First Advisor

Hulac, David

Document Type

Dissertation

Date Created

5-2023

Abstract

The objective of the current study was to explore the association between two widely prevalent sources of trauma occurring early in life, child neglect and bullying victimization (BV), via adult recollections of maltreatment experiences. One hundred and twenty participants, recruited from a mid-sized university in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States, were ultimately included in the sample. Of the total sample, 30 participants (25%) endorsed a history of moderate to severe neglect in childhood and 62 participants (52%) endorsed experiencing at least one form of BV in school. Childhood maltreatment, including various forms of neglect and abuse, was measured by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and BV, including the frequency and severity of various forms of BV, was measured by a revised version of the Retrospective Bullying Questionnaire. A cross-sectional, correlational research design was implemented as participants were asked to complete a survey at one point in time. T-test analyses reported those with a history of neglect to be significantly more likely to report general peer BV experiences than those who reported childhood non-maltreatment. Regression analyses identified physical neglect to be consistently significant in predicting the frequency and severity of physical BV only, while emotional neglect was significant in predicting the frequency and severity of verbal and indirect BV only. The presence of significant physical and emotional neglect predicted stable BV rates across primary and secondary school. Implications for mental health professionals working in the schools largely cued the roles of preventative and remedial service delivery, consultation, and community resource outreach. Trauma-informed practices are at the center of service delivery for students who report current or prior childhood neglect. School psychologists are in a unique position to assist students with suspected or unknown histories of childhood neglect in building healthy relationships with others, regulating their emotions, bolstering their sense of self-worth, and ideally reducing the chances of maltreated students becoming revictimized by their peers.

Extent

181 pages

Local Identifiers

Johnson_unco_0161D_11107.pdf

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by the author.

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