Although bullying among Japanese youth is a current major concern, psychosocial influences on bullying are not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to identify the psychosocial factors associated with physical, verbal, and indirect bullying among Japanese adolescents. Junior high school students between seventh and ninth grade (N = 2,923) completed a self-reported questionnaire. Involvement in bullying and psychosocial factors were investigated. Deviant peer influence, less serious attitude in school, poor self-control of aggressiveness and impulsiveness, poor self-assertive efficacy against bullying, and euphemistic thinking were commonly associated with physical, verbal, and indirect bullying. Experiences of victimization by physical and verbal bullying were associated with both physical and verbal bullying, whereas experiences of victimization by indirect bullying were associated with indirect bullying. Psychosocial factors associated with different types of bullying substantially overlapped. Therefore, interventions focused on these modifiable common factors could be effective in the prevention of adolescent bullying.
Ando, M.
, Asakura, T., & Kobayashi, Y. (2003). Kokosei no “Ijime” no ninshiki ni kansuru kenkyu: Kokosei, yogokyoyu, hahaoya kan no hikakukento [Perceptions of high school bullying: Differences of viewpoints of high school students, school nurses, and mothers of adolescents]. Japanese Journal of School Health, 44, 508-520.
2.
Ando, M.
, Asakura, T., & Nakayama, K. (2004). Kokosei no mondaikodoto taijinkankei ni okeru sinraikan no kanren [The association between problem behaviors and interpersonal trust in high school students]. Japanese Journal of School Health, 46, 44-58.
3.
Arbuckle, J. L.
, & Wothke, W. (1995). Amos 4.0: Computer software and user’s guide. Chicago, IL: SmallWaters.
4.
Asakura, T.
(2000). Chugakusei ni okeru taijinteki na kogekikodo patanni kansurukenkyu: Seisa to shogakko kogakunenzi no asobikata tono kanren [Patterns of aggressive behavior toward peers in junior high schools: Its gender differences and relationships of playtime experiences at the upper grades of elementary school]. Japanese Journal of School Health, 42, 123-141.
5.
Aseltine, R. H.
(1995). A reconsideration of parental and peer influences on adolescent deviance. Journal of Health & Social Behavior, 36, 103-121.
6.
Bandura, A.
(1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
7.
Bandura, A.
, Barbaranelli, C., Caprara, G. V., & Pastorelli, C. (1996a). Mechanisms of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 71, 364-374.
8.
Bandura, A.
, Barbaranelli, C., Caprara, G. V., & Pastorelli, C. (1996b). Multifaceted impact of self-efficacy beliefs on academic functioning. Child Development, 67, 1206-1222.
9.
Bandura, A.
, Caprara, G. V., Barbaranelli, C., Pastorelli, C., & Regalia, C. (2001). Sociocognitive self-regulatory mechanisms governing transgressive behavior. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 80, 125-135.
10.
Barnes, H. L.
, & Olson, D. H. (1985). Parent-adolescent communication and the complex model. Child Development, 56, 438-447.
11.
Bjorkqvist, K.
, Lagerspetz, K. M. J., & Kaukiainen, A. (1992). Do girls manipulate and boys fight? Developmental trends in regard to direct and indirect aggression. Aggressive Behavior, 18, 117-127.
12.
Bollen, K. A.
, & Long, J. S. (Eds.). (1993). Testing structural equation models. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
13.
Bosworth, K.
, Espelage, D. L., & Simon, T. R. (1999). Factors associated with bullying behavior in middle school students. Journal of Early Adolescence, 19, 341-362.
14.
Boulton, M. J.
(1997). Teachers’ views on bullying: Definitions, attitudes and ability to cope. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 67, 223-233.
15.
Boulton, M. J.
, & Underwood, K. (1992). Bully/victim problems among middle school children. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 62, 73-78.
16.
Caprara, G. V.
, Scabini, E., Barbaranelli, C., Pastorelli, C., Regalia, C., & Bandura, A. (1998). Impact of adolescents’ perceived self-regulatory efficacy on familial communication and antisocial conduct. European Psychologist, 3, 125-132.
17.
Chisholm, J. F.
(1998). Understanding violence in the school: Moral and psychological factors. Journal of Social Distress & the Homeless, 7, 137-157.
18.
Clark, R. D.
, & Shields, G. (1997). Family communication and delinquency. Adolescence, 32, 81-92.
19.
Colder, C. R.
, & Stice, E. (1998). A longitudinal study of the interactive effects of impulsivity and anger on adolescent problem behavior. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 27, 255-274.
20.
Crick, N. R.
, & Grotpeter, J. K. (1995). Relational aggression, gender, and social-psychological adjustment. Child Development, 66, 710-722.
21.
Crystal, D. S.
, Watanabe, H., & Chen, R. (1999). Children’s reactions to physical disability: A cross-national and developmental study. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 23, 91-111.
22.
Ennett, S. T.
, & Bauman, K. E. (1991). Mediators in the relationship between parental and peer characteristics and beer drinking by early adolescents. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 21, 1699-1711.
23.
Erdley, C. A.
, & Asher, S. R. (1998). Linkages between children’s beliefs about the legitimacy of aggression and their behavior. Social Development, 7, 321-339.
24.
Espelage, D. L.
, Bosworth, K., & Simon, T. R. (2001). Short-term stability and prospective correlates of bullying in middle-school students: An examination of potential demographic, psychosocial, and environmental influences. Violence and Victims, 16, 411-426.
25.
Fujimoto, T.
(1996). Wagakuni no ijime no genzyo to sono taisaku: “Ijime” gensho heno shiza [Present conditions of school bullying and its countermeasures in Japan]. Japanese Journal of Criminal Sociology, 21, 4-21.
26.
Gorman-Smith, D.
, Tolan, P. H., Zelli, A., & Huesmann, L. R. (1996). The relation of family functioning to violence among inner-city minority youths. Journal of Family Psychology, 10, 115-129.
27.
Green, M. B.
(2000). Bullying and harassment in schools. In R. S. Moser & C. E. Frantz (Eds.), Shocking violence: Youth perpetrators and victims—A multidisciplinary perspective (pp. 72-101). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
28.
Griffin, K. W.
, Scheier, L. M., Botvin, G. J., Diaz, T., & Miller, N. (1999). Interpersonal aggression in urban minority youth: Mediators of perceived neighborhood, peer, and parental influences. Journal of Community Psychology, 27, 281-298.
29.
Hawkins, J. D.
, & Weis, J. G. (1985). The social development model: An integrated approach to delinquency prevention. Journal of Primary Prevention, 6, 73-97.
30.
Haynie, D. L.
, Nansel, T., Eitel, P., Crump, A. D., Saylor, K., Yu, K., et al. (2001). Bullies, victims, and bully/victims: Distinct groups of at-risk youth. Journal of Early Adolescence, 21, 29-49.
31.
Hetherington, E. M.
, & Clingempeel, W. G. (1992). Coping with marital transitions: A family systems perspective. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 57, 1-242.
32.
Hirschi, T.
(2002/1969). Causes of delinquency. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction (original work published 1969).
33.
[Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology].
(2003, December 19). Seitoshido jo no shomondai no genjo ni tuite: Gaiyo [Summary on the facts of problem behaviors in schools]. Retrieved January 22, 2004, from http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/houdou/15/12/03121902.htm
34.
Jessor, R.
(1998). New perspectives on adolescent risk behavior. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
35.
Jessor, R.
& Jess, S. L. (1977). Problem behavior and psychosocial development: A longitudinal study of youth. New York, NY: Academic Press.
36.
Jessor, R.
, van den Bos, J., Vanderryn, J., Costa, F. M., & Trubin, M. S. (1995). Protective factors in adolescent problem behavior: Moderator effects and developmental change. Developmental Psychology, 31, 923-933.
37.
Kaltiala-Heino, R.
, Rimpela, M., Marttunen, M., Rimpela, A., & Rantanen, P. (1999). Bullying, depression, and suicidal ideation in Finnish adolescents: School survey. British Medical Journal, 319, 348-351.
38.
Kumpulainen, K.
, Rasanen, E., Henttonen, I., Almqvist, F., Kresanov, K., & Linna, S. L. (1998). Bullying and psychiatric symptoms among elementary school-age children. Child Abuse and Neglect, 22, 705-717.
39.
Lebra, T. S.
(1976). Japanese patterns of behavior. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
40.
Loeber, R.
, & Dishion, T. (1983). Early predictors of male delinquency: A review. Psychological Bulletin, 94, 68-99.
41.
Loeber, R.
, & Hay, D. (1997). Key issues in the development of aggression and violence from childhood to early adulthood. Annual Review of Psychology, 48, 371-410.
42.
Malek, M. K.
, Chang, B., & Davis, T. C. (1998). Fighting and weapon-carrying among seventh-grade students in Massachusetts and Louisiana. Journal of Adolescent Health, 22, 94-102.
43.
Markus, H. R.
, & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224-253.
44.
Morita, Y.
(1985). Gakkyu shudan ni okeru “Ijime” no kozo [Structure of bullying in classroom]. Jurist, 836, 25-35.
45.
Morita, Y.
, Soeda, H., Soeda, K., & Taki, M. (1999). Japan. In P. K. Smithet al. (Eds.), The nature of school bullying: A cross-national perspective (pp.309-323). New York, NY: Routledge.
46.
Morita, Y.
, Taki, M., Hata, M., Hoshino, K., & Wakai, Y. (Eds.). (1999). Nippon no ijime: Yobo taio ni ikasu deta shu [Bullying in Japan: Data for prevention and intervention]. Tokyo: KanekoShobo.
47.
Nansel, T. R.
, Craig, W., Overpeck, M. D., Saluja, G., & Ruan, W. J. (2004). Cross-national consistency in the relationship between bullying behaviors and psychosocial adjustment. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 158, 730-736.
48.
Nansel, T. R.
, Overpeck, M., Pilla, R. S., Ruan, W. J., Simons-Morton, B., & Scheidt, P. (2001). Bullying behaviors among U.S. youth. Journal of the American Medical Association, 285, 2094-2100.
49.
Olweus, D.
(1993). Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
50.
Osterman, K.
, Bjorkqvist, K., Lagerspetz, K. M. J., Kaukiainen, A., Landau, S. F., Fraczek, A., et al. (1998). Cross-cultural evidence of female indirect aggression. Aggressive Behavior, 24, 1-8.
51.
Paetsch, J. J.
, & Bertrand, L. D. (1997). The relationship between peer, social, and school factors, and delinquency among youth. Journal of School Health, 67, 27-32.
52.
Parkhurst, J. T.
, & Asher, S. R. (1992). Peer rejection in middle school: Subgroup differences in behavior, loneliness, and interpersonal concerns. Developmental Psychology, 28, 231-241.
53.
Pyper, J. R.
, Freiberg, H. J., Ginsburg, M., & Speck, D. W. (1987). Instrument to measure school climate. In L. W. Barber (Ed.), School climate, bloomington center on evaluation (pp.87-96). Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa.
54.
Rigby, K.
, & Slee, P. T. (1991). Dimensions of interpersonal relation among Australian children and implications for psychological well-being. Journal of Social Psychology, 133, 33-42.
55.
Rios-Ellis, B.
, Bellamy, L., & Shoji, J. (2000). An examination of specific types of Ijime within Japanese schools. School Psychology International, 21, 227-241.
56.
Roland, E.
(1989). A system oriented strategy against bullying. In E. Roland & E. Munthe (Eds.), Bullying: An international perspective (pp. 143-151). London: David Fulton.
57.
Salmon, G.
, & West, A. (2000). Physical and mental health issues related to bullying in schools. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 13, 375-380.
58.
Simons-Morton, B. G.
, Crump, A., Haynie, D. L., & Saylor, K. E. (1999). Student-school bonding and adolescent problem behavior. Health Education Research, 14, 99-107.
59.
Simons-Morton, B. G.
, Crump, A., Haynie, D. L., Saylor, K. E., Eitel, P., & Yu, K. (1999). Psychosocial, school, and patient factors associated with recent smoking among early-adolescent boys and girls. Preventive Medicine: An International Journal Devoted to Practice & Theory, 28, 138-148.
60.
Simons-Morton, B. G.
, Haynie, D., Saylor, K., Crump, A. D., & Chen, R. (2004). The effects of the Going Places Program on early adolescent substance use and anti-social behavior. Prevention Science, 5, 101-111.
61.
Simons-Morton, B. G.
, Haynie, D., Saylor, K., Crump, A. D., & Chen, R. (2005). Evaluation of the Going Places Program: Impact and mediation of program outcomes. Health Education and Behavior, 32, 227-341.
62.
Slee, P. T.
(1995). Bullying in the playground: The impact of interpersonal violence on Australian children’s perceptions of their play environment. Children’s Environments, 12, 273-282.
63.
Slee, P. T.
, & Rigby, K. (1993). The relationship of Eysenck’s personality factors and self-esteem to bully-victim behavior in Australian schoolboys. Personality & Individual Differences, 14, 371-373.
64.
Smith, P. K.
, & Sharp, S. (1994). School bullying: Insights and perspectives. London: Routledge.
65.
Snyder, J.
, Dishion, T. J., & Patterson, G. R. (1986). Determinants and consequences of associating with deviant peers during preadolescence and adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 6, 29-43.
66.
St. George, D. M.
, & Thomas, S. B. (1997). Perceived risk of fighting and actual fighting behavior among middle school students. Journal of School Health, 67, 178-181.
67.
Suzuki, K.
(2000). Gakko ni okeru ijime no shinri [Bullying in school]. Kyoto: Nakanishiya Shuppan.
68.
Treml, J. N.
(2001). Bullying as a social malady in contemporary Japan. International Social Work, 44, 107-117.
69.
Triandis, H. C.
(1989). The self and social behavior in differing cultural contexts. Psychological Review, 96, 506-520.
70.
van der Wal, M. F.
, de Wit, C. A. M., & Hirasing, R. A. (2003). Psychosocial health among young victims and offenders of direct and indirect bullying. Pediatrics, 111, 1312-1317.
71.
Weinberger, D. A.
, & Schwartz, G. E. (1990). Distress and restraint as super ordinate dimensions of self-reported adjustment: A typological perspective. Journal of Personality, 58, 381-417.
