Effects and Factors of Childhood Bullying: An Associational Study
Abstract
Rivka A. Edery
This study examined the relationship between loneliness as a consequence of overt and relational forms of childhood peer victimization (bullying) and resiliency. The study period was from September 2007 until May 2008. A 258-question questionnaire was administered to thirty-three graduate students in Fordham University's Graduate School of Social Service. Demographics used were participants' age, which ranged from twenty-three to fifty-five, and gender which were thirty-one females, two males. There was no power calculation or other justification for the sample size. The thirty-three students presented a sufficient sample size needed to answer the research question. The questionnaire was valid and reliable, and this investigation was approved by the local Ethics Committee. This was an associational study designed to allow us to explore what factors influence an individual’s level of resiliency. Hypotheses were not tested until after the completion of the data collection. The data was submitted to statistics analysis, and descriptive statistics were used in our analysis of the student’s responses. Findings supported the hypothesis that loneliness because of overt and relational childhood peer victimization was positively associated with resiliency. Implications of these findings for the field of social work and policy development are discussed