The Interplay Between Bullying, Self - Esteem, and Empathy in a Sample of Albanian 12 - 16 Year Old Adolescents

Authors

  • Fatjona Haka University of Tirana, Bulevardi 'Gjergj Fishta', Tiranë, Albania +355
  • Arjet Pervizi Ardhmëria Association, Shkodër, Albania +355

Keywords:

bullying, victimization, self - esteem, cognitive empathy, affective empathy, pro -social motivation.

Abstract

The current research attempts to highlight the relationship between self - esteem, empathy dimensions, bullying and victimization.  It is a quantitative, descriptive - correlative study that used self - report measures with a sample of 117 Albanian 12 to 16 year old youths.  Respondents were randomly selected.  The Adolescents Peer Relations Instrument of Parada presented in 2000, The Empathy Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents developed by Rieffe known since 2010, and the Rosenberg Self - Esteem Inventory of Rosenberg that dates back in 1965 were applied to the sample of this study.  Socio - demographic data like sex, age, and birth order were analyzed as well.  A Spearman (rho) correlation was performed after checking for normal distribution.  A set of hierarchical multiple regressions were also performed to assess if, empathy dimensions, and self - esteem could predict bullying, and victimization behaviors, after controlling for sex, and age effects. Findings showed that most of the variables have relatively strong to very strong positive and negative relationships among them.  Self - esteem and empathy dimensions as measured by APRI can be used as predictors of bullying behaviors, but they are not good predictors of victimization subscales, since the amount of variance explained by them is inconsiderable.

The authors believe the research is important for several parallel reasons: (1) in the authors' knowledge it was not performed earlier in the Albanian culture, thus offering an original approach regarding these variables, (2) it may be valuable to counselors and social workers who work with children and adolescents in schools and / or other settings, and (3) though it is not a specific aim of the study it also brings an additional contribution regarding the adaption of the measures used here as they were not previously used by the Albanian researchers.    

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Published

2017-03-19

How to Cite

Haka, F., & Pervizi, A. (2017). The Interplay Between Bullying, Self - Esteem, and Empathy in a Sample of Albanian 12 - 16 Year Old Adolescents. American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences, 29(1), 116–123. Retrieved from https://asrjetsjournal.org/index.php/American_Scientific_Journal/article/view/2696

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Articles