Interrelationship Among School Characteristics, Parental Involvement, And Children’s Characteristics In Predicting Children’s Victimization By Peers: Comparison Between The United States And Three Eastern Asia Countries

To identify ways that national culture, school characteristics, and individual attributes impact the victimization of students in Grade 8, data from the United States and three East Asian countries (i.e., Japan, S. Korea, and Taiwan) were compared using the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Hierarchical Liner Modeling (HLM). The school-level factors measured by school size, school resources, and perceived behavioral problems on campus did not predict middle school students’ victimization in the United States, but significant positive parental involvement and negative school resources were found to impact the victimization of students in the East Asian countries. Regarding the effects of the student-level variables, boys, in comparison to girls and students showing less attachment to the schools, were more victimized in U.S. and East Asian schools. Individual students’ perceived parental monitoring was a significant and positive predictor of students’ victimization in the East Asian schools only. The standard test scores in mathematics were not predictive of victimization in U.S. and East Asian participants. The results indicated that understanding the ecological factors involved in victimization is important to intervene effectively, protect students, and prevent peer victimization on campus.