A mixed-methods analysis of the effect of self-esteem on bullying frequency, bullying behaviors, and motivations to bully in adolescence

Bullying is a behavior that occurs frequently in adolescence and can have devastating consequences. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between self-esteem and bullying frequency, bullying behaviors, and motivations to bully. Since bullying has often been shown to be a group process with some adolescents taking on the role of bystanders, the effect of self-esteem on the likelihood that an adolescent would take on the role of a bystander was also investigated. An online survey was administered to adolescents with questions about their self-esteem and bullying behavior. It was hypothesized that motivation to take on a particular role in group bullying (initiator of the bullying or bully, encourager of the bully, helper of the victim) would differ based on self-esteem of the adolescent. It was also hypothesized that the frequency of taking on a particular role in group bullying would affect the motivation to take on that role. The study failed to find an effect of self-esteem on bullying frequency, on frequency of encouraging the bully, or on helping the victim. However, self-esteem was found to have an effect on the motivation to bully, on the motivation to encourage the bully, and on the motivation to help the victim. The most noticeable of these findings was the fact that those with high self-esteem were the most likely out of all three self-esteem groups to put the responsibility of the bullying on the victim. There were also differences between those who frequently initiated the bullying, those who frequently encouraged the bully, or those who frequently helped of the victim and those who infrequently acted in that way.