The Effect of Middle School Music Ensemble Participation on the Relationship Between Perceived School Connectedness, Self-Reported Bullying Behaviors, and Peer Victimization

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of middle school music ensemble participation on the relationship between school connectedness, bullying perpetration, and peer victimization. Participants (N = 470) selected for this study attended 2 middle schools located in central Illinois and voluntarily responded to the questionnaire by self-reporting demographic information, including their enrollment in a music course, and their behaviors as perpetrators and victims. Data were secured from a large-scale, 2-year randomized clinical trial funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (no. CE3240). Results indicated that nonensemble students in this sample perpetrate aggressive behaviors, on average, more frequently than do music ensemble students. While participant self-reports of bullying behaviors were relatively low, their perceptions of school connectedness were relatively high. Multiple-group structural equation modeling analyses demonstrated that a stronger negative association between perceptions of school connectedness and cyberbullying perpetration exist for music ensemble students than for adolescents not enrolled in a school-based music ensemble. Included are implications for the better support of preservice and in-service music teachers with regard to bullying in schools, alongside recommendations for continued examination of adolescent musicians' levels of school connectedness and suggestions for future research.