Bullying victimization and family interactions of Brazilian students: A mixed study

Bullying victimization is a problem faced by many students. However, there are lacunas in Brazilian scientific production regarding the interface between bullying and family variables. Thus, this study aiming at analyses the relationship between the experience of victimization in the school and the quality of the family interactions of Brazilian students. It is a mixed study that included 2.354 students (50.6% girls; 14.50 +/- 2.01 years old) from 11 public schools. Data were collected by application of two scales (bullying and family interactions) and semi-structured interviews with a smaller sample subgroup (n=55). Data analysis procedures included: descriptive statistics; analysis of variance; logistic regression; and thematic analysis of the qualitative data performed in Atlas.Ti software. The results showed a prevalence of 10.1% of victims of bullying among participants. In the combined analysis of data, it was identified that students not involved in bullying situations had better family interactions when compared with the victimized students. Negative communication and physical punishment in the family increased the possibility of students being targeted by offenders. On the other hand, a greater reference of parental supervision was related to lower reports of victimization. The study offers contributions because it reveals the reality of a developing country to the international scientific community regarding the analysis of bullying victimization.