2019, Vol.32, No.2

THE KOREAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 1.67

pISSN : 1229-0718 / eISSN : 2671-6542
https://journal.kci.go.kr/baldal

The current study examined early adolescents’ behavioral characteristics, social interplay, and the social influence of bullies and victims among fifth and sixth graders in elementary schools. Participants (N=736, 52% girls at wave 1, N=677, 52% girls at wave 2) completed friend nominations and peer nominations for bullies, victims, and academic-social behaviors. The results indicated that early adolescents’ physical aggression, relational aggression, and problem behavior at the start of the semester positively predicted their bullying behavior at the end of the semester. Moreover, early adolescents’ anxious behavior and uncooperative behavior at the start of the semester positively predicted their victimization at the end of the semester. Furthermore, results of the longitudinal social network analyses indicated that bullies received many friend nominations from peers and tended to be more influenced by friends who highly bullied others. In addition, highly victimized youth tended to form friendships with highly victimized peers, and youth whose friends are highly victimized became highly victimized themselves over time. The current study underscores the importance of early adolescents’ social interactions with friends, and highlight that early adolescents’ friend selection and social influence play a crucial role in explaining the development of their bullying and victimization.

This study examines the relationships among sibling bullying victimization (SBV), characterological self-blame (CSB), coping self-efficacy (CSE) and peer bullying victimization (PBV) in middle-school students to address how SBV develops into PBV. Self-reported data from 559 Korean middle school students aged 14 to 16 years were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that PBV directly predicted SBV, and the mediation effects of CSB and CSE were also significant. In other words, victimized experience with siblings increased the level of CSB, which in turn lowered CSE. Consequently, this raised the possibility of being victimized within peer groups. This study is noteworthy in that it is the first attempt to examine a concrete mechanism between PBV and SBV in Korea. Based on the findings, intervention strategies for PBV are discussed.

The current study examined the mediated roles of separation from parents and perceived mattering to parents in the effect of behavioral control parenting on adolescents’ self-esteem. A total of 131 middle school students (aged 13) and 137 university students (aged 23) participated in the study. First, fathers’ higher knowledge of their children’s activities and behaviors a predicted heightened perceived mattering to fathers, which in turn, predicted better self-esteem in adolescents. Second, for university students, the curvilinear effect of functional independence from their mothers on adolescents’ self-esteem was found. Adolescents who were in the middle level of functional independence from mothers showed lower self-esteem than adolescents who were in the higher and lower levels of functional independence from their mothers. The current study revealed the significant role of fathers and the possible different mechanisms regarding the effect of separation from mothers on adolescents’ self-esteem depending on their age.