A thesis examining bullying victimisation and compassion: systematic review and empirical study

Abstract

The first chapter comprises a systematic review to examine if self-compassion (SC) plays a moderating or mediating role in the relationship between bullying victimisation (BV) and anxiety and depression for adolescents. A comprehensive literature search identified six studies which met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. SC was found to mediate the relationship between BV and depression.
Moderation-based studies showed mixed results regarding SC moderating the relationship between BV and anxiety and depression. However, identified a consistent moderating effect of SC when levels of SC were high. Despite the papers’ limitations and the need for more research in this area, the
review highlights the potential protective role SC can play for adolescents who have experienced BV and the importance of routinely assessing SC and considering SC interventions for this population.
Next, the empirical study aimed to investigate how the three flows of compassion (SC, compassion to others [CtO] and compassion from others [CfO]), inhibitors (self-criticism, shame, fears of compassion) and facilitators of compassion (self-reassurance [SR]), and early memories of warmth and safeness [EMWS]), present in adults who did and did not experience bullying in
secondary school. A total of 383 participants completed self-report measures online. Independent between subject t-tests were conducted to assess differences in variables between victims of bullying (VB) and non-victims of bullying (NVB). Compared to NVB, VB had significantly lower levels of
CfO and facilitators of compassion, and significantly higher levels of the inhibitors of compassion and anxiety and depression. No differences between groups were found for SC and CtO. Exploratory hierarchical linear regressions for VB and NVB identified predictor variables for each of the three
flows of compassion. SR was identified as the strongest predictor of SC for both VB and NVB. The findings tentatively support the need for clinical assessments to include the measurement of the three flows of compassion, together with the inhibitors and facilitators of compassion to allow
interventions to be tailored to meet the needs of individuals who have been bullied. The final chapter provides an in-depth exploration and critique of the measurement of BV for children and adolescents. The following inconsistencies across BV measures are discussed: the presence or absence of a definition of bullying; terminology used; forms of bullying assessed;
timeframes of reporting; and if assessment solely relies on self-reporting or if other views are utilised. The identified inconsistences result in several methodological challenges. Prevalence rates of
BV vary dramatically, thereby preventing accurate assessment and monitoring of the problem, and evaluation of interventions. Heterogeneity of measures make it difficult to compare findings and carry out systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Lack of a consistent, inclusive and consistently used
bullying definition, and variation in the construct being measured reduce the validity of measures, making it challenging to draw reliable conclusions. Future research would benefit from focusing on the identified areas to standardise assessment of BV to strengthen the validity and reliability of
measurement tools in the field. A standardised measurement of BV may increase the accuracy of prevalence rates and allow appropriate interventions to be developed and evaluated.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Lauren Anne Hewitt: orcid.org/0009-0007-2396-0871

ORCID for Alison Bennetts: orcid.org/0000-0003-2461-7868

ORCID for Sarah Kirby: orcid.org/0000-0003-1759-1356

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