School Climate, Bystanders' Responses, and Bullying Perpetration in the Context of Rural-to-Urban Migration in China

• Published in: Deviant behavior Vol. 42; no. 11; pp. 1416 - 1435
• Main Authors: Cui, Kunjie, To, Siu-ming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 02-11-2021; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Behavior; Bullying; Children; Comparative analysis; Migrants; Rural areas; Rural urban migration; School environment; School safety; Structural equation modeling; Students; China
• ISSN: 0163-9625; 1521-0456
• DOI: 10.1080/01639625.2020.1752601

The study involved examining the mediating effects of bystanders' pro-bullying behaviors and defending behaviors between variables of school climate - teacher-student relationship, student-student relationship, and school safety - and bullying perpetration among children in mainland China. Comparative analysis was also conducted to explore whether relationship patterns and mediating effects differed across migrant status. Data used in the study came from a questionnaire survey with a school-based, multistage random sample of 1,696 children in Grades 4 to 9 in Nanjing and Guangzhou, China. Structural equation modeling and group comparison were performed with AMOS 25.0 to test the hypothesized model. The results of structural equation modeling revealed that only bystanders' pro-bullying behavior mediated the effects of student-student relationship and school safety on bullying perpetration. Teacher-student relationship directly related to bullying perpetration without the mediating effects of bystanders' responses. The results of a group comparison indicated that the mediating effects of bystanders' pro-bullying behavior between school climate and bullying perpetration existed among migrant children but not among non-migrant ones. The findings make significant contributions to the literature and have important implications for the development of intervention services to reduce bullying perpetration in the school environment.