Gender, Bullying Victimization, and Juvenile Delinquency: A Test of General Strain Theory

Abstract

Bullying has emerged as a salient problem in the school environment. Using a sample of 2,437 middle-school students from a metropolitan Virginia area, we explore the impact of school bullying victimization on delinquent involvement and substance use. The analysis is guided by general strain theory (GST). Consistent with GST, bullying victimization has a significant, if weak, direct relationship with wayward conduct. This effect is robust across gender groups. Notably, an examination of “conditioning” effects showed that the impact of this strain on delinquency is stronger among students with weaker school social bonds and with higher levels of aggressive attitudes. The results thus suggest that bullying victimization should be considered as a risk factor that places youngsters in jeopardy of criminal involvement.

Keywords:

• bullying
• victimization
• delinquency
• gender

This research was supported by a grant from the Bureau of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (1999-SB-WX-0056). Points of view in the manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the Bureau of Justice.