School Climate, Victimisation and Anti-Bullying Self-Efficacy: A Multilevel Study of Primary School Students
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Bullying is a pervasive issue in schools, negatively impacting students’ psychological well-being, academic performance and social development. Understanding the factors that relate with students’ ability to cope with bullying is crucial for developing effective interventions. This study explores the relationship between bullying victimisation, school climate (broken into three factors including teacher support and fairness of rules, peer relationships and school liking and safety) and students’ anti-bullying self-efficacy in a national sample of Irish primary students. Data were collected from 566 primary school students through two questionnaires administered between 2023 and 2024. A multilevel linear regression was conducted to analyse the relationship of bullying victimisation and the school climate indices with anti-bullying self-efficacy, while accounting for the nested structures of the data. Results revealed that bullying victimisation was negatively associated with anti-bullying self-efficacy (β = −.14, p < .01), whereas teacher support and fairness of rules (β = .13, p < .05) and peer relationships (β = .11, p < .05) were positively associated with anti-bullying self-efficacy. These findings suggest that anti-bullying programmes should not only focus on enhancing students’ individual coping resources but also prioritise fostering a supportive and inclusive school environment.
Institutions: Dublin City University, Educational Research Centre
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,900
OpenAlex ID: W7221507072