زورگویی در مدارس و مواجهه با خشونت خانگی

Objectives: The study aimed to investigate the relationship between bullying and victimization in school and exposure to interparental violence in a nonclinical sample of Italian youngsters. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 1059 Italian elementary and middle school students. Participants completed a self-report anonymous questionnaire measuring bullying and victimization and exposure to interparental violence. The questionnaire also included measures on parental child abuse and socio-demographic variables. Results: Almost half of all boys and girls reported different types of bullying and victimization in the previous 3 months, with boys more involved than girls in bullying others. Exposure to interparental physical violence and direct bullying were significantly associated especially for girls: girls exposed to father’s violence against the mother and those exposed to mother’s violence against the father were among the most likely to bully directly others compared with girls who had not been exposed to any interparental violence. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that bullying and victimization were predicted by exposure to interparental violence, especially mother-to-father violence, over and above age, gender, and child abuse by the father. Conclusions: Exposure to interparental violence is associated with bullying and victimization in school, even after controlling for direct child abuse. Violence within the family has detrimental effects on the child’s behavior; schools, in this regard, can play a fundamental role in early detection of maladjustment.

Bullying in school is a serious problem affecting between 7 and 35% of children and adolescents in Europe, United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan (Smith et al., 1999). Bullying has been extensively defined as any form of physical or psychological behavior repeatedly inflicted by a more powerful and stronger student (or group of students) towards another one perceived as weaker (Farrington, 1993). Causes of bullying are multiple and are related to the individual, but also to the socio-family environment. Violent homes are among the highest risk factor for the development of antisocial behavior; bullying, in this regard, has been found to be associated with violence within the family context (Farrington, 1993). Longitudinal studies on pathways to delinquency have shown that youngsters who develop a deviant career are more likely to have parents who are abusive towards their partners, compared to those not exposed to interparental violence (Steinberg, 2000).

Bullying and victimization Table 1 shows the prevalence of bullying and victimization overall and with regard to gender differences. Students checking the different types of bullying or victimization ‘at least sometimes’ (including ‘once a week’ and ‘several times a week’) were scored as involved in that type of behavior; those checking ‘it happened once or twice’ or ‘it never happened’ were classified as ‘not involved.’ With this criterion, 48.3% of all students reported overall bullying others sometimes or more often in the previous 3 months. Boys reported bullying others significantly more often than girls for all types of bullying especially in the case of physical bullying and name calling. Gender differences emerged also with reference to indirect bullying, but only in the case of spreading rumors with boys more involved than girls (14.6% vs. 5%).