Häufle Jenny, Wolter Daniel
University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Aggress Behav. 2015 Jul-Aug;41(4):335-45. doi: 10.1002/ab.21545. Epub 2014 Jun 26.
Bullying and victimization are serious problems within prisons. Young Offender Institutions (YOIs), in particular, suffer from high rates of inmate-on-inmate violence. More recent theories about the development of bullying in closed custody institutions imply a relationship between the experience of victimization and the usage of bullying. In our study, we test this linkage using longitudinal survey data taken at two time-points from 473 inmates (aged 15-24) inside three YOIs in Germany. We first analyze the extent of bullying and victimization, and then used a longitudinal structural equation model to predict inmate bullying behavior at time 2 based on victimization that occurred at time 1. Age is used as a predictor variable to account for differences in the amount of victimization and bullying. Results suggest that bullying and victimization are high in the YOIs, which were subject to research. Most inmates reported being a bully and a victim at the same time. Younger inmates use more direct physical bullying but not psychological bullying. An increase in psychological bullying over time can significantly be explained by victimization at an earlier measurement time point. Our study therefore supports recent theoretical assumptions about the development of bullying behavior. Possible implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.
欺凌和受欺负是监狱中的严重问题。尤其是青少年犯教养所，囚犯之间的暴力发生率很高。关于封闭式拘留机构中欺凌行为发展的最新理论表明，受欺负经历与欺凌行为的使用之间存在关联。在我们的研究中，我们使用从德国三所青少年犯教养所的473名囚犯（年龄在15至24岁之间）在两个时间点采集的纵向调查数据来检验这种联系。我们首先分析欺凌和受欺负的程度，然后使用纵向结构方程模型，根据在时间1发生的受欺负情况来预测时间2的囚犯欺凌行为。年龄被用作预测变量，以解释受欺负和欺凌数量的差异。结果表明，在所研究的青少年犯教养所中，欺凌和受欺负现象很普遍。大多数囚犯报告称自己同时是欺凌者和受害者。年龄较小的囚犯更多地使用直接的身体欺凌，但不使用心理欺凌。随着时间的推移，心理欺凌的增加可以通过早期测量时间点的受欺负情况得到显著解释。因此，我们的研究支持了关于欺凌行为发展的最新理论假设。文中还讨论了预防和干预的可能影响。
