Sibling bullying among Vietnamese children: the relation with peer bullying and subjective well-being

Abstract

Background Siblings play an important role in a child’s life. However, many children often experience sibling bullying. This study investigates differences in sibling victimization by sex, age, a parent’s absence from the home due to employment, or a child’s privacy and the relationship between sibling victimization, peer victimization, and the child’s well-being. Participants and procedure Participants were Vietnamese children participating in the third wave of the International Survey of Children’s Well-Being. The study included 1537 children (811 boys and 726 girls) attending public schools, age 10-14 years (M = 11.29, SD = 1.15). Results The results show that over half of children with siblings in this study reported being victimized by a sibling. Younger children were bullied more often than older children. Children whose father worked away from home reported an increase in bullying behavior from their siblings. Children sharing a room with siblings reported being bullied more by siblings. Conclusions The results indicated a positive correlation between sibling victimization and peer victimization and a negative rela-tionship between being bullied and a child’s subjective well-being.

Keywords

• vietnam
• subjective well-being
• sibling bullying
• peer bullying