Cultural value orientation and authoritarian parenting as parameters of bullying and victimization at school

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the existing association between cultural value orientation, authoritarian parenting, and bullying and victimization at school. The participants (N = 231) were early adolescents, randomly selected from 11 different schools in urban and rural areas of Cyprus. Participants completed self reports measuring cultural value orientation, authoritarian parenting, bullying, and victimization. These instruments were the following: the cultural value scale (CVS), the parental authority questionnaire (PAQ), and the revised bullying and victimization questionnaire (BVQ-R). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine mediation effects. It was found that vertical individualism acted as a mediator between authoritarian parenting and bullying. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between authoritarian parenting and the vertical dimensions of both cultural value orientations (individualism and collectivism), but not with the horizontal dimensions of either cultural orientation. Further, authoritarian parenting was also positively associated with bullying and victimization at school. The main contribution of the present study is the finding that vertical individualism significantly mediates the relationship between authoritarian parental style and bullying propensity.