The Relationship between Social Behavior, Social Competence, Social Preference and Bullying Behavior among Students: The Moderating Role of Gender

 Bullying at school is a type of interpersonal violence that could have serious short-term and long-term consequences for both the bullying and the victimized students. Therefore, it is essential to identify the underlying causes. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between social behavior, social preference, social competence, and bullying behaviors among students by considering the moderating role of gender..  

This study was descriptive and correlational. The statistical population included all 13-15-year old students in Kashan. Using cluster sampling, 414 students (202 females & 212 males) were chosen. The participants filled in Illinois Bullying Scale (2001), Warden & Mackinnon Social Behavior Questionnaire (2003), and Smart and Sanson Social Competence Questionnaire (2003), and Sociogram.

Pearson correlation coefficients showed that there are significant, negative relationships between bullying with social competence and social behavior and positive correlation between bullying and social rejection. There was no relationship between bullying and social acceptance. Moreover, regression analysis indicates that gender (β=.17, t=4.11), social behavior (β=-0.43, t=-9.0), and social rejection (β=.11, t=2.65) can predict 30% of the variance in the bullying behavior. Furthermore, gender has a moderating role only in the relationship between social rejection and social behavior with bullying behavior.

The results suggest the critical importance of competence, social behavior, and social preference in causing bullying behaviors. Hence, bullying behaviors could be decreased by designing and implementing programs to teach social behavior for obtaining a desirable social position among peers and especially reducing social rejection and enhancing social behaviors among male students.