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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Article
Attachment Styles Among Bullies, Victims and Uninvolved Adolescents
Author(s)
Kristi Kõiv
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DOI:10.17265/2159-5542/2012.03.003
Affiliation(s)
University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
ABSTRACT
Attachment theory provides a frame for understanding
the role of attachment styles in the development
of bullying behaviour in
adolescence. The present study examined attachment styles (secure, avoidant and
anxious/ambivalent) that differentiated
bullies, victims, bully/victims and uninvolved adolescents. A total of 1,921
students (1,006 girls and 915 boys) in grades four through nine (ages
10 to 18 years old) completed a peer-reported measure (peer
nomination inventory: D. G. Perry, Kusel, & L. C. Perry, 1988) to
determine the status of bullying behaviour (bullies N = 178; victims N = 168;
and bully/victims N = 16) and a
self-reported measure to examine attachment style (multiple-item attachment
scale: Simpson, 1990). A one-way ANOVA indicated that: (1) Bullies had higher scores in
avoidant attachment scales than victims and non-participants of bullying; and
(2) Victims demonstrated higher levels of insecure attachment than bullies and
uninvolved adolescents. Findings reflected the role of insecure attachment as a
risk factor in the development of
bullying behaviour in adolescence—bullies
were at risk when their current attachment styles wereavoidant
and victims when their attachment styles were insecure.
KEYWORDS
attachment theory, attachment styles, bullies, victims, bully/victims, non-participants of bullying behaviour
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