Psychosocial predictors of peer bullying in middle school students: A model test

This study was aimed at examining the psychosocial predictors of peer bullying in middle school students. For this purpose, the hypothetical model created with peer bullying tendencies, school culture, parental acceptance and rejection, basic psychological needs, and social-emotional learning skills was tested. The research group consisted of 565 middle school students who were randomly selected from among the students studying in middle schools in Tokat in the 2022–2023 academic year. The data were obtained through the Personal Information Form, the Bullying Tendency Scale, the Basic Psychological Needs Scale, the Social and Emotional Learning Scale for Adolescents, the School Culture Scale, and the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Scale-Child Form. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data. According to the results of the study; social and emotional learning skills and school culture directly predict bullying tendencies. Basic psychological needs predict bullying tendencies through social and emotional learning skills, school culture predicts bullying tendencies through basic psychological needs and social and emotional learning skills. Parental acceptance and rejection predict bullying tendencies through social and emotional learning skills.