Adolescent Bullying Victimization and Life Satisfaction: Can Family and School Adult Support Figures Mitigate this Effect?

There are still few studies relating bullying victimization and life satisfaction. This study aimed to assess the mitigating effect of adult figures support (at school and home) on the relationship between bullying victimization and life satisfaction experienced by adolescents. To this end, a sample of 5774 adolescents from 71 public schools located throughout the violent neighborhoods of Lima (Perú) was evaluated. A moderation analysis was performed to assess the moderating role of support adult figures from home and school. The results show that the support of adults at home and school mitigate the negative effect of bullying victimization on life satisfaction, and this effect is larger in the case of adult home support. Adult support at home and school help students with high prevalence of bullying victimization maintain high levels of life satisfaction compared to adolescents with low support from adults. Finally, the need for adults at school and home to take joint measures to prevent and reduce the prevalence of this type of peer violence is discussed.