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Association Between School Bullying Victimization and Sexual Risk-Taking among South Korean Adolescents: The Role of Teacher and Parental Relationships

  • Special Section: The Impact of Youth Violence on Sexual Health of Adolescents from National and International Perspectives
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Abstract

Despite the wealth of research investigating the adverse consequences of bullying, few studies have tested how bullying victimization is related to risky sexual behavior, such as unprotected sex among adolescents. To fill this gap, the current study examined the association between bullying victimization and the non-use of condoms, considering the moderating role of teacher and parental relationships. We employed a series of logistic regression models to examine these relationships among a sample of sexually active Korean adolescents (n = 153; ages 11–17 years old). Results showed that bullying victimization was significantly related to greater non-use of condoms. Moreover, relationships with teachers and parents moderated the impact of bullying victimization on non-use of condoms, suggesting that positive relationships with teachers and parents exerted buffering impacts against sexual risk-taking behavior for bullying victims. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA

    Jihoon Kim

  2. School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA

    Yeungjeom Lee

  3. Department of Criminal Justice, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Lindsay Leban

  4. Department of Criminal Justice & Legal Studies, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA

    Wesley G. Jennings

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  1. Jihoon Kim
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  2. Yeungjeom Lee
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  4. Wesley G. Jennings
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Correspondence to Jihoon Kim.

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This study was approved by the Institute for Social Development Studies at Yonsei University in South Korea.

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Kim, J., Lee, Y., Leban, L. et al. Association Between School Bullying Victimization and Sexual Risk-Taking among South Korean Adolescents: The Role of Teacher and Parental Relationships. Arch Sex Behav 52, 2811–2821 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02614-6

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