The effects of individual characteristics, teacher practice, and school organizational factors on students' bullying: A multilevel analysis of public middle schools

This study investigated the effects of individual characteristics (gender, depression, and delinquency), teacher practice (support and maltreatment), and school organizational factors (school size and pupil-teacher ratio) on adolescents' verbal and physical bullying behaviors. A random sample of 1172 7th-9th grade students from 12 public middle schools in Taichung City, Taiwan was selected for this study. A self-report questionnaire survey was administered. The results showed that during the previous semester, 38.7% of the students had ever bullied other students physically while 53.0% had verbally bullied others. Hierarchical linear modeling was employed to conduct a two-level analysis. Individual characteristics including gender. depression, and involvement in delinquent behaviors were found to significantly contribute to both verbal and physical bullying. Teacher's support and maltreatment of students were also associated with the two types of bullying. School size and pupil-teacher ratio, on the other hand, did not significantly contribute to bullying behaviors. Implications were discussed. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.