The Relationship between Empathy, Self-efficacy and Bullying with the Mediating Role of Parenting Styles in Students

Bullying is a pervasive problem that can disrupt one's learning process and lead to undesirable personality and social consequences. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between empathy, self-efficacy and bullying with the mediating role of parenting styles in high school students in Zabol city, Iran. In this descriptive-analytic study, 386 boy and girl high school students who were eligible for inclusion in the study were selected through multistage cluster sampling. Data were collected using demographic information form, Davis Empathy Scale (1980), Sherer General Self-Efficacy Scale (1982), Olweus Bullying Scale (1996), and Baumrind Parenting Styles Scale (1973). The results indicated that there was a negative significant relationship between empathy and self-efficacy dimensions with bullying variable (p <0.001). There was a positive relationship between the variable of bullying with permissive and authoritarian parenting styles and a negative relationship with the authoritative (p <0.001). Also, the components of empathy and self-efficacy were only indirectly related to the variable of bullying through authoritarian parenting style (p <0.05). Providing insight into the concepts of empathy and self-efficacy, its application and reinforcement among social institutions such as family, school, and other adolescent-affiliated networks can provide valuable assistance in reducing adolescent bullying. Also, given the mediating role of parenting styles, identifying and improving parenting styles can be effective in reducing bullying in adolescents.