Well-being, school climate, and the social identity process: A latent growth model study of bullying perpetration and peer victimization.

Summary

The present study concerns longitudinal research on bullying perpetration and peer victimization. A focus is on school factors of school climate (academic support, group support) and school identification (connectedness or belonging), which are conceptualized as related but distinct constructs. Analysis of change on these factors as well as individual well-being across time contributes to understanding bullying behavior. Latent growth modeling was employed to examine the predictors of anxiety, depression, 2 school climate factors and school identification in understanding change in physical and verbal bullying behavior. The sample included 492 Australian school students (means age 15 years, 53.5% male) in Grades 7 to 10 who completed measures over 3 years. Academic support and group suppor