Does Bully Victimization Predict Future Delinquency?

Abstract

Over the past decade school bullying has emerged as a prominent issue of concern for students, parents, educators, and researchers. Bully victimization has been linked to a long list of negative outcomes, such as depression, peer rejection, school dropout, eating disorders, delinquency, and violence. Previous research relating bully victimization to delinquency has typically used standard regression techniques that may not sufficiently control for heterogeneity between bullied and nonbullied youths. Using a large, nationally representative panel dataset, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), we use a propensity score matching technique to assess the impact of bully victimization on a range of delinquency outcomes. Results show that 19% of respondents had been victimized prior to the age of 12 years ( n = 8,833). Early victimization is predictive of the development of 6 out of 10 delinquent behaviors measured over a period of 6 years, including assault, vandalism, theft, other property crimes (such as receiving stolen property or fraud), selling drugs, and running away from home. Bully victimization should be considered an important precursor to delinquency.

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