Risk and Protective Factors in Bullying Perpetration Committed by Bullied Children: An Application of the Multiple Disadvantage Model

Many children in the United States are victims of bullying; many of the victimized retaliate, aggressively bullying those who have bullied them.

Applying the multiple disadvantage model, this U.S.–based secondary study of data describing bullied children’s own perpetration of bullying examined this behavior’s relationship to 5 kinds of factors: social disorganization, social structural, social relationship, mental health, and access to care.

This secondary data analysis involved a sample of 11,270 bullied children extracted from the 2021 National Survey of Children’s Health.

Results of logistic regression indicate that among the sample, likelihood of perpetrating bullying was associated in positive direction with residence in a rundown neighborhood, experiencing racial discrimination, child age 6–10 years, caregiver education level, caregiver with reported difficulty parenting, child behavioral/conduct problem(s), and family member substance-use problem. Likelihood of perpetrating bullying was associated in negative direction with being a girl, having Asian ethnicity, older caregiver, family cohesiveness, and child depression.

The present study’s findings support the multiple disadvantage model that four types of socioeconomic disadvantage—social disorganization, social structural factors, social relationships, and mental health—are related to bullied children’s bullying perpetration.