Experiences of bullying and victimization and adolescents' life satisfaction: A meta-analysis

Abstract

This meta-analysis sought to elucidate the association between experiences of bullying and victimization and life satisfaction among adolescents, an important topic with mixed findings. Three independent meta-analyses were conducted to investigate the associations between traditional victimization and life satisfaction, cyber victimization and life satisfaction, and bullying perpetration and life satisfaction. We further examined whether the above relations of interest varied by cultural background, types of bullying (e.g., traditional bullying and cyberbullying), life satisfaction measures, and key demographic variables (e.g., age and gender). Thirty-nine studies (N = 128,097; age range = 10.81–16.90) were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed that (1) traditional victimization was negatively associated with victims' life satisfaction (r = −0.24, p < .001) and the above relation was particularly evident in individualistic cultures and when a multi-item scale was used to measure life satisfaction. (2) Cyber victimization was negatively associated with life satisfaction (r = −0.19, p < .001). (3) Perpetration of traditional bullying and cyberbullying was negatively related to life satisfaction (r = −0.16, p < .001). The findings highlighted that both victims and bullies were at risk of low life satisfaction in the context of traditional bullying and cyberbullying.