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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The results of this study also highlight the link between academic adjustment and social functioning for South Korean children. We found moderately strong negative associations between teacher ratings of children's academic functioning and multi-informant reports of peer group victimization. Consistent with our hypotheses, children who exhibited poor academic performance in school tended to emerge as frequent targets of bullying. This pattern of findings could reflect the emphasis placed on academic excellence within South Korean society as a whole (Chong & Michael, 2000). To the extent that a cultural focus on achievement influences the attitudes held by the peer group, children who do poorly in school may be at high risk for rejection and maltreatment by peers.

Likewise, it is important to consider the impact that negative experiences with peers can have on children's functioning at school. Western researchers have viewed rejection and bullying as stressors that exert a pernicious influence on children's academic adjustment and attitudes toward school (Juvonen et al., 2000; Kochenderfer & Ladd, 1996; Wentzel, 1991; Wentzel & Asher, 1995). Because collectivistic values emphasize interdependent social functioning (Cha, 1994), conflict with peers could prove especially stressful for South Korean children. Over time, reciprocal relations between academic failure and social maladjustment may emerge (see Chen et al., 1992).

The hypothesis that children in this culture experience distress as a result of negative treatment by peers does seem to be supported by our correlational findings. Children who were frequently targeted for bullying reported feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction. In further research, it might prove informative to focus on multiple forms of internalized distress (e.g., depression, anxiety, low self-esteem). In addition, these linkages will need to be examined using longitudinal designs because the cross-sectional nature of the current study necessarily precludes causal conclusions.

Other unresolved questions focus on the consistency of findings across cultures. The link between academic difficulties and peer victimization observed in this study might not replicate in a Western context. In fact, relatively little is known about the academic adjustment of frequently bullied children in North American and European settings. One relevant study was recently conducted by Juvonen et al. (2000), who examined peer harassment in an ethnically diverse middle school in Los Angeles, California. These researchers found a moderately strong pattern of effects, with adolescents who self-reported harassment by peers tending to have low grade point averages and high absentee rates. However, other North American researchers have concluded that only a subset of victimized children are likely to be characterized by poor school performance (Schwartz, 2000).

Gender Differences

Surprisingly, our descriptive analyses of gender differences produced only a weak pattern of effects. In this regard, the results of this study were not fully congruent with past investigations conducted in either Asian or Western settings. For example, in our earlier research on bullying in Chinese children's peer groups, we found gender differences in multiple domains of children's behavioral and social functioning (e.g., Schwartz et al., 2001). It is possible that normative levels of some behaviors are relatively low in the South Korean setting so that reliable comparisons between groups are difficult to conduct. Gender stereotypes within the larger societal context are also likely to have a significant impact on informant response patterns and could obscure meaningful variation. In any case, there does seem to be a need for further investigation of gender differences in social behavior within this cultural context. Analyses focusing on the gender as a moderating factor in the association between specific risk factors and victimization (e.g., interactions between gender and behavior) for South Korean children could also prove informative.