Measurement and associations of childhood bullying experiences : English

Williams, Laura and Palmier-Claus, Jasper and Kelly, James (2022) Measurement and associations of childhood bullying experiences : English. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

Childhood bullying has been associated with longstanding deleterious social, physical, and psychological outcomes, and is increasingly being recognised as a global public health concern. Section one reports a quantitative systematic literature review examining the characteristics and psychometric properties of childhood bullying instruments that measure co-occurring traditional and cyber bullying behaviours. Four databases were searched (PsychInfo, CINAHL, Embase and Ovid) and fifteen studies reporting on fourteen separate instruments met requirements for inclusion. The findings of the review highlighted differences between how each instrument measured childhood bullying. Differences centered around how the instruments scales were constructed, the use of a bullying definition and terminology, referent time frames, and response options. In addition, the instrument’s methodological quality and psychometric robustness were also widely inconsistent. The review concluded that no study evaluated all psychometric properties within the three measurement domains: reliability, validity, and responsiveness. Thus, further research is required to comprehensively evaluate the psychometric robustness of the identified instruments. Section two reports on an empirical study examining whether childhood peer victimisation can predict quality of life (QoL) in individuals with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder (BD), when controlling for sociodemographics and clinical covariates. Participants (n=109) completed an online survey. Multiple regression analysis found neither offline nor online peer victimisation to be significant predictors of QoL in individuals diagnosed with BD. Post-hoc mediation analysis indicated depression and anxiety to have a full mediating effect on the relationship between both offline and online peer victimisation and QoL. The findings suggest childhood peer victimisation may play an important role in QoL for individuals with a diagnosis of BD through anxiety and depression. Section three includes a critical appraisal that reflects on the main findings and critically evaluates key decisions made. Considerations for future research are explored and personal reflections of undertaking the work are discussed.