Bullying Victimization and Internalizing Symptoms of Adolescents in Chicago’s Southside: Differences by Family Structure

The current study explores whether the association between bullying victimization and internalizing symptoms differs when family structure is considered. The study participants were African American adolescents in four of Chicago’s Southside neighborhoods, ages 13 to 18. Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analyses were conducted. The prevalence of bullying victimization and internalizing symptoms was similar across family structures. The relationship between bullying victimization and internalizing symptoms was significant across adolescents of all family structures. These findings suggest that although the association between bullying victimization and internalizing symptoms is significant across all family structures, the relationship between adolescents and their caregivers is still an important consideration in bullying prevention and intervention efforts.