The relationship between the adolescents' exposure to peer victimization and their age, parental style and self-image

Abstract

The objective of this study is to determine whether the age, the perceived parenting style and the self-image of the individual contribute to his/her exposure peer victimization as well as to the prediction of the different types of peer victimization for both girls and boys. The sample of the study consists of 805 students: 381 girls and 484 boys, all of whom study at the second level of private primary education schools and high school's 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th grades in Istanbul. However, as some of the scales were not filled out properly, hence the sample size decreased to 314 and to 308 for boys and girls respectively. In the study, 'The Peer Victimization Scale' to determine the level of their exposure to peer victimization, 'The Parenting Style Scale' to identify, the perceived parenting styles of the subjects and 'The Offer Self-Image Scale' to reveal the self-images of the participants, were used as instruments for data assessing. Results show that the peer victimization both girls and boys encounter at school is significantly influenced by the age, the perceived parenting styles and the self-image of the individual. Findings are discussed within the framework of the related literature.