University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2014-09-12 Bouncing Back from Bullying: Resilience and Benefit-Finding in Victims of Bullying Fraccaro, Rebecca Fraccaro, R. (2014). Bouncing Back from Bullying: Resilience and Benefit-Finding in Victims of Bullying (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25155 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/1744 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Bouncing Back from Bullying: Resilience and Benefit-Finding in Victims of Bullying by Rebecca L. Fraccaro A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY CALGARY, ALBERTA SEPTEMBER, 2014 © Rebecca L. Fraccaro 2014 ABSTRACT The present study investigates the role of resilience and benefit-finding in facilitating victims’ “bouncing back” from school bullying. A sample of 200 students from the University of Calgary participated in the present study. Results indicate that trait-resilience significantly predicted victims’ well-being, suggesting that resilience may partially explain why some victims of bullying successfully “bounce back.” Additionally, trait-resilience significantly predicted victims’ benefit-finding, indicating that benefit-finding may be a behaviour associated with resilience in the context of bullying. Lastly, results of a mediation model suggest that benefit- finding may partially explain why victims who are high in trait-resilience exhibit positive well- being following bullying experiences. Results also suggest a potential difference between finding some emotional benefit of bullying experiences versus developing behavioural resilience (i.e., coping strategies) through bullying experiences. Implications for the field of school bullying and resilience are discussed as well as potential impacts on the development of interventions are discussed. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to my supervisor, Dr. David Nordstokke, for your continued support, guidance, and expertise. Thank you to my colleagues and friends who assisted me with recruitment and editing efforts. To my parents, thank you for your overwhelming and everlasting love and support. To my brilliant brother and sister-in-law, thank you for your editing efforts, empathy, and humor. To my best friend and partner in life, thank you for your unshaking support and understanding. iii DEDICATIONS To anyone who has been affected by bullying. To Jamie Hubley. Rest in peace. “If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best teach it to dance.” - George Bernard Shaw iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...............................................................................................III DEDICATIONS ................................................................................................................ IV TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................... V LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... VII LIST OF FIGURES AND ILLUSTRATIONS............................................................... VIII CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................5 2.1 Bullying .....................................................................................................................5 2.1.1 Defining Bullying .......................................................................................5 2.1.2 Types of bullying ........................................................................................7 2.1.3 Current Issues in Types of Bullying ...........................................................8 2.1.4 Bullying in the Context of Evolution and Animal Behaviour ..................10 2.1.5 Prevalence of Bullying ..............................................................................11 2.1.5 Consequences of Bullying ........................................................................12 2.2 Bouncing Back from Bullying .................................................................................14 2.3 Resilience .................................................................................................................15 2.3.1 Resilience as a Process .............................................................................16 2.3.2 Resilience as a Trait ..................................................................................17 2.3.3 Resilience in Adversity .............................................................................19 2.3 Benefit-Finding ........................................................................................................22 Critique of the Literature ...............................................................................................26 CHAPTER 3: THE PRESENT STUDY ............................................................................28 CHAPTER 4: METHOD ...................................................................................................33 Participants .....................................................................................................................33 Measures ........................................................................................................................33 Procedure .......................................................................................................................36 Recruitment ........................................................................................................36 Data Analysis .....................................................................................................36 CHAPTER 5: RESULTS ...................................................................................................39 Demographic Results .....................................................................................................39 Group Difference Analysis Results ...............................................................................41 Regression Analysis Results ..........................................................................................43 v Mediation Analysis Results ...........................................................................................45 CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION .............................................................................................48 Discussion of Results .....................................................................................................48 General Discussion ........................................................................................................53 Implications ...................................................................................................................54 Strengths and Limitations of the Present Study .............................................................57 Directions for Future Research ......................................................................................59 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................62 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................63 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Participant Demographic Information ............................................................................ 39 Table 2. Participants’ Bullying Experiences ................................................................................. 41 Table 3. Independent Samples T-tests for “Made Stronger” Variable ......................................... 42 Table 4. Independent Samples T-tests for “Face Challenges” Variable ....................................... 43 Table 5. Predicting Participants’ Belief that Being Bullied made them Stronger ........................ 45 Table 6. Predicting Belief that Being Bullied made them prepared to Face Challenges .............. 45 Table 7. Predicting Victims’ Well-Being ..................................................................................... 45 vii LIST OF FIGURES AND ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Graphic showing emotional benefit-finding as a mediator of the relationship between resilience and well-being. ....................................................................................... 46 Figure 2. Graphic showing behavioural benefit-finding as a mediator of the relationship between resilience and well-being. ....................................................................................... 47 viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION School bullying is a pervasive problem worldwide. In fact, the experience of bullying is so common that online media often refers to it as a “rite of passage”