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Anxious Bullies: Parent Distress and Youth Anxiety Interact to Predict Bullying Perpetration

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Abstract

Early studies conceptualized the “anxious bully” as different from typical bullies due to their anxiety and home problems. Yet, empirical findings are mixed, and no study has reported associations between youth bullying perpetration, youth anxiety, and parent distress in a clinically anxious sample. We assessed 220 youths’ anxiety symptom severity, frequency of the bullying perpetration in the past month, and parent levels of distress. Fifty percent of youths endorsed at least one perpetration act and 17% endorsed six or more. Youth anxiety, but not parent distress, was significantly associated with perpetration. We also found a significant interaction such that youth anxiety was positively associated with bullying perpetration when parent distress was high, but not low. Findings fill a glaring knowledge gap regarding this overlooked group of youth, anxious bullies, and provide novel insights into the interplay between youth distress and parent distress in predicting bullying perpetration.

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Funding

This research was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants Nos. R01 MH119299, R01 MH119299-S1, and R01 MH116005-03S1. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA

    Regina M. Musicaro & Wendy K. Silverman

  2. Department of Psychology and Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St, Miami, FL, 33199, USA

    Carlos E. Yeguez, Yasmin Rey & Jeremy W. Pettit

Authors
  1. Regina M. Musicaro
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  2. Carlos E. Yeguez
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  3. Yasmin Rey
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  4. Wendy K. Silverman
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  5. Jeremy W. Pettit
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Contributions

RMM: conceptualized the study, with input from all co-authors. JWP, CEY, and YR: contributed to the study design. YR: assisted with recruitment of participants. CEY and YR: collected and prepared the data. RMM: analyzed the data and drafted the manuscript. JWP and WKS: provided critical edits. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.

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Correspondence to Regina M. Musicaro.

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Jeremy Pettit receives royalties from New Harbinger and American Psychological Association. Wendy Silverman receives royalties from Oxford University Press. No other authors have competing financial or personal interests to disclose.

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Musicaro, R.M., Yeguez, C.E., Rey, Y. et al. Anxious Bullies: Parent Distress and Youth Anxiety Interact to Predict Bullying Perpetration. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 55, 812–818 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-022-01443-3

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