’s (2005) recently revised social-psychological general strain theory. The theory proposes that adolescents who experience adverse circumstances are pressed into delinquency by negative emotional reactions, such as anger. We hypothesised that there is a significant relationship between bullying (whether bullies, victims or both) and offending, because both form a part of a delinquent life style (Farringdon, 1993 and Sourander et al., 2007). We further hypothesise, in accordance with Agnew’s (2005) theory, that the relationship between bullying and delinquency is partly mediated by anger. The focus in the present study is on group bullying rather than one individual bullying another. Both are important in bullying research (Roland, 1989). Roland defines bullying in the following terms: “Bullying is longstanding violence, physical or psychological, conducted by an individual or a group and directed against an individual who is not able to defend himself in the actual situation” (p. 21). We chose group bullying in the current study because it is very common in schools. For example, Gudjonsson et al. (in press) found that group bullying during the previous 12 months was reported by 22.9% and 42.7% of large Icelandic and European samples, respectively, suggesting that group bullying is a serious problem among many pupils in schools. We have separately studied individual bullying in this school leavers’ age group, which typically occurred within a family setting and perpetrated by carers and siblings (Gudjonsson et al., 2008).