The Relationship Between Cultural Individualism– C ollectivism and Student Aggression Across 62 Countries

Bibliographic Data

ID11106938
AuthorsSilvia Bergmüller (BIFIE—Bundesinstitut für Bildungsforschung Innovation & Entwicklung des österreichischen Schulwesens Salzburg Austria, corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume39
Issue3
Pages182-200
Publication date2013-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAggressive Behavior (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0096-140X • E-ISSN: 1098-2337
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ab.21472
PMID23494751
OpenAlexW2163549718
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited38

This study examined the relationship between countries' dominant cultural values (i.e., individualism and collectivism) and (a) school principals' perceptions of aggressive student behavior and (b) students' self-reports of being aggressively victimized in school. Data on student aggression and victimization were collected across 62 countries in nationally representative samples of fourth and eighth graders (N = 428,566) and their principals (N = 15,043) by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007. Students were asked about three forms of aggressive victimization: physical, verbal, and relational; principals about two forms of aggressive student behavior: physical and verbal. Country-level regression analyses revealed that the level of cultural individualism, according to the individualism index (IDV) by Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minkov (2010), was not significantly related to either form of student-reported victimization. However, school principals reported aggressive student behavior more often the more individualist, and hence less collectivist, their country's culture. This relation was evident in the principals' reports on 4th and 8th grade students' aggressive behavior for both physical and verbal aggression. Multilevel analyses revealed that cultural individualism was still a powerful predictor of principal-reported aggressive student behavior after controlling for school and country characteristics. The discussion outlines reasons why principals' reports of aggressive student behavior are probably more valid indicators of student aggression than student self-reports of victimization, thereby supporting the hypothesis of culture-dependency of aggression

Aggression · Collectivism · Cultural diversity · Developmental psychology · Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory · Individualism · Individualistic culture · Multilevel model · Political science · Sociology · Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Mathematics · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology

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