Peer bullying in primary school and school engagement

In this study, the aim was to examine the relationship between primary school students' attachment to school, experiences of peer bullying, and engaging in bullying. Data for this relational survey model were collected from 415 third and fourth-grade students from five primary schools located in the central district of Kelkit in Gümüşhane Province. The data collection tools included the Personal Information Form, the School Attachment Scale for Children and Adolescents, and the Peer Bullying Identification Scale - Child Form. In the current study, the internal consistency coefficients calculated for the subscales of the School Attachment Scale ranged from .69 to .82, and for the subscales of the Peer Bullying Identification Scale, they ranged from .72 to .86. The scores for students' attachment to school, peers, and teachers, as well as the sub-dimension averages for bully and victim roles, were at a low level. It was found that male students had higher scores in attachment to the teacher, physical, and verbal bullying than female students. Contrary to expectations, students who rated their interaction with teachers as poor or moderate showed higher scores in attachment to school and teachers compared to students who rated their interaction with teachers as good. Students who performed better academically had lower scores in physical, verbal, exclusion, rumor, and property damage bullying, as well as in verbal and rumor victimization. While there was no significant difference in school attachment scores based on parental education levels, some bully and victim subscale scores varied based on maternal education. Additionally, it was determined that some bully and victim subscale scores were significant predictors of school attachment scores.