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Victimization in South Korean children's peer groups - Abstract

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, April, 2002 by David Schwartz, JoAnn M. Farver, Lei Chang, Yoolim Lee-Shin

Research conducted in Western cultural settings has demonstrated that a small proportion of children emerge as persistent victims of maltreatment by their peers (for reviews, see Graham & Juvonen, 1998b; Perry, Perry, & Kennedy, 1992; Smith & Brain, 2000). These chronically bullied children represent an important target group for empirical inquiry and clinical intervention. Children who frequently experience verbal or physical abuse by their peers are at risk for a number of negative outcomes, including maladaptive behavior problems (Hodges & Perry, 1999; Schwartz, McFadyen-Ketchum, Dodge, Pettit, & Bates, 1998), loneliness and depression (Boivin, Hymel, & Bukowski, 1995; Hawker & Boulton, 2000), social rejection or friendlessness (Hodges, Boivin, Vitaro, & Bukowski, 1999; Hodges, Malone, & Perry, 1997; Perry, Kusel, & Perry, 1988; Schwartz, Dodge, Pettit, Bates, & The Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group, 2000; Schwartz, McFadyen-Ketchum, Dodge, Pettit, & Bates, 1999), and academic failure (Juvonen, Ni shna, & Graham, 2000; Schwartz, 2000).

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Although much has been learned about the social processes underlying victimization in the peer group (Juvonen & Graham, 2001), a potential limitation of the existing research in this area is that it has been restricted almost entirely to Western settings. Investigators in Japan have begun to examine "ijime," a related phenomenon that involves harassment of peers by dominant members of a group (Morita, Soeda, Soeda, & Taki, 1999; Rittrios-Ellis, Bellamy, & Shoji, 2000). There also have been some more theoretical discussions focusing on the prevalence of bullying in different national settings (e.g., Smith et al., 1999). However, the availability of empirical data regarding the correlates of peer group victimization in non-Western cultures remains quite limited. Thus, the relevance of findings from investigations conducted in North America and Europe for children in other cultures is unclear. Moreover, as previous researchers have noted, an exclusive focus on Western contexts could obscure critically important distinctions between culture-specific and culture-general forms of child maladjustment (see Weisz, McCarty, Eastman, Chaiyasit, & Suwanlert, 1997).

This paper describes an investigation that was conducted as part of a larger series of studies examining bully/victim problems in East Asian cultures (Schwartz, Chang, & Farver, 2001). Although there is wide diversity in the beliefs, customs, and practices that characterize cultures in this region of the world, there are also important underlying commonalities. Indeed, across these societies, Confucian value systems and collectivistic orientations have widespread influence (Park & Cho, 1995; Triandis, 1995).

The focus of this report is specifically on victimization in South Korean children's peer groups. We sought to identify the patterns of social behavior that are associated with frequent maltreatment by peers in this culture. We also examined relations between bullying by peers and indicators of psychosocial adjustment for South Korean children. To the best of our knowledge, this investigation is the first to examine the correlates of peer group victimization in the South Korean setting.

South Korea represents a dynamic social context in which to examine the determinants of children's maladjustment with peers. This is a society that has experienced considerable turmoil in recent decades with rapid industrialization, increasing urbanization, migration of large segments of the population to cities, and marked expansion of the economy (Park & Cho, 1995). Despite these dramatic changes, and the growing influence of Western culture, South Korean families still tend to be guided by traditional values from the Confucian past which bear on children's socialization and development (Kim & Choi, 1994; Park & Cho, 1995). In contrast to the more individualistic Western cultures, South Korean culture emphasizes group awareness over individual concerns, sensitivity to others, and the minimization of conflict (Cha, 1994; Farver, Kim, & Lee-Shin, 2000). The primary goals in the socialization of children are to help them learn self-control, to develop an interdependent sense of self, and to foster cooperative and prosocial behavior (Farver & Lee-Shin, 1997). Behaviors that further individual interests or action at the expense of the group are generally discouraged (Storm, Park, & Daniels, 1986).

This societal focus on behavioral restraint could have important implications for children's social functioning with peers. In Asian cultural contexts, children may display shy, quiet, or hesitant behavioral tendencies as a reflection of the dominant values of the society as a whole (Chen & Rubin, 1992). These behaviors are generally praised by teachers, parents, and other adult caregivers (Chen, 2000). Researchers have also suggested that shy or timid dispositions are likely to be positively evaluated in Asian children's peer groups, despite the association between such interactive styles and peer rejection for Western children (see Rubin, 1998; Schneider, Smith, Poisson, & Kwan, 1997). Consistent with this perspective, Chinese children who are characterized by shyness-sensitivity (as operationalized by a reputation among peers as sad, shy, or having easily hurt feelings; see Chen, Rubin, & Sun, 1992) are generally well accepted by their peers. There is also some preliminary evidence that a similar pattern h olds for South Korean children (Belsky, Rha, & Park, 2000).

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Victimization in South Korean children's peer groups - Abstract

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, April, 2002 by David Schwartz, JoAnn M. Farver, Lei Chang, Yoolim Lee-Shin

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