Coping with school-based peer-victimisation: the role of peers

Gardner, S.E. ORCID: 0000-0003-3443-7844, 2019. Coping with school-based peer-victimisation: the role of peers. PhD, Nottingham Trent University.

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Abstract

The focus of the thesis was to investigate the concurrent and longitudinal effects of friendship for coping with school-based peer-victimisation in late childhood. This addressed a gap in the literature pertaining to the role of friendship in children's endorsement of coping behaviour and the buffering effect of friendship on the experience of school loneliness following reports of expected maladaptive coping behaviour. Specifically, the thesis addressed two research questions: (1) What is the role of friendship for coping with school-based peer-victimisation? and (2) Does friendship buffer against the negative effects of maladaptive peer-victimisation coping?

These research questions were addressed via a three-wave longitudinal study that examined the concurrent (Chapter 6) and longitudinal (Chapter 7) relationships between peer-victimisation, friendship (quantity and quality), expected peer-victimisation coping behaviour (internalising, retaliation, avoidance, peer support, adult support, and problem solving) and school loneliness (as an indicator of psychosocial adjustment). Longitudinal social network models (Chapter 8) were also applied to examine the co-evolution between friendship and children's expected peer-victimisation coping behaviour. The sample used throughout the thesis was drawn from a population of primary school children aged between 9 to 11 years old (England Year 5 and Year 6). A total of 529 children were invited to take part in the study from across eight schools, this resulted in a final sample of 443 children (55.7% female) at Time 1, 334 children (55.5% female) at Time 2, and 354 children (57.9% female) at Time 3.

Findings from across the thesis indicate that children's friendship experiences are concurrently and longitudinally related to expected peer-victimisation coping behaviour. However, these relationships were dependent upon the type of friendship experience (quantity and quality) and the type of expected coping behaviour. Furthermore, negative friendship experiences (conflict within friendships and low levels of reciprocated friendships) were found to exacerbate the negative effects of expected maladaptive (internalising) coping. This was associated with increased feelings of school loneliness in children and continued experiences of verbal peer-victimisation. Through longitudinal and network data, the empirical research presented in this thesis highlights the important contribution of friends and peers for peer-victimisation coping (or expected coping) in children.

Item Type:	Thesis
Creators:	Gardner, S.E.
Date:	August 2019
Rights:	This work is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the owner(s) of the Intellectual Property Rights.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	15 Oct 2019 11:30
Last Modified:	15 Oct 2019 11:30
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/37966

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