Responses to bullying among high-school students through the lens of general strain theory

Abstract

In General Strain Theory (GST), Agnew asserts that negative emotions in response to strains are associated with antisocial behavior. Researchers found GST to explain criminal and self-harm responses to bullying. However, not all youth respond antisocially, such as by harming the self or others. Thus, the question remains, when do youth respond to bullying antisocially versus asocially or prosocially? This study examined situation-based negative emotions, the availability of alternative relationships, and behavioral responses to physical, verbal, relational, and cyber bullying to answer this question. This study integrates research from sociology, criminology, health, and social psychology to address this question among a sample of high-school bully victims. This study found variation in the emotional and behavioral responses based on the type of bullying. However, across bullying types, the availability of alternative relationships was associated with increased prosocial responding.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Institute of Justice.

Notes on contributors

Megan Stubbs-Richardson

Megan Stubbs-Richardson is an Assistant Research Professor, Research Fellow, and Co-Director of the Data Science for Social Sciences (DS³) Laboratory at the Social Science Research Center of Mississippi State University (MSU). She received her Ph.D. in Sociology with an emphasis in Criminology from MSU in 2018. Her research interests include aggression, such as bullying, and research at the intersection of crime, technology, and society.