Factors Related to Children’s Involvement in the Subtypes of Bullying Perpetration and Victimization: An Application of the Multiple Disadvantage Model

This secondary study of 30,173 children asked how their participation in various subtypes of bullying perpetration and victimization was related to social disorganization factors and social structural factors, social relationships, mental health, and access to care. The sample of children aged 6 to 17 years was extracted from the 2021 National Survey of Children's Health. Data were subjected to multinomial logistic regression. That analysis showed that involvement in the victim-only subtype was significantly linked to several social disorganization factors and to social structural factors, as well as to the children's social relationships, mental health, and access to care. Involvement in the bully-victim subtype was significantly linked to some social disorganization factors and social structural factors and also to social relationships, mental health, and access to care. Involvement in the bully-only subtype was significantly linked only to some social structural factors and to children's social relationships and mental health. The study results imply a need for individual interventions serving bullying perpetrators and victims; a need for family interventions securing effective parenting and family bonding; and a need for anti-bullying policies in schools and racial harmony in communities. Moreover, the results imply a need to improve the physical environments and safety of neighborhoods where Black children and Asian children, in particular, reside.