PSYCHOSOCIAL FUNCTIONING IN FAMILIES OF AUSTRALIAN ADOLESCENT SCHOOLCHILDREN INVOLVED IN BULLY VICTIM PROBLEMS

The paper examines the relationship between family functioning and the involvement of adolescent schoolchildren in bully/victim problems at school. Australian high school students between the ages of 13 and 16 years completed a Family Functioning in Adolescence Questionnaire (FFAQ) as a measure of the psychosocial well-being of their families. Students were also categorized on the basis of self-reports as bullies (9%), victims (11%), bully/victims (2%) and others (78%). The families of adolescent bullies were found to be functioning less well than others on the FFAQ, as also were the families of female but not male victims. Results for sub-groups of schoolchildren are examined with respect to specific dimensions of family functioning, and the implications of differences for family therapy are discussed.