Is Bullying Learned at Home? (continued)

• Children reported higher bullying and victimization at home and higher victimization by older brothers. Respectively, 38.4% and 34.4.% reported bullying and victimization experiences at home, with particularly higher levels of bullying boys (48.9%). By contrast, lower levels of bullying and victimization were reported in school: 17.1% and 23.2%, respectively. Thus, we can assume that at home it is more common to reciprocate attacks and fights among siblings, as the relationship is more intimate and less affected by the risk of loosing the relationships, as compared to interactions with peers or within friendships.
• We also found a significant correlation between sibling and school bullying and victimization, in that some children who were bullies or victims at home seemed to maintain their roles at school.
• With regard to gender differences, we found that children were victimized more often by brothers than by sisters. When birth order was considered, together with gender, we found that children were victimized more often by older brothers than by older sisters or by younger brothers and sisters. Bullying at home was more often perpetrated by older brothers who often provided their younger brothers and sisters with modeling and training in the use of social behaviours, including aggression.

In relation to bullying behavior, Patterson (3) underlined how older siblings tend to victimize younger siblings and how the more submissive behavior of younger siblings can reinforce older siblings’ attacks. However, at the same time, younger siblings’ exposure to aggression promotes aggressive behavior that often generalizes to children’s behavior with their peers.

We can also ask ourselves why children develop a bullying relation with their siblings. According to our research, the characteristics associated with bullying siblings varies for boys and girls. For boys, personal characteristics, particularly emotional instability, and the degree of conflicts can account for siblings tendency to bully each other more. For girls, a low level of empathy and caring between the two siblings can be a significant predictor of bullying (6).

Parents should:

• pay more attention to sibling relationships,
• try to mediate and to prevent high levels of conflict, especially if they have older sons,
• mediate especially when children are more impulsive and irritable, or
• if their relationships appear negative and full of conflict.

In conclusion, our research indicates that siblings relationships can, in some cases, serve as a “training ground” for bullying, deviancy and aggression through social learning processes or behavioral patterns that can be reinforced across contexts. In order to prevent and reduce sibling bullying.

School teachers, on the other hand, will need to adopt a multi-contextual approach to the problem, a “family – school” focus to understand bullying and to contrast its diffusion. Bullying starts at an early age and greater efforts should be made to prevent and to combat its growth both at home and in school contexts.