Parent/Child Concordance about Bullying Involvement and Family Characteristics Related to Bullying and Peer Victimization

Abstract This study examined parent perspectives on bullying, parent/child concordance about bullying involvement, and family characteristics associated with bullying perpetration and peer victimization. Participants were 205 fifth-grade students and their parents. Students attended an urban, ethnically diverse school district in the Northeast. Youth completed self-report measures about bullying involvement, attitudes toward and responses to bullying, and victimization in the home. Parents responded to self-report survey questions about attitudes toward and responses to bullying, perceptions of their child's involvement in bullying, and family characteristics. Bullying perpetration and victimization rates were higher when reported by students than parents, and parents were particularly unaware of their children bullying others. Family support was related to students telling their parents about peer victimization and youth getting in trouble at home for bullying perpetration. Finally, victims' homes were characterized by higher levels of criticism, fewer rules, and more child maltreatment; bullies' homes were characterized by lack of supervision, child maltreatment, and exposure to domestic violence. Findings highlight the need to increase parental awareness about bullying and to include parents in school-based bullying prevention programs.