The Prediction of Peer Bullying in Adolescents by Individual and Environmental Variables

This study aimed to examine the effects of individual (age, gender, frustration of basic psychological needs) and environmental (adolescent-parental relationships, friendship relations, victimization) variables on peer bullying in adolescents. The study group consisted of 831 middle and high school students, 516 girls (62.1%), and 315 boys (37.9%). The research data were obtained using the Personal Information Form, Friendship Qualities Scale, Adolescent-Parental Relationships Scale, Peer Bullying Scale Adolescent Form, Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction, and Frustration Scale. Hierarchical Regression Analysis was used to analyze the data. According to the results obtained from the study, gender, age, frustration of basic psychological needs, adolescent-parent relationships, and victimization variables were found to be significant predictors of adolescents' bullying levels. In the model, the friendship relationships variable is not a significant predictor. In the study, it was determined that victimization was the strongest predictor, and the model explained approximately 34% of the bullying level of adolescents. The results obtained from this study show that individual and family-participated interventions can be effective in preventing peer bullying in adolescents.