Social Support and Self-Concept in Relation to Peer Victimization and Peer Aggression

Peer victimization is an enduring problem in schools (Wang, Iannotti, & Nansel, 2009 Wang, J., Iannotti, R. and Nansel, T. 2009. School bullying among adolescents in the United States: Physical, verbal, relational, and cyber. Journal of Adolescent Health, 45: 368–375. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.03.021[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The current study focused on relations among two ecological variables that may be related to involvement in peer victimization: self-concept and social support. The main goal of this study was to investigate relations among social support, self-concept, and involvement in peer victimization (both as a victim and aggressor). The sample included 251 students in Grades 3–5. There was a significant negative relation between social support and peer victimization (β = –.22, p < .05) as well as a significant, negative relation between self-concept and peer victimization (β = –.24, p < .05). For peer aggression, there was a significant negative relation between social support and peer aggression (β = –.49, p < .001) as well as a significant, positive relation between self-concept and peer aggression (β = .23, p < .05).