Association between self-control and school bullying behaviors among Macanese adolescents

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

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Detail(s)

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)237-242
Journal / PublicationChild Abuse and Neglect
Volume37
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2013

Abstract

Objective: Macau is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China with over 95% of the population is of Chinese descent. Research on school bullying using Macanese samples is virtually nonexistent. Thus, this study is among the first to sample this population by exploring the association between bullying perpetration and victimization, and the level of self-control among a group of school-aged Macanese adolescents. Methods: A total of 365 participants, aged between 10 and 17 years, from two male-only schools (a boarding and a non-boarding schools) in Macau are surveyed. The Illinois Bully Scale (Espelage & Holt, 2001) and Self-Control Scale (Grasmick, Tittle, Bursik, & Arneklev, 1993) are used to measure the participants bullying behaviors and self-control level, respectively. Results: Overall finding indicates that bullying perpetration is negatively associated with the participants' level of self-control. Conclusion: These findings provide further support for the importance of self-control in bullying perpetration. Implications of the findings are offered by way to increase the youngsters' level of self-control in order to reduce their propensity to engage in bullying perpetration at school. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Research Area(s)

  • Bullying behaviors, Bullying perpetration, Bullying victimization, Macau Chinese, School bullying, Self-control