School Bullying and Related Psychopathology in Elementary School Students

Objective : School bullying, the most prevalent type of school violence, is known to be related to various behavioral, emotional and social problems both in victims and perpetrators. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the prevalence of school bullying and related psychopathology in a community sample of elementary school students. Method : Fourth to 6´ graders of two randomly selected classes in two elementary schools in Anyang City participated in a cross-sectional study. Study subjects completed Korean-Peer Nominating Inventory(K-PNI). Parents completed Korean-Child Behavior Checklist(K-CBCL), ADHD Rating Scale(ARS) and Conners Scales for parents, and teachers completed ARS and Conners Scales for teachers. Descriptive statistics, multiple linear and logistic regression were performed. Results : A Total of 532 students participated in this study. Prevalence of victims, perpetrators, and victim-perpetrators were 48%, 45%, and 30% respectively. Extreme victims and perpetrators of school bullying ranged from 2.1-4.1%. Inattention-passivity in teachers´ Conners Scale, social immaturity or aggression in K-CBCL were positively associated with victims and victim­perpetrators, and grade was negatively related to school bullying. Conduct problem in Conners Scale for teachers and emotional instability in K-CBCL, and male gender were positively associated with perpetrators. Conclusion : School bullying is very common in Korean children of elementary schools. Those who had experienced school bullying, either as victims or as perpetrators, had signifi­cantly more psychopathology than their counterparts. To clarify a causal relationship between psychopathology and school bullying, a longitudinal follow-up study is suggested.ope