Introduction
The broader domains of bullying behaviours
The focus of bullying prevention
Learning environment domains and their associations with bullying
Social safety and bullying
Teaching and learning and bullying
Relationships and bullying
The physical learning environment and bullying
The general learning environment and bullying
Leadership styles and bullying
The aim of this study
-
RQ1: How do the universities’ general environments relate to students’ experiences of negative behaviours and victimisation?
-
RQ2: How do order, safety, and discipline relate to students’ experiences of negative behaviours and victimisation?
-
RQ3: How do relationships relate to students’ experiences of negative behaviours and victimisation?
-
RQ4: How does the university’s physical environment relate to students’ experiences of negative behaviours and victimisation?
-
RQ5: Are there differences in the association between the learning environment and negative behaviours and victimisation in terms of the level of study and marital status of the participants?
Research design
Conceptual model
Sampling and the sample
Respondents’ demographics
Variable | N | % | Variable | N | % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gender | Academic level | ||||
Male | 161 | 36.8 | Bachelor’s | 195 | 44.5 |
Female | 271 | 61.9 | Master’s | 211 | 48.2 |
Transgender | 2 | 0.5 | PhD | 26 | 5.9 |
Others | 4 | 0.9 | Others | 6 | 1.4 |
Total | 438 | 100 | Total | 438 | 100 |
Age group | Length of time at the University | ||||
18–22 y | 105 | 24 | 1 y | 30 | 6.8 |
23–27 y | 200 | 45.7 | 2 y | 100 | 22.8 |
28–32 y | 62 | 14.2 | 3 y | 134 | 30.6 |
33–37 y | 37 | 8.4 | 4 y | 50 | 11.4 |
38–42 y | 12 | 2.7 | 5 y | 67 | 15.3 |
43–47 y | 12 | 2.7 | 6 y+ | 57 | 13 |
48 y+ | 10 | 2.3 | |||
Total | 438 | 100 | Total | 438 | 100 |
Marital status | |||||
Single | 248 | 56.6 | |||
Married/Partner cohabitants | 181 | 41.3 | |||
Separated/Divorced | 9 | 2.1 | |||
Total | 438 | 100 |
Research ethics
Instrument
Construct | Item | Item loading | Alpha | AVE | CR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
General bullying | 0.82 | 0.65 | 0.88 | ||
Gbul1 | 0.70 | ||||
Gbul2 | 0.79 | ||||
Gbul3 | 0.86 | ||||
Gbul4 | 0.84 | ||||
Sexual harassment | 0.78 | 0.69 | 0.87 | ||
Sbul1 | 0.89 | ||||
Sbul2 | 0.83 | ||||
Sbul3 | 0.76 | ||||
Work-related bullying | 0.82 | 0.65 | 0.88 | ||
Wk1 | 0.72 | ||||
Wk2 | 0.78 | ||||
Wk3 | 0.88 | ||||
Wk4 | 0.83 | ||||
Cyberbullying | |||||
Dig1 | 1.00 | ||||
Victimisation | |||||
Victim1 | 1.00 | ||||
University general environment | 0.76 | 0.57 | 0.84 | ||
General1 | 0.77 | ||||
General2 | 0.78 | ||||
General3 | 0.73 | ||||
General4 | 0.74 | ||||
Order, safety, and discipline | 0.67 | 0.60 | 0.82 | ||
Order1 | 0.71 | ||||
Order2 | 0.76 | ||||
Order3 | 0.84 | ||||
Relationships (student–lecturer and student–peer relationships) | 0.61 | 0.71 | 0.83 | ||
Relations1 | 0.90 | ||||
Relations2 | 0.78 | ||||
University physical environment | |||||
Physical1 | 1.00 |
Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM)
Results
Measurement model (i.e. construct validity and reliability)
(1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) | (8) | (9) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) Cyberbullying | 1.000 | ||||||||
(2) General bullying | 0.546 | 1.000 | |||||||
(3) General environment | 0.280 | 0.326 | 1.000 | ||||||
(4) Order, safety, and discipline | 0.263 | 0.293 | 0.897 | 1.000 | |||||
(5) Physical environment | 0.204 | 0.201 | 0.344 | 0.428 | 1.000 | ||||
(6) Relationships | 0.099 | 0.127 | 0.107 | 0.168 | 0.270 | 1.000 | |||
(7) Sexual harassment | 0.198 | 0.729 | 0.258 | 0.185 | 0.209 | 0.124 | 1.000 | ||
(8) Victimisation | 0.303 | 0.564 | 0.299 | 0.324 | 0.134 | 0.146 | 0.318 | 1.000 | |
(9) Work-related bullying | 0.451 | 0.806 | 0.361 | 0.218 | 0.264 | 0.138 | 0.707 | 0.534 | 1.000 |
Structural model
Path | Path coefficient | t-value | F2 | Decision |
---|---|---|---|---|
General environment → Cyberbullying | − 0.166*** | 2.694 | 0.017 | Supported |
General environment → General bullying | − 0.221*** | 2.867 | 0.031 | Supported |
General environment → Sexual harassment | − 0.198** | 2.246 | 0.024 | Supported |
General environment → Victimisation | − 0.064** | 2.535 | 0.016 | Supported |
General environment → Work-related bullying | − 0.307*** | 3.496 | 0.062 | Supported |
Order, safety, and discipline → Cyberbullying | − 0.070 | 1.088 | 0.003 | Not supported |
Order, safety, and discipline → General bullying | − 0.053 | 0.653 | 0.002 | Not supported |
Order, safety, and discipline → Sexual harassment | 0.044 | 0.539 | 0.001 | Not supported |
Order, safety, and discipline → Victimisation | − 0.061** | 2.327 | 0.014 | Supported |
Order, safety, and discipline → Work-related bullying | 0.102 | 1.335 | 0.006 | Not supported |
Physical environment → Cyberbullying | − 0.122** | 2.003 | 0.014 | Supported |
Physical environment → General bullying | − 0.082 | 1.167 | 0.006 | Not supported |
Physical environment → Sexual harassment | − 0.145** | 2.306 | 0.019 | Supported |
Physical environment → Victimisation | − 0.006 | 0.285 | 0.000 | Not supported |
Physical environment → Work-related bullying | − 0.175*** | 3.114 | 0.029 | Supported |
Relationships → Cyberbullying | 0.042 | 0.857 | 0.002 | Not supported |
Relationships → General bullying | 0.067 | 1.420 | 0.005 | Not supported |
Relationships → Sexual harassment | 0.035 | 0.719 | 0.001 | Not supported |
Relationships → Victimisation | 0.037** | 2.166 | 0.009 | Supported |
Relationships → Work-related bullying | 0.045 | 1.002 | 0.002 | Not supported |
Construct | R2 | Q2predict | RMSE | MAE |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cyberbullying | 0.086 | 0.063 | 0.993 | 0.565 |
General bullying | 0.096 | 0.058 | 1.000 | 0.621 |
Sexual harassment | 0.067 | 0.026 | 1.091 | 0.502 |
Victimisation | 0.096 | 0.052 | 0.978 | 0.776 |
Work-related bullying | 0.120 | 0.084 | 1.013 | 0.559 |
PLS multigroup analysis (PLS-MGA)
Measurement invariance analysis
Step 2 | Composite | Correlation value (= 1) | 95% Confidence interval | Compositional invariance? |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cyberbullying | 1.000 | [0.999; 1.000] | Yes | |
General bullying | 0.995 | [0.978; 1.000] | Yes | |
General environment | 0.996 | [0.965; 1.000] | Yes | |
Order, safety, and discipline | 0.986 | [0.892; 1.000] | Yes | |
Physical environment | 1.000 | [0.999; 1.000] | Yes | |
Relationships | 0.962 | [0.656; 1.000] | Yes | |
Sexual harassment | 0.978 | [0.884; 1.000] | Yes | |
Victimisation | 0.999 | [0.999; 1.000] | Yes | |
Work-related bullying | 0.997 | [0.977; 1.000] | Yes |
Step 3a | Composite | Difference of the composite’s mean value (= 0) | 95% Confidence interval | Equal means? |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cyberbullying | 0.075 | [− 0.195; 0.186] | Yes | |
General bullying | − 0.048 | [− 0.183; 0.195] | Yes | |
General environment | 0.034 | [− 0.182; 0.189] | Yes | |
Order, safety, and discipline | − 0.029 | [− 0.197; 0.191] | Yes | |
Physical environment | 0.094 | [− 0.199; 0.195] | Yes | |
Relationships | − 0.149 | [− 0.184; 0.191] | Yes | |
Sexual harassment | − 0.065 | [− 0.187; 0.201] | Yes | |
Victimisation | − 0.049 | [− 0.079; 0.069] | Yes | |
Work-related bullying | − 0.016 | [− 0.189; 0.191] | Yes |
Step 3b | Composite | The logarithm of the composite’s variance ratio (= 0) | 95% Confidence interval | Equal variances? |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cyberbullying | 0.061 | [− 0.946; 0.950] | Yes | |
General bullying | − 0.313 | [− 0.770; 0.877] | Yes | |
General environment | − 0.281 | [− 0.402; 0.373] | Yes | |
Order, safety, and discipline | − 0.291 | [− 0.373; 0.353] | Yes | |
Physical environment | − 0.188 | [− 0.267; 0.272] | Yes | |
Relationships | − 0.155 | [− 0.188; 0.180] | Yes | |
Sexual harassment | − 1.052 | [− 1.756; 1.817] | Yes | |
Victimisation | − 0.201 | [− 0.328; 0.281] | Yes | |
Work-related bullying | − 0.034 | [− 1.083; 1.072] | Yes |
Step 2 | Composite | Correlation value (= 1) | 95% Confidence interval | Compositional invariance? |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cyberbullying | 1.000 | [0.999; 1.000] | Yes | |
General bullying | 0.997 | [0.983; 1.000] | Yes | |
General environment | 0.995 | [0.974; 1.000] | Yes | |
Order, safety, and discipline | 0.981 | [0.927; 1.000] | Yes | |
Physical environment | 1.000 | [0.999; 1.000] | Yes | |
Relationships | 0.787 | [0.742; 1.000] | Yes | |
Sexual harassment | 0.999 | [0.925; 1.000] | Yes | |
Victimisation | 0.999 | [0.999; 1.000] | Yes | |
Work-related bullying | 0.993 | [0.982; 1.000] | Yes |
Step 3a | Composite | Difference of the composite’s mean value (= 0) | 95% Confidence interval | Equal means? |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cyberbullying | − 0.133 | [− 0.179; 0.186] | Yes | |
General bullying | − 0.128 | [− 0.193; 0.178] | Yes | |
General environment | − 0.008 | [− 0.206; 0.184] | Yes | |
Order, safety, and discipline | 0.064 | [− 0.181; 0.180] | Yes | |
Physical environment | − 0.005 | [− 0.191; 0.200] | Yes | |
Relationships | 0.029 | [− 0.198; 0.186] | Yes | |
Sexual harassment | 0.002 | [− 0.198; 0.183] | Yes | |
Victimisation | − 0.038 | [− 0.076; 0.077] | Yes | |
Work-related bullying | 0.006 | [− 0.194; 0.188] | Yes |
Step 3b | Composite | Logarithm of the composite’s variances ratio (= 0) | 95% Confidence interval | Equal variances? |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cyberbullying | − 0.344 | [− 0.766; 0.856] | Yes | |
General bullying | − 0.011 | [− 0.745; 0.828] | Yes | |
General environment | 0.001 | [− 0.347; 0.363] | Yes | |
Order, safety, and discipline | − 0.013 | [− 0.342; 0.368] | Yes | |
Physical environment | − 0.059 | [− 0.279; 0.271] | Yes | |
Relationships | − 0.002 | [− 0.193; 0.195] | Yes | |
Sexual harassment | − 0.043 | [− 1.752; 1.695] | Yes | |
Victimisation | − 0.147 | [− 0.292; 0.320] | Yes | |
Work-related bullying | 0.623 | [− 0.927; 1.060] | Yes |
Assessment of group results and differences in the structural model
Path | Bachelor (n = 195) | Master (n = 211) | Assessment of group differences | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Path coefficient | t-value | Decision | Path coefficient | t-value | Decision | Invariant results? | Coefficient difference | Invariant coefficient? | |
General environment → Cyberbullying | − 0.213** | 2.109 | Supported | − 0.067 | 0.706 | Not supported | No | − 0.145 | Yes |
General environment → General bullying | − 0.358*** | 2.802 | Supported | − 0.149 | 1.314 | Not supported | No | − 0.208 | Yes |
General environment → Sexual harassment | − 0.375*** | 2.596 | Supported | − 0.137 | 1.228 | Not supported | No | − 0.238 | Yes |
General environment → Victimisation | − 0.040 | 1.058 | Not supported | − 0.106*** | 2.641 | Supported | No | 0.066 | Yes |
General environment → Work-related bullying | − 0.491*** | 3.138 | Supported | − 0.198 | 1.688 | Not supported | No | − 0.293 | Yes |
Order, safety, and discipline → Cyberbullying | − 0.070 | 0.675 | Not supported | − 0.104 | 1.141 | Not supported | Yes | 0.035 | Yes |
Order, safety, and discipline → General bullying | − 0.071 | 0.606 | Not supported | − 0.030 | 0.239 | Not supported | Yes | − 0.041 | Yes |
Order, safety, and discipline → Sexual harassment | 0.056 | 0.427 | Not supported | 0.042 | 0.351 | Not supported | Yes | 0.014 | Yes |
Order, safety, and discipline → Victimisation | − 0.092*** | 2.597 | Supported | − 0.005 | 0.121 | Not supported | No | − 0.087 | Yes |
Order, safety, and discipline → Work-related bullying | 0.141 | 1.140 | Not supported | 0.119 | 1.064 | Not supported | Yes | 0.022 | Yes |
Physical environment → Cyberbullying | − 0.104 | 1.203 | Not supported | − 0.122 | 1.332 | Not supported | Yes | 0.018 | Yes |
Physical environment → General bullying | − 0.014 | 0.150 | Not supported | − 0.097 | 0.839 | Not supported | Yes | 0.083 | Yes |
Physical environment → Sexual harassment | − 0.044 | 0.563 | Not supported | − 0.174 | 1.740 | Not supported | Yes | 0.130 | Yes |
Physical environment → Victimisation | 0.045 | 1.603 | Not supported | − 0.043 | 1.359 | Not supported | Yes | 0.088** | No |
Physical environment → Work-related bullying | − 0.079 | 1.010 | Not supported | − 0.229** | 2.559 | Supported | No | 0.149 | Yes |
Relationships → Cyberbullying | 0.116 | 1.473 | Not supported | 0.001 | 0.016 | Not supported | Yes | 0.114 | Yes |
Relationships → General bullying | − 0.008 | 0.084 | Not supported | 0.164** | 2.584 | Supported | No | − 0.172 | Yes |
Relationships → Sexual harassment | 0.035 | 0.304 | Not supported | 0.035 | 0.453 | Not supported | Yes | 0.000 | Yes |
Relationships → Victimisation | − 0.008 | 0.251 | Not supported | 0.082*** | 3.433 | Supported | No | − 0.090** | No |
Relationships → Work-related bullying | 0.029 | 0.231 | Not supported | 0.086 | 1.600 | Not supported | Yes | − 0.057 | Yes |
Path | Single (n = 248) | Married (n = 181) | Assessment of group differences | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Path coefficient | t-value | Decision | Path coefficient | t-value | Decision | Invariant results? | Coefficient difference | Invariant coefficient? | |
General environment → Cyberbullying | − 0.114 | 1.198 | Not supported | − 0.232** | 2.286 | Supported | No | 0.118 | Yes |
General environment → General bullying | − 0.178 | 1.530 | Not supported | − 0.299*** | 2.988 | Supported | No | 0.122 | Yes |
General environment → Sexual harassment | − 0.151 | 1.207 | Not supported | − 0.242** | 2.074 | Supported | No | 0.091 | Yes |
General environment → Victimisation | − 0.050 | 1.410 | Not supported | − 0.086** | 2.155 | Supported | No | 0.036 | Yes |
General environment → Work-related bullying | − 0.298** | 2.139 | Supported | − 0.370*** | 3.864 | Supported | Yes | 0.073 | Yes |
Order, safety, and discipline → Cyberbullying | − 0.066 | 0.579 | Not supported | − 0.083 | 0.838 | Not supported | Yes | 0.018 | Yes |
Order, safety, and discipline → General bullying | 0.032 | 0.248 | Not supported | − 0.158 | 1.527 | Not supported | Yes | 0.190 | Yes |
Order, safety, and discipline → Sexual harassment | 0.097 | 0.839 | Not supported | − 0.041 | 0.389 | Not supported | Yes | 0.137 | Yes |
Order, safety, and discipline → Victimisation | − 0.055 | 1.474 | Not supported | − 0.062 | 1.504 | Not supported | Yes | 0.006 | Yes |
Order, safety, and discipline → Work-related bullying | 0.158 | 1.255 | Not supported | 0.043 | 0.446 | Not supported | Yes | 0.115 | Yes |
Physical environment → Cyberbullying | − 0.110 | 1.583 | Not supported | − 0.156 | 1.458 | Not supported | Yes | 0.046 | Yes |
Physical environment → General bullying | − 0.155 | 1.571 | Not supported | 0.027 | 0.312 | Not supported | Yes | − 0.182 | Yes |
Physical environment → Sexual harassment | − 0.156 | 1.521 | Not supported | − 0.111 | 0.956 | Not supported | Yes | − 0.044 | Yes |
Physical environment → Victimisation | 0.015 | 0.513 | Not supported | − 0.013 | 0.414 | Not supported | Yes | 0.028 | Yes |
Physical environment → Work-related bullying | − 0.151 | 1.662 | Not supported | − 0.205** | 2.419 | Supported | No | 0.054 | Yes |
Relationships → Cyberbullying | 0.065 | 0.833 | Not supported | 0.035 | 0.454 | Not supported | Yes | 0.030 | Yes |
Relationships → General bullying | 0.077 | 0.713 | Not supported | 0.160** | 2.441 | Supported | No | − 0.084 | Yes |
Relationships → Sexual harassment | 0.060 | 0.548 | Not supported | 0.084 | 1.132 | Not supported | Yes | − 0.024 | Yes |
Relationships → Victimisation | 0.022 | 0.780 | Not supported | 0.071*** | 2.604 | Supported | No | − 0.049 | Yes |
Relationships → Work-related bullying | 0.098 | 0.919 | Not supported | 0.111 | 1.850 | Not supported | Yes | − 0.012 | Yes |