Cultural Variation in Aggressive Behavior: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Students’ Exposure to Bullying Across 32 Countries

Introduction. The prevalence rates of bullying vary significantly across countries and continents. Specifically, UNESCO estimates that the prevalence rates vary from 22.8% (Central America) to 48.2% (Sub-Saharan Africa). Recently, these differences among countries and regions have been attributed to culture- and country-level variables. Thus, the first purpose of this study is to examine the comparability of bullying in schools across countries. Secondly, a cross-cultural comparison of the latent mean scores of bullying is implemented. Method. The data of 286,481 adolescent students (M=15.78, SD=0.29) from 32 countries were analyzed using multilevel confirmatory factor analyses (MLCFA) and multigroup factor alignment. Results. Results indicated that the meaning of bullying is equivalent within and between cultures. However, cross-cultural differences in bullying are apparent. East Asian countries have the lowest latent means of bullying, while Southeast Asian countries have the highest means. Anglo-Saxon, Eastern European, Mediterranean, South American, and Middle East countries displayed rather higher scores. Discussion and Conclusion. These findings underscore the existence of cross-cultural differential responding in bullying measures. Further, the implicit role of culture as an important variable that determines the rates of bullying is underscored.