Contextual Characteristics in Relation to Student Intervention in Bullying

Abstract

The goal of the current study was to examine whether contextual characteristics of a school are related to student interventions in bullying. Specifically, participants reported their perceptions of how teachers responded to bullying, school climate, and the promotion of social emotional wellness. The study included 390 eighth to twelfth grade students from the Southeastern region of the United States. The confirmatory factor analysis revealed good model fit and measurement invariance across sex was established. Structural models indicated that for boys, perceptions of social emotional learning (SEL) promotion were positively and significantly related to their intervention in bullying. For girls, both teacher interventions and perceptions of SEL promotion were positively related to their intervention in bullying. Results suggest that characteristics of the school are important for promoting interventions in bullying among high school students.