Will violence cycle? The reciprocal relationship between children’s bullying involvement and interparental conflict

•There is a bidirectional relationship between interparental conflict and children’s bullying perpetration.•The bidirectional relationship was not significant in interparental conflict and victimization.•Children’s bullying can not only strengthen subsequent bullying but can also cause subsequent vi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Children and youth services review 2024-06, Vol.161, p.107650, Article 107650
Main Authors: Song, Shengcheng, Xie, Ruiqiong, Tan, Deqin, Yuan, Zhifan, Li, Weijian, Ding, Wan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bullying perpetration
Interparental conflict
Reciprocal relationship
Victimization
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Summary:•There is a bidirectional relationship between interparental conflict and children’s bullying perpetration.•The bidirectional relationship was not significant in interparental conflict and victimization.•Children’s bullying can not only strengthen subsequent bullying but can also cause subsequent victimization through interparental conflicts. With the continuous increase in bullying incidents and its serious consequences, school bullying poses a serious challenge to children’s physical and mental health. As an essential family environment factor, interparental conflict is closely related to bullying/victimization. However, it remains unknown whether school bullying/victimization impacts the conflict between parents. Our study used a longitudinal tracking design to explore the bidirectional relationship and internal mechanism between interparental conflict and bullying/victimization. Nine hundred eighty-one children aged 8 to 11 in China completed the Bully/Victim Questionnaire and Children’s Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale at three-time points. The results indicated a significant bidirectional relationship between interparental conflict and bullying, but not between interparental conflict and victimization. In addition, bullying at T1 could predict both bullying and victimization at T3 through interparental conflict at T2. The findings not only identified differences in the mechanisms of bullying and victimization but also revealed a vicious circle between interparental conflict and children’s bullying involvement.
ISSN:0190-7409
1873-7765
DOI:10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107650