Perceived Social Support From Family and Peers: The Association With Bullying Behaviours

Bullying is a significant concern among parents, educators, and policymakers in which both bullies and victims are at greater risk for later maladjustment. Although the effect of perceived social support from peers on preventing and mitigating bullying behaviours has been extensively studied, less have examined the roles of perceived social support from family and peers simultaneously. This study examined the association between perceived family support and bullying behaviours among Canadian early adolescents and sought to identify the extent to which perceived family support would be comparable to perceived peer support. Adolescent gender and age were controlled to account for potential gender and age differences. Participants included students in grades 4 to 7 (N = 312) who completed measures of perceived social support from peers and family, and bullying behaviours. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that perceived family support had a significant, negative association with bullying behaviours among early adolescents. Moreover, perceived family support was found to be more significantly associated with bullying behaviours than perceived peer support. Findings corroborate the importance of perceived social support among early adolescents and emphasize a need to not only examine how perceived social support is associated with bullying behaviours, but to account for the significant role of the family during the early adolescence period.