The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between help-seeking expectations and school bullying. Japanese students ( N = 532; 53% boys, about 12 years-old) were asked to fill out a questionnaire including help-seeking expectations scale and bullying scale. Help-seeking expectations were composed of two kinds of expectations; responsibility expectations and accessibility expectations. Relational victimization on girls was positively associated with help-seeking in both responsibility and accessibility expectations. Higher relational victimization was associated with higher responsibility expectations for girls. For boys, there was a u-shaped relationship between relational victimization and responsibility expectations. There was a reversed u-shaped relationship between relational victimization and accessibility expectations. In sum, much more relationally victimized boys may expect their friends’ help (responsibility expectations), but their accessibility expectations may be rather pessimistic.
KeywordsVictimizationHelp-SeekingGender Role ConflictJapanese Students
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