Bullying in primary and secondary schooling has been linked to life-threatening mental health outcomes and behaviors, including suicidality, self-injury, substance misuse, and harmful behaviors toward others [3, 14, 24, 28]. While these relationships have been established, little attention has been paid to these serious consequences in relation to the related construct of experiences of academic incivility in higher education. Research into academic incivility is emerging, but much is still unknown about the impacts of academic incivility related to negative coping behaviors like suicidal ideation, self-destructive behaviors, and harm to others [5]. Further, while the detrimental impacts of bullying experienced in K-12 education are well-known, recognition of how these effects persist into adulthood is limited [14], and awareness of the reverberations of bullying on future experiences of academic incivility is nonexistent. To address these identified gaps, the following study documents the investigation of higher education learners’ maladaptive coping strategies (i.e., suicidal ideation, self-destructive behaviors, and harm to others) related to their current and prior experiences of academic incivility and K-12 bullying.

1 Literature review

1.1 Academic incivility and bullying

Academic incivility, a term utilized in higher education, is defined as disruptive verbal and nonverbal behaviors aimed toward others in a higher education learning environment. These types of actions are associated with bullying behaviors observed in K-12 [5]. There is a lack of clarity and agreement on the definition of bullying [22]. In general, bullying has been described as repeated physical, relational, or verbal acts of aggression from one individual to another, where a perceived power imbalance is present. Bullying behaviors in K-12 take place both in and out of school whereas academic incivility occurs within the learning environment and specifically disrupts learning. Both academic incivility and bullying are comprised of similar behaviors and can include actions such as threats, exclusion, sarcastic or rude remarks, excessive criticism, crude gestures, physical attacks, and conveyance of subtle or overt preferences based on personal characteristics, such as race, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality [5, 7]. These negative behaviors may occur in face-to-face settings or through technology and digital platforms. Arguably, the pervasiveness of being bullied differs depending on the study. Findings from a national self-report survey indicated that 20.2% of students 12–18 years of age reported being bullied at school [15]. Additional studies have found higher rates of prevalence extending to more than 50% [29]. These studies establish that bullying exists and others have noted that bullying often in the form of academic incivility continues into college [31]. Academic incivility in higher education findings (n = 36 faculty members and n = 324 students) noted that 49.6% of participants had observed or been victimized by verbal disrespect of faculty, 38.3% observed or were victims of verbal disrespect to students by students, 18.5% experienced vulgarities, 12.4% experienced harassment, and 3.9% experienced threats of physical harm [6]. The effects of bullying have been researched in relation to motivation to perform and interact in college indicating bullying can contribute to negative educational outcomes [31].

1.2 Roles in academic incivility and bullying

Individuals are viewed in varying roles, including bullies, victims, and bystanders. Bullies are those who are noted for perpetrating negative behavior towards another. Victims are those individuals being victimized by the perpetrator. In some cases, individuals are classified as “bully-victims” as they engage in actions both as a bully and a victim [14]. Bully-victims are those who have identified as being bullied by someone and have perpetrated negative behaviors towards another. The complexity of being a bully-victim does not mean that someone was a victim first and then a bully or vice versa. Rather it is a complex and dynamic phenomenon [23]. Our study explores the linkage between the self-endorsed roles in bullying/academic incivility of the participants from school (K-12) and college and maladaptive behaviors such as non-suicidal self-injury, substance misuse, and harm to others.

1.3 Impacts of academic incivility and bullying

Bullying and academic incivility are significant public health issues associated with serious mental health outcomes and harmful behaviors, such as suicidal ideation, self-destructive thoughts and behaviors (e.g., non-suicidal self-injury [NSSI], substance misuse) and harm to others [8, 9, 14, 24, 28]. Linkages of correlation between these harmful behaviors and bullying have been explored in prior literature. While linkages between bullying and academic incivility exist [4] the coping responses from K-12 bullying and higher education incivility warrant investigation.

1.3.1 Suicide

Research findings have consistently demonstrated a significant relationship between bullying, victimization, and aggression in K-12 schooling and an increased risk of suicide [8, 9, 14, 28]. Klomek and colleagues [14] found that individuals who experienced bullying demonstrated significantly higher suicidal ideation than those who did not. Similarly, Epstein and Spirito [8] reported students being threatened at school had nearly double the likelihood of experiencing suicidal ideation, planning, and attempts [8] persisting into adulthood [27] and higher education [21]. The present study extends what is known about bullying in K-12 to include higher education academic incivility related to suicide.

1.3.2 Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI)

NSSI is described as intentional injury to one's own body without intention to die [1]. Factors such as increased levels of depression, hopelessness, and anxiety as well as victimization by verbal or physical assault correlate to NSSI [24]. Likewise, findings support a significant link between NSSI and victimization through relational, verbal, and physical forms of aggression often evidenced in bullying and academic incivility among adolescents and adults [24, 28].

1.3.3 Substance misuse

Substance misuse, or improper use of prescription or nonprescription drugs, has been associated with victimization of multiple forms of aggression including bullying in adolescent and college-age populations [9, 14, 24, 25]. However, the effects of academic incivility and K-12 bullying are unknown. Klomek and colleagues [14] found that individuals involved in bullying as victims, bullies, or bully-victims were more likely to report substance use concerns, with rates highest among bullying perpetrators. Moreover, adolescent bullying victimization predicted risky drinking behaviors [25], and tobacco use and binge-drinking were reported for victims of aggression for adolescents and young adults [24].

1.3.4 Harm to others

Studies consistently demonstrate links between bullying and actions intended to harm others (e.g., violence, aggression; [16, 17, 30]. For instance, student bullying perpetrators were more likely to display aggression [30] and victims were more likely to engage in behaviors such as bringing a weapon to school [17]. Students victimized in bullying behaviors may respond with retaliatory actions, such as hitting the perpetrator [12]. While these links have not been clearly extended to the arena of academic incivility, individuals experiencing bullying and related behaviors in adulthood have been shown to consider responding with violence toward the perpetrator or others in the environment [26]. Therefore, there is a need to investigate these harmful behaviors related to academic incivility.

1.4 Purpose

The study explores the impacts of academic incivility in higher education in relation to Suicidal Ideation, Self-Destructive Behaviors, and Harm to Others to provide insight regarding how prior K-12 bullying experiences impact outcomes of academic incivility and to determine if there are relationships between K-12 bullying and academic incivility in adulthood. Research questions (RQ) include:

(RQ1) What differences, if any, are there between participants’ scale scores for maladaptive coping responses based on their endorsement of roles in academic incivility and combined roles between academic incivility and K-12 bullying?

(RQ2) What is the relationship between participants’ endorsement of maladaptive coping responses and their roles in academic incivility and combined roles between academic incivility and K-12 bullying?

(RQ3) To what extent do participants’ roles in academic incivility and combined roles between academic incivility and K-12 bullying predict endorsement of maladaptive coping?

2 Methods

A study was conducted to determine adult participants’ coping responses to K-12 bullying and higher education academic incivility. Surveys were deployed to Amazon Mechanical-Turk workers utilizing a Qualtrics survey. Participants who voluntarily completed the study were offered an incentive of $0.75. Recruitment criteria included current higher education students and recent graduates. Amazon Turk data tends to be inclusive of slightly more diverse samples and offers equal or even greater reliability when compared to traditional university-based samples [2]. All participants completed an informed consent and agreed to participate in the study and the primary institution of the corresponding author authorized institutional review board permission to conduct the study.

2.1 Participants

Participants (N = 534) included higher education students based in the United States. Those who did not meet the criteria of being a higher education student and over 18 years of age were disqualified from participating. The sample was a convenience sample (Amazon Turk) and participants self-selected to participate. The sample included a diverse ethnic and racial spectrum (see Table 1).

Table 1 Demographics of the participants
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2.2 Measures

2.2.1 Coping Responses for Academic Incivility Scale (CRAIS)

The CRAIS (34-items) provides a range of potential behavioral and cognitive coping responses in relation to experiences of academic incivility based on two factors: (a) Problem-Focused and Maladaptive Coping Responses (22-items; e.g., “I thought I had no reason to live”) and (b) Self-Care Coping Responses (12-items; e.g., “I journaled or wrote about the experience”). The CRAIS demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = 0.97) and evidence of convergent and discriminant validity [13]. Items were rated for frequency of behavior utilizing a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always).

In this study, the constructs of Suicidal Ideation, Self-Destructive Behaviors, and Harm to Others were analyzed. Scaled scores were the total scores for items within the construct. Each scale score demonstrated good internal consistency: (a) Suicidal Ideation (α = 0.811), (b) Self-Destructive Behaviors (α = 0.818), and (c) Harm to Others (α = 0.867). Items by construct appear in Table 2.

Table 2 Constructs and items
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2.2.2 Marlowe-Crown Social Desirability Scale-Form C (MCSDS-C)

Researchers included an additional scale to evaluate the validity of the findings. The Marlowe-Crown Social Desirability Scale–Form C (MCSDS-C; [20]) measured potential social desirability bias in participants' responses. Based on findings of previous studies, the MCSDS-C has shown internal consistency ranging from 0.62–0.89 [10, 20]. The MCSDS-C evaluates any potential social desirability by analyzing the total score, which can range from 13–26. Lower scores on the scale shows lower likelihood that participants have responded in a socially desirable manner. The average scores for participants in the present study was 19.06 (range 13–26; SD = 2.59), indicating low to moderate social desirability of responses. Researchers reviewed a histogram of the item scores, which provided additional evidence of average scores.

2.2.3 Academic incivility and bullying data

Participants self-reported experiences and roles (i.e., bully, victim, or bully-victims) of K-12 bullying and academic incivility in higher education The frequency of engagement in each role were rated on a scale ranging from 0 (never) to 5 (always). “Never” or “rarely” were classified as not engaging while those “sometimes” to “always” were determined to have engaged in the role.

2.3 Process, data screening, and analysis

After receiving approval to conduct research, a survey link was deployed to Amazon Turk workers to complete. Data was collected over a period of three days (N = 571). An initial data set was determined after removing those who did not complete the survey or had the same complete code number or had missing values. Next, the data (N = 534) was tested for statistical assumptions. Visual inspection of Quartile-Quartile (Q-Q) plots, Probability-Probability plots (P-P), and histograms indicated no outliers and non-normally distribution at the univariate and multivariate levels [18]. Similarly, the Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Shapiro–Wilk values (p < 0.001), further supported non-normal distribution. Multicollinearity was not observed as tolerance values were more than 0.10 and variance inflation factors (VIF) values were less than 10.

Independent samples t-tests were computed to assess the mean differences between scale scores for maladaptive coping responses by construct based on roles in academic incivility and combined roles between academic incivility and K-12 bullying. Bivariate correlations were analyzed to evaluate relationships. Linear regression analyses were conducted to predict the relationship between the construct scores and roles in academic incivility and combined roles.

3 Results

The following results are presented in the order of the research questions after the initial descriptive statistics. Participants self-identified their roles in K-12 bullying and academic incivility and the frequency they engaged in maladaptive coping responses. For those identified as victims, bullies, or bully-victims in both K-12 bullying and academic incivility, there was greater endorsement of detrimental coping responses than for individuals who identified as engaging in a role in only K-12 bullying or academic incivility (see Table 3). Further, across groups bullies and bully-victims reported more frequent maladaptive responses than victims.

Table 3 Reported frequencies of roles and coping responses
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3.1 Independent samples t-tests

To evaluate RQ1, independent samples t-tests were conducted. Regarding academic incivility, there were statistically significant differences between group means for each coping response among individuals that endorsed any role with large effect sizes (see Table 4). For each role, participants who endorsed a role had higher mean scale scores than those who did not.

Table 4 Independent samples t-tests of academic incivility role endorsement
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Regarding combined roles between K-12 bullying and academic incivility, additional analyses demonstrated there were statistically significant mean differences between groups for each coping response for individuals that endorsed any role with large effect sizes (see Table 5). For each role, participants who endorsed a role had higher mean scale scores than those who did not with larger effect sizes observed for bullies (d = 1.575–1.837) and bully-victims (d = 1.847–2.337) than victims (d = 0.918–1.000).

Table 5 Independent samples T-tests of combined K-12 bullying and academic incivility roles
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3.2 Correlations

To answer RQ2, bivariate correlations were conducted to investigate the relationships between the roles (see Table 6). All of the bivariate associations between maladaptive coping responses and roles were statistically significant. These correlations were highest in association to the responses of Self-Destructive Behaviors (r = 0.285–0.829) and Harm to Others (r = 0.270–0.888) and lowest in relation to Suicidal Ideation (r = 0.278–0.706).

Table 6 Bivariate correlations for associations among study variables
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3.3 Regressions

To explore the RQ3, multiple regression analyses were employed to determine if engagement in academic incivility as a victim, bully, or bully-victim predicted endorsement of the constructs. Subcategories (e.g., Group 1 and Group 2) were established to delineate the frequencies of each role endorsed by participants. Group 1 indicated that participants engaged in a role “sometimes” or “often” while Group 2 represented frequencies of “almost always” and “always”. The results indicated that engagement in academic incivility in any role predicted an association with a maladaptive response at a statistically significant level (see Table 7). Being a bully or bully-victim of academic incivility was a stronger predictor of each response than being a victim. Further, being a bully or victim more frequently (i.e., Group 2) was more predictive of maladaptive responses than Group 1.

Table 7 Multiple regressions for prediction of response by academic incivility role
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Additional multiple regression results were analyzed to determine whether engagement in the same role (e.g., bully, victim, bully-victim) in both K-12 bullying and academic incivility predicted the coping responses employed when experiencing academic incivility. The results indicated that participants’ endorsement of engaging in K-12 bullying and academic incivility in any role predicted each category of maladaptive coping response with the greatest effect sizes observed for bully-victims across all response categories compared to bullies or victims (r2 = 0.206–0.788; see Table 8).

Table 8 Multiple regressions for prediction of response by roles
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4 Discussion

In this novel study, the outcomes of academic incivility in relation to suicidal and self-destructive behaviors were examined. The study included how outcomes of academic incivility (higher education) may be impacted by prior experiences of bullying in K-12. The practical significance of the findings of the study supports that experiences of academic incivility as victims, bullies, or bully-victims significantly correlate with and are potentially significant predictors of students’ endorsement of Suicidal Ideation, Self-Destructive Behaviors, and Harm to Others. The victimization findings are similar to Felix and colleagues [9] chronicity and longitude are relevant factors that lead to self-destructive behaviors. Further, for bullies and victims of academic incivility, the higher the level of engagement in a role, the greater the participants reported participating in maladaptive coping responses. Based on related research regarding K-12 bullying and other forms of aggression and victimization [8, 14, 24, 28], these results relate to other prior findings and provide additional insight regarding the ramifications of academic incivility in higher education.

When experiences of academic incivility are considered in combination with prior involvement in K-12 bullying, the correlations increase for victims and for bully-victims in relation to harm to others. While research about the direct relationships between K-12 bullying and academic incivility have been limited, these new findings are supported by prior research indicating that repeated exposure to bullying and other violence is linked to greater instances of life-threatening mental health outcomes, including suicidality, self-destructive behaviors, and harm to others [9] (Van Dulem et al. 2013). Novel findings within this study indicated that being a bully or a bully-victim is a stronger predictor of maladaptive coping responses than being a victim alone. These results are similar to Gaete and colleagues [11] that adolescent involved in bullying as a bully or a bully-victim have greater substance misuse.

The findings of the study should be interpreted with caution due to potential threats to validity inherent in the research design. These potential limitations were considered and addressed by the researchers. First, due to the use of self-report measures, data may be influenced by response bias of participants, and behaviors may be inaccurately reported by the participants, a common limitation of self report data. To address this limitation, researchers reviewed participants’ item and total scale scores on the MCSDS-C for evidence of social desirability, showing low to moderate likelihood of social desirability affecting responses. Second, the CRAIS, was designed to measure overall coping responses of individuals experiencing academic incivility rather than just the specific constructs of Suicidal Ideation, Self-Destructive Behaviors, and Harm to Others. However, this limitation was addressed by conducting Cronbach's alphas demonstrating evidence of reliability of these constructs. Lastly, while the results infer a significant link between roles of K-12 bullying and academic incivility and mental health outcomes, causation should not be assumed as the results may differ among other populations, and it does not account for prior mental health interventions.

4.1 Implications

The present study demonstrated that academic incivility may contribute to life-threatening outcomes of Suicidal Ideation, Self-Destructive Behaviors, and Harm to Others. Mental health professionals in clinical and college-based settings should consider including assessments of academic incivility in clinical screening and be prepared to address potential ramifications in treatment. Recognition of academic incivility may support suicide and violence prevention at the individual and broader college-level. Due to the potential for increased consequences when combined with K-12 bullying experiences, screening and treatment for K-12 bullying experiences are warranted. The findings support the importance of establishing policies to proactively combat bullying and academic incivility at institutions of higher education through implementing universal measures for reporting and responding to experiences of academic incivility to support students’ academic success and wellbeing.

4.2 Future research

While this study broadens knowledge of the impacts of academic incivility in relation to serious mental health outcomes, continued research could strengthen the evidence-base. Due to the relative novelty of examining the outcomes of Suicidal Ideation, Self-Destructive Behaviors, and Harm to Others in relation to academic incivility, it would be beneficial to further explore relationships between these constructs. The serious consequences of bullying warrants future longitudinal investigations into the effects of these negative behaviors into adulthood. Likewise, contributing demographic variables (e.g., gender identity, and sexual orientation), [3], should be considered in relationship to bullying, academic incivility, and life-threatening outcomes. Finally, while this study evaluated the severe mental health ramifications of bullying and academic incivility, future research could explore how prior experiences of bullying might lend to more adaptive responses, such as through posttraumatic growth, personal strength, and appreciation of life [19].

5 Conclusion

The novel findings of this study demonstrate that individuals experiencing academic incivility in higher education as a bully, victim, or bully-victim coping responses are at an increased risk for experiencing including Suicidal Ideation, Self-Destructive Behaviors, and Harm to Others. These risks are heightened when an individual has prior experience with K-12 bullying and appear to be strongest for individuals who experienced bullying and academic incivility as a bully or bully-victim. Due to the life-threatening consequences of the behaviors evaluated in this study, clinical professionals should screen for prior bullying and current academic incivility behaviors for both youth and adult clients and be prepared to address the potential ramifications of experiences in both victim and perpetrator roles. It is particularly essential to assess these behaviors in lethality screening when there are concerns that a client may pose a threat of harm to themselves or to others to ensure safety and client welfare.