Bullying and peer violence among children and adolescents in residential care settings: a review of the literature
Mazzone, AngelaORCID: 0000-0002-5858-8033, Nocentini, Annalaura and Menesini, ErsiliaORCID: 0000-0003-2302-3048
(2017)
Bullying and peer violence among children and adolescents in residential care settings: a review of the literature.
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 38
.
pp. 101-112.
ISSN 1359-1789
The present paper offers a review of the phenomena of bullying and peer violence
among children and adolescents living in residential care settings (RCS). The review was
conducted on four databases (Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO and ERIC). Findings of
the 31 full-text papers included in the present work showed that bullying and peer violence
involve various forms of direct and indirect attacks. While bullying in RCS involves severe
and repeated aggressive actions, peer violence seems to be characterized by distinct levels
of severity; i.e., low-level attacks are infrequent and isolated, whereas high level attacks
may be severe and frequent. Several individual factors, such as age, gender, and length of
stay in RCS were found to be associated with both bullying and peer violence. Contextual
risk factors such as activities, structure and facility size, along with a residential peer
culture characterized by a high level of hierarchy and a poor emotional bond between
children and staff, contributed to bullying and peer violence. Furthermore, findings of the
studies included in the present review showed that both perpetrators and victims manifest a
number of behavioral and psychological problems. Overall, the present study offers a
picture of bullying and peer violence among institutionalized children. However, distinct
operationalization of constructs among studies, together with the use of different methods
and measures, made comparisons among studies difficult. Future research should overcome
these limitations in order to promote validity and compatibility of research in this field of
study
Metadata
Item Type:
Article (Published)
Refereed:
Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:
bullying; peer violence; victimization; peer abuse; residential settings;
institutional care