Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Arts

Major

Criminology and Criminal Justice

Date of Defense

4-15-2022

Graduate Advisor

Dr. Lee Slocum, Ph.D.

Committee

Dr. Janet Lauritsen, Ph.D.

Dr. Tim McCuddy, Ph.D.

Abstract

School age bullying continues to be a source of intense research as it is commonly linked to increased levels of delinquency in adolescents. In an effort to understand the process through which bullying victimization is linked to increased levels of delinquency, researchers continue to explore environmental and psychological components. This study used both OLS regression and negative binomial regression to examine the relationship between traditional and cyberbullying victimization and delinquency to assesses if fatalism mediates or moderates this relationship. An individual with fatalism often feels they are stuck within a revolving cycle of bad happenings and are powerless to change their impending doom. The anticipation of early death is often a contributing component of a fatalistic outlook. The combination of a decreased future orientation and early death have been shown to increase risk taking behaviors in adolescents and diminish the effectiveness of negative consequences. (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990; Haynie, Soller & Williams, 2014). Longitudinal data collected as part of the University of Missouri - St. Louis Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (UMSL CSSI) was used to address these research questions among a sample of N = 3,640 middle school students within 12 school districts. Findings did not support the hypotheses and suggest that non-behavior specific measures of traditional and cyberbullying victimization are not related to delinquency. Furthermore, results did not support the hypotheses that a fatalistic outlook influences the relationship between bullying victimization and delinquent outcomes as a mediator or as a moderator. Previous research both supports and contradicts these findings, suggesting that further research is, indeed, necessary.

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