title: A latent class growth analysis of school bullying and its social context: the self-determination theory perspective.
abstract: The contribution of social context to school bullying was examined from the self-determination theory perspective in this longitudinal study of 536 adolescents from 3 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Latent class growth analysis of the student-reported data at 5 time points from grade 7 to grade 9 identified 4 groups of students: bullies (9.8%), victims (3.0%), bully-victims (9.4%), and typical students (77.8%). There was a significant association between academic tracking and group membership. Students from the school with the lowest academic performance had a greater chance of being victims and bully-victims. Longitudinal data showed that all 4 groups tended to report less victimization over the years. The victims and the typical students also had a tendency to report less bullying over the years, but this tendency was reversed for bullies and bully-victims. Perceived support from teachers for relatedness significantly predicted membership of the groups of bullies and victims. Students with higher perceived support for relatedness from their teachers had a significantly lower likelihood of being bullies or victims. The findings have implications for the theory and practice of preventive interventions in school bullying.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: Shui-Fong
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: Wilbert
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Law
authors.affiliation: Department of Counseling and Psychology, Hong Kong Shue Yan University.
authors.forename: Chi-Keung
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Department of Counseling and Psychology, Hong Kong Shue Yan University.
authors.forename: Bernard P H
authors.initials: BPH
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Department of Early Childhood Education, Hong Kong Institute of Education.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7259-4838
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D058445:Bullying; D019548:Crime Victims; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D012574:Schools; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support; D013223:Statistics as Topic