The general purpose of this study is to provide a multilevel examination of the prevalence and contextual influences of traditional and cyber bullying perpetration through a criminological perspective. Bullying and harassment in our schools has become a growing national epidemic and has caught the attention of various disciplines such as education, psychology, sociology and medicine. However, the use of criminological theories to examine the phenomenon of bullying has been limited. Given the link between deviance and bullying behaviors, leading criminological theories could provide valuable nuances to what we already know about bullying. Using a state-wide representative sample of Florida, the present study provides rich and detailed insights into bullying prevalence in Florida schools by examining the incidence rates for verbal, physical and cyber bullying, where bullying takes place as well as a comparison of involvement among various demographic groups. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the study also examines the fit of four criminological theories - social bond theory, social learning theory, general strain theory and social disorganization theory in explaining traditional and cyber bullying. Results found some distinct factors associated with each type of bullying. Furthermore, the findings indicate that while several key individual level significant effects were found, contextual level variables are still important components to consider. In particular, indirect contextual effects could determine the conditions under which certain individual-level characteristics may function. Based on the findings implications for bullying prevention and intervention programs for bullying behaviors are discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2012. / June 26, 2012. / Cyber bullying, Multilevel modeling, Social bonds theory, Social disorganization theory, Traditional bullying / Includes bibliographical references. / Brian Stults, Professor Directing Dissertation; Martell Teasley, University Representative; Eric Stewart, Committee Member; Sonja E. Siennick, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_182829 |
| Contributors | Dhungana, Karla Johanna (authoraut), Stults, Brian (professor directing dissertation), Teasley, Martell (university representative), Stewart, Eric (committee member), Siennick, Sonja E. (committee member), College of Criminology and Criminal Justice (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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