Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2021, Sociology (Arts and Sciences)

The problem of bullying has received increased social and empirical interest in recent years. As such, there is a wide array of valuable information presented in the academic literature on bullying practices. Research demonstrates that gender, race, weight, and geographic location are separately linked to bullying victimization and perpetration. While previous studies have examined gendered bullying behaviors, and the impact of the aforementioned demographic variables, little is known about the interaction of these factors in relation to victimization and perpetration of bullying at school. This study investigates how gender, weight, race, geographic location and social capital can influence and predict the probability and frequency rate of physical bullying practices. The current study uses the theoretical frameworks of social dominance theory and socio-ecological theory to evaluate the extent to which demographic variables can impact physical bullying perpetration and victimization. This research utilizes survey data from the 2009-2010 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) data to investigate how bodies (i.e., gender, race, and weight), geographic location (i.e., rural, urban, and suburban areas), and social capital matter with regard to youth physical bullying victimization and perpetration. The findings show that increased social capital, perceptions of school, and engagement in physical fights can increase the likelihood and frequency of physical bullying perpetration. Boys and girls that have more friends, spend more time with their peers, enjoy school, and engage in physical fights are more likely to physically bully others than students who do not have a lot of friends, do not enjoy school, and do not engage in physical fights. Additionally, students who have low social capital, negative relationships with their parents, but still engage in physical fights are likely to be victims of physical bullying. Interestingly, when examining race, wei (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Anna Terman (Committee Chair); Thomas Vander Ven (Committee Member); Howard Welser (Committee Member) Subjects: Gender; Gender Studies; Sociology