The Impact of Self Control and Neighborhood Disorder on Bullying Victimization

Available online 20 May 2014 Purpose:Whereas past research has examined the effect of individual-level and neighborhood-level predictors of bullying victimization separately, the current study examines their effects collectively. Methods:Middle and high school students (n= 1972) in randomly selected classeswithin a Southeastern school district completed a battery of self-report measures. Levels of self-control (an individual-level factor) and neighborhood disorganization (a neighborhood-level factor) were regressed onto measures of the six-week prevalence of verbal, physical, and cyber bullying victimization. Results: Low self-control and neighborhood disorder were found to be associated with each type of bullying victimization, though the impact of self-control was partiallymediated by neighborhood disorderwhen included in the samemodel. The effect of self-control wasmediatedwhen subsequently controlling for poly-victimization experiences. Net of these controls, neighborhood disorder continued to be associated with a statistically significant increase in the odds of bullying victimization. Conclusions: Economic and social decaywithin neighborhoods increased the likelihood of bullying victimizations. These effects hold true across verbal, physical and cyber victimizations, suggesting a need to consider both community characteristics when staging bullying intervention campaigns. Additionally, the findings suggest a need for further research considering the relationship between self-control and neighborhood conditions on the risk of victimization generally. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.