Bullying Victimization, Health Strains and Juvenile
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BULLYING VICTIMIZATION, HEALTH STRAINS AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN GHANA A Dissertation Presented to The Graduate Faculty of the University of Akron In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy BULLYING VICTIMIZATION, HEALTH STRAINS AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN GHANA Ebenezer Duah Dissertation Approved: Accepted: Advisor Department Chair Dr. Robert Peralta Dr. Rebecca Erickson Committee Member Dean of College Dr. Stacey Nofziger Dr. Joe Urgo Committee Member Interim Director of Graduate School Dr. Juan Xi Dr. Marnie Saunders Committee Member Date Dr. Pamela Tontodonato Committee Member Dr. Shernavaz Vakil ii ABSTRACT This dissertation investigates the relationship between bullying victimization, health strains and adolescent delinquency. A growing body of research has shown that undergoing bullying victimization and health strains significantly predict juvenile delinquency. Research on types of bullying experiences and their connection to juvenile offending has produced inconsistent results. However, most research has been conducted in industrial countries, including the USA, Italy, England, and Germany. Little is known about whether the relationship between being bullied, having health strains, and offending in adolescence is applicable in Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, research on sex differences in the association between being bullied, health strains, and juvenile offending is scarce. Using General Strain Theory as a general theoretical framework, I analyze data from the 2012 Global School-Based Health Survey of Ghana. My analysis focuses on sex differences in the bullying, health strain, and juvenile offending relationship. Measurements of bullying victimization include physical and verbal victimization. Results suggest that bullying victimization and experiencing health strains significantly increased juvenile delinquency. Additionally, physical and verbal bullying experiences increased juvenile offending. The effect of bullying victimization and heath strains on delinquency was similar for both males and females. Based on my findings, I suggest that the impact of bullying and health strains on delinquency can be reduced through the introduction of anti-bullying regulations in schools, implementation of anti- iii bullying prevention programs, recreational programs, extended paid parental leave, and home visitation by health professions. Implications for criminological theory, strengths and limitations of the current study, and suggestions for future research conclude this dissertation. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to express my gratitude to many people who have contributed to the successful completion of this dissertation. First, I want to express my sincere gratitude to my dissertation chair, Dr. Robert Peralta, for his guidance and support. At the beginning of 2021, I was not sure that I would finish the dissertation this spring. However, Dr. Peralta took the baton and guided me successfully to the finishing line. I am also grateful to my late advisor and dissertation chair, Dr. Baffour Takyi, for guiding me throughout this research from the proposal stage to the final stages before he passed on. I would also like to thank Dr. Juan Xi for her support throughout my graduate career and the dissertation process. Her criticisms and suggestions were very helpful for the successful completion of this dissertation. I am also grateful to Dr. Pamela Tontodonato for her remarkable contribution to this research. She recognized some of the shortcomings in my work and directed me as to how to fix them. I want to give special thanks to Dr. Stacey Nofziger for becoming a member of my dissertation committee after the demise of Dr. Takyi. I also appreciate her comments and suggestions, which have helped to improve the document. I will like to acknowledge Dr. Shernavaz Vakil for accepting to be an external member of the dissertation v committee. Although she left the University of Akron to another institution, she still stayed on the committee. Besides my committee members, I want to thank other faculty members who have contributed to my success in graduate school, including Dr. Rebecca Erickson, Dr. John Zipp, Dr. Matthew Lee, and Dr. Kathryn Feltey. Special thanks to Dr. Enoch Lamptey and Dr. Chris Opoku-Agyeman for the advice, logistic and emotional support. I am also grateful to all my cohort members, including Eric Victory, Scott Swiatek, Dr. Matt Williamson, T.J. Snyder, Helen Fischer, Davishay Laurence, and Aaron Carmichael, for their help and encouragement. I am thankful to my late father, Mr. Emmanuel Kwadjo Buabeng, for his supervision which prevented me from going wayward. I also thank him for his financial support for my education. Also, I thank my mother (Elizabeth Frema) and my sister (Felicia Gyankoma) for being there for me all these years. Finally, I thank my daughter, Emmanuella Adjoa Buabeng Duah, for always keeping me on my toes. vi DEDICATION First, I want to dedicate all my accomplishments to my late father, Mr. Emmanuel Kwadwo Buabeng, for all the financial and emotional support he gave to me throughout my education. Second I dedicate this dissertation to my late academic advisor and dissertation chair, Dr. Baffour Takyi, for both the academic and non-academic advice he offered me. Third, I dedicate this research to my mother, Ms Elizabeth Fremah, and my sister, Felicia Gyankoma, for their financial and emotional contribution to my education. Finally, I dedicate this dissertation to my daughter, Emmanuella Adjoa Buabeng Duah. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ xii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER I. THE RESEARCH CONTEXT: BULLYING, HEALTH AND DELINQUENCY ...1 Introduction .................................................................................................................1 Problem Statement ......................................................................................................8 Significance of the Study ..........................................................................................12 Organization of the Study .........................................................................................13 II. LITERATURE REVIEW .........................................................................................15 Introduction ...............................................................................................................15 Theoretical Framework: Agnew’s General Strain Theory .......................................15 Bullying Victimization and the General Strain Theory ...........................................18 Health and the General Strain Theory .....................................................................19 Gender and the General Strain Theory ....................................................................20 Other Risk Factors of Juvenile Delinquency ...........................................................22 Bullying Victimization and Delinquency .................................................................26 Frequency of Bullying Victimization and Delinquency ..........................................28 Types of Bullying and Its Relationship with Delinquency ......................................29 viii Gender Differences in the Association between, Bullying and Juvenile Delinquency ...........................................................................................................30 Health and Juvenile Delinquency ............................................................................31 Health Behaviors and Delinquency .........................................................................33 Mental Health and Delinquency ..............................................................................38 Gender Health and Delinquency ..............................................................................40 Summary ...................................................................................................................41 III. SOCIAL SETTING .................................................................................................45 Ghana – An Overview .............................................................................................45 Juvenile Delinquency in Ghana ...............................................................................48 Bullying Victimization in Ghana ..............................................................................51 Adolescent Health in Ghana ....................................................................................52 Bullying Victimization and Juvenile Delinquency in Ghana ..................................54 Juvenile Justice in Ghana .........................................................................................55 Summary ...................................................................................................................60 IV. METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................61 Introduction ...............................................................................................................61 Data and Sampling ...................................................................................................61 Dependent Variable .................................................................................................62