Perceptions of the Frequency and Importance of Social Support by Students Classified as Victims, Bullies, and Bully/Victims in an Urban Middle School

TLDR

The study examined how bullies, victims, bully‑victims, and comparison students perceive the frequency and importance of social support, aiming to describe bullying behavior, compare support ratings across groups, and identify which support sources most influence each group. A cross‑sectional survey of 499 predominantly Hispanic middle‑school students used the CASSS‑R to assess perceived frequency and importance of parental, teacher, peer, friend, and school support across bully, victim, bully‑victim, and comparison groups. Results revealed significant group differences in both the frequency and importance of overall and source‑specific social support, indicating that bullies, victims, and bully‑victims perceive support differently.

Abstract

The present study examined the perceptions of the frequency and importance of social support for students classified as bullies, victims, bully-victims, and comparison students (nonbully/nonvictim). The sample included 499 sixth-through eighth-grade students from a predominantly Hispanic urban middle school. Students completed an anonymous survey that included 18 questions on both the receipt and provision of bullying behavior and were categorized into four groups (bully, victim, bully/victim, and comparison). Perceptions of both the frequency and importance of social support from parents, teachers, classmates, close friends, and the school were assessed via the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale—Revised (CASSS-R; Malecki, Demaray, & Elliott, 2000). The goals of the current study were to (a) present descriptive data on bullying behavior; (b) investigate differences in the frequency and importance ratings of perceived social support by bully status (bully, victim, bully/victim, and comparison); and (c) investigate what sources of support were most related to victim, bully, bully/victim, and comparison students' scores. Significant differences were found among the four groups on both the frequency and importance of total social support and support from the various sources. Results and implications are discussed.