The effect of violence and peer bullying on age, parenting style and self-image in adolescents

The aim of this study is exploring the effects of age, parenting style, and self-image on the acceptance of the level of bullying in male and female adolescents in the age of puberty.
The current study applies a correlational method and regression analysis. The population are all primary students up to the 3th grade, and junior highschool students of private schools in Tehran. The sample size was n=750 of which 352 (47%) were female and 395 (52.7%) were male, which were selected via multistage cluster sampling. But as a result of improper answering to some questionnaires the number decreased to 270 for females and 283 for males. In order to collect the data a demographics questionnaire, Millard and Joseph's (2000) bullying victims scale, Atashi's (1387) parenting styles scale, and Offer's (1989) Self-image scale were used.
Results from hierarchical regression analysis showed that in females there was a significant negative relationship between all the subscales of dealing with bullying except the “relational violence” subscale with age, and in males there was a negative relationship only between the “teasing” subscale and age. Parenting styles had significant relationships with Self-image and had a negative relationship with dealing with peer bullying
Based on the results it could be concluded that being prone to violence in adolescent in boys and girls is predictable by age, upbringing, and self-image.