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Factors relating to self-identification among bullying victims
Abstract
While researchers often debate the use of subjective labels in school bullying research (e.g. “I am bullied…”) as a methodological issue, responses to such measures should be viewed as a valuable tool for evaluating student constructs of bullying victimization. Accordingly, this study compares demographic and descriptive characteristics and bullying experiences of self-labeled bullying victims to those students who have been victimized but do not label themselves a victim. Among 192 rural elementary and middle school students, 21.9% said that they have been bullied while another 22.9% met victimization criteria but did identify themselves as such. Based on chi-square and MANOVA comparisons, self-labeled victims experience more specific types of bullying, more total bullying behaviors, and more frequent bullying than their non-labeled counterparts. In light of such findings, the authors discuss the implications of labeling and self-identification for both research and bullying prevention.
... From all the above follows the need to analyze the perception of teachers and psychologists about bullying and the urgency for schools to design and implement specific plans against bullying to alleviate any type of hostile behavior present in the school [11,[37][38][39]. Therefore, the aim of this research is to analyze the perception of early childhood education teachers and psychologists regarding this problem and the training they present in this regard, as well as the management of possible support provided by the school to victims and their families [40,41]. The greater aim is to discuss the training needs of the educational and social community in the field of bullying so that this will help to improve the measures for detection and action against bullying in schools, thus minimizing the possible sequelae of minors who present them [42]. ...
... [11,[37][38][39]. Therefore, the aim of this research is to analyze the perception of early childhood education teachers and psychologists regarding this problem and the training they present in this regard, as well as the management of possible support provided by the school to victims and their families [40,41]. The greater aim is to discuss the training needs of the educational and social community in the field of bullying so that this will help to improve the measures for detection and action against bullying in schools, thus minimizing the possible sequelae of minors who present them [42]. ...
... However, these results are not completely consistent with the factors indicated by some works in the literature, which identify the perception that victims have of the support available at school and in their immediate environment as the most influential motivation in the decision to remain silent [40]. In contrast, other studies indicate that fear of the reaction of their families is the most decisive factor in this regard [41], which is closer to the results obtained here. ...
In this work, quantitative research is carried out on the perceptions of early childhood education teachers and child psychologists about the incidence of bullying behaviors in early childhood education (3 to 6 years old) and their knowledge and experience in this regard. For this purpose, two questionnaires were used, each of them oriented to one of the two groups of professionals analyzed, whose answers were subjected to statistical analysis. As for results, it has been obtained that early childhood education teachers express having received deficient training in school bullying and have little experience in its detection and treatment. Furthermore, the teachers’ conception of bullying occurring in their own schools is not realistic and differs from the knowledge they have of the existence of bullying behavior in other schools. Likewise, the existence of action plans against bullying in the school conditions the teachers’ assessments. The assessments held by psychologists differ significantly from those of teachers, mainly in the identification of the origin of bullying (which teachers attribute to the use of digital technologies and psychologists to the social and family environment of the aggressor). Finally, some implications and recommendations in terms of the training of educational professionals on bullying and the need for greater collaboration between teachers and psychologists are reported.
... Based on prior research, 12,22 we used 2 indicators to assess the prevalence of bullying. The first, reported bullying, was obtained from the global measure noted above, such that it refers to the frequency with which the students reported that they had been victims of bullying in the past 2 months. ...
... 25 Some research also indicates that those who identify with the term bullying are usually individuals suffering from more severe bullying: several types and greater frequency. 22 Our results also show that bullying victimization tends to be higher in boys and that its prevalence is lower in older adolescents. These data are consistent with the findings from national, 26 Findings from these analyses also provide a more nuanced view of the differences between boys and girls discussed above. ...
... In fact, reported bullying did increase between 2006 and 2010 in adolescents aged 13-14 and 17-18 years but that did not seem to be the case in the other age groups, where a predominance of continuity over change was observed.However, prevalence and trends are notably different in the analyses of observed bullying. This behaviour-based, wider and more comprehensive measure yields higher prevalence data, as was the case with previous research,12,22,23 and suggests an increasing trend in bullying victimization between 2006 and 2010 that remained until 2014. The differences in bullying prevalence found between the 2 indicators should make us reflect on the need to have accurate and reliable assessment measures 24 and the importance of combining different measures to obtain a more accurate picture of bullying prevalence without overestimating or underestimating it.The differences in prevalence depending on the indicator used may have to do with the use of the word bullying in the question, which is part of the question on reported bullying but does not appear in those regarding observed bullying. ...
Background:
We analyze trends in bullying victimization prevalence in a representative sample of Spanish adolescent schoolchildren in 2006, 2010, and 2014.
Methods:
We distinguish between reported bullying, which is assessed via the global question in the Revised Bully/Victim Questionnaire by Olweus, and observed bullying, which is a measure developed from the answers that the adolescents gave to specific items that refer to different types of bullying that have been codified as physical, verbal, and relational bullying.
Results:
For 2006 and 2010/2014, the results show stability in the assessment of reported bullying and an increase in observed bullying, analyzed both globally and within the 3 categories: physical, verbal, and relational.
Conclusions:
A valid, reliable, and accurate measure to detect cases of bullying is necessary, as is the importance of continuing efforts devoted to raising awareness and the prevention of this phenomenon.
... Det finns, enligt vissa studier, skillnader i barns reaktioner när de utsätts för mobbning. Theriot et al. (2005) fann att barn som beskriver sig som mobbningsoffer blir utsatta för ett annat mobbningsmönster än de som inte identifierar sig som offer. Studien, som utfördes på skolungdomar i olika åldrar, från grundskola till gymnasium, visade att 22 % av eleverna upplever att de blivit mobbade 2 -3 gånger under de senaste tre månaderna. ...
... Individer väljer även att anmäla i högre grad vid grövre brott. Theriot et al.(2005) hypotes är att studenter som blir utsatta för direkt mobbning, genom att de bland annat blir slagna, är mer benägna att rapportera om mobbningen än de som blir utsatta för indirekt mobbning, som till exempel kränkningar. Detta då den direkta mobbningen mer konkret bryter mot skolans regler än den indirekta. ...
... Att äldre studenter inte anmäler i lika stor utsträckning anser Theriot et al. (2005) kan bero på att de inte i lika stor utsträckning vill erkänna sig själva som mobbade. Författarna tar upp motviljan mot att bli stämplad. ...
... The victimization count variable was operationalized as the total number of types of assault experiences and ranged from 0 to 8 (α = 0.76). The decision to use a count of victimization types experienced as a measure of collective identity was informed by a study conducted by Theior and colleagues (Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers, & Johnson, 2005) which found that adolescents were more likely to self-label as a victim of bullying when they experienced a great number of specific forms of bullying. As an additional measure of collective identity, participants were also asked whether or not they personally knew a victim of sexual violence. ...
... Additionally, collective identity was operationalized using a count of the various forms of sexual violence experienced by participants. While Theriot et al. (2005) have found that experiencing multiple types of bullying is associated with a higher likelihood of self-labeling as a victim of bullying, there is a lack of research in this regard when it comes to sexual violence specifically. Furthermore, research suggests that a substantial portion of victims of sexual violence do not categorize themselves as such (Cook, Gidycz, Koss, & Murphy, 2011;Fisher et al., 2000). ...
Sexual violence is a topic that has received increasing national attention and has been identified as a commonly occurring social issue. In response to the failure of the criminal justice system (and society at large) to adequately respond to the prevalence of sexual victimization, the #MeToo movement (which involves posting the #MeToo hashtag on social media) has acted as a mechanism to expose systemic oppression and abuses of power, while also holding perpetrators of sexual violence accountable for sexual abuse and harassment. There is growing popularity in utilizing the internet to raise awareness about social issues and to generate participation in collective action. While most research investigating factors associated with social movement participation has been primarily confined to collective identity as a precursor to in-person activism, less is known about other predictors (e.g., demographic characteristics) of social and, more specifically, digital activism. Using data collected from 626 undergraduate college students, the current study examines the impact of various demographic characteristics, collective identity, self-esteem, self-control, and attitudes towards sexual coercion on participation in the #MeToo movement in various forms (i.e., posting the #MeToo hashtag on personal social media accounts; signing a #MeToo petition; attending a #MeToo protest or rally). Results indicate that demographic characteristics, collective identity, Greek membership/collegiate athletics, and sexual violence programming are significantly associated with #MeToo involvement. Policy implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.
... Since school bullying is a problem that concerns all nations, it has been studied in a variety of different countries and cultures since 1970s. There are also differences in the frequency of bullying in different cultures (Chatira and Nikolopoulos, 2019; Karaca, 2018;Melzer-Lange et al, 2005;Olweus, 1994;O'Moore and Minton, 2005;Öztuna, 2018;Pişkin, 2010;Plexousakis, Kourkoutas, Giovazolias, Yöndem and Totan, 2008;Sapouna, 2008;Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers and Johnson, 2005). Looking at some research results regarding the frequency of school bullying; ...
... (Olweus, 1994). In a study conducted by Theriot et al. (2005) reported that bullying prevalence was 21.9% in their study with primary and secondary school students, determining that 22.9% of them did not define themselves as victims while meeting the criteria of being victims. In a national survey involving a total of 20,442 students in 26 states of Ireland between 1993 and 1994, 31.3% of primary school students and 15.6% of secondary school students were victims of bullying in their final semesters, and 26.5% of primary school students and 14.9% of secondary school students stated that they bullied others (O'Moore and Minton, 2005). ...
Presenting differences in the participation rates of genders in STEM activities may be a practical way to reveal that a solution to the gender gap should include addressing children at an early age, rather than at later periods in life. Thus, the purpose of the study was to investigate the STEM-related activity preferences of 3 to 8-year-old children. The sample of the study consisted of 193 children, between 3- and 8-years old attended STEM activities presented at the eight-hours-long science fair annually organized. Data was collected through a checklist. The results of the study revealed that the number of boys that attended the activities was greater than that of girls. More boys participated in the age group 5 than girls. On the other hand, girls’ participation was higher than boys in age group 6. The results of the study also revealed that the activity preference of girls and boys did not differ for five out of six activities, i.e., Catapult Design, Jumping Wooden Sticks, Design Own Ship, Rescue the Horse, and Constructing with Mirror. However, it was found that among the six activities, boys participated in the magnetic wall activity significantly more than girls. This study may indicate the basis from which the gender gap emerged in STEM-related fields.
... Since school bullying is a problem that concerns all nations, it has been studied in a variety of different countries and cultures since 1970s. There are also differences in the frequency of bullying in different cultures (Chatira and Nikolopoulos, 2019; Karaca, 2018;Melzer-Lange et al, 2005;Olweus, 1994;O'Moore and Minton, 2005;Öztuna, 2018;Pişkin, 2010;Plexousakis, Kourkoutas, Giovazolias, Yöndem and Totan, 2008;Sapouna, 2008;Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers and Johnson, 2005). Looking at some research results regarding the frequency of school bullying; ...
... (Olweus, 1994). In a study conducted by Theriot et al. (2005) reported that bullying prevalence was 21.9% in their study with primary and secondary school students, determining that 22.9% of them did not define themselves as victims while meeting the criteria of being victims. In a national survey involving a total of 20,442 students in 26 states of Ireland between 1993 and 1994, 31.3% of primary school students and 15.6% of secondary school students were victims of bullying in their final semesters, and 26.5% of primary school students and 14.9% of secondary school students stated that they bullied others (O'Moore and Minton, 2005). ...
School bullying is defined as physical, verbal, psychological attack/intimidation in a physically/psychologically unequal environment perpetrated in an intentional, willing and systematic manner in intervals against less powerful peer without the element of incitement, aiming to cause fear and anxiety/harm in the victim. Accordingly, this study is considered to be important in terms of recognizing bullying behavior and contributing to the literature on school bullying. School bullying can be seen in students at all levels of education, but the highest risk group is the adolescents aged 13-15. Bullying have typologies such as social exclusion, physical and verbal bullying. Since verbal and physical bullying is observable and visible, they are considered to be direct bullying, while social exclusion is considered to be indirect bullying as it occurs in a less visible manner. A number of different factors have been identified that contribute to the bullying, and thus school bullying, and are generally divided into three main groups: individual, family and school-related factors. School bullying greatly influences students' academic achievement, physical and psychological health, and these negativities can persist into their lives. For this reason, school bullying is an issue that health professionals such as school nurses, psychologists, psychological counselors and physicians should handle with care. Determining the causes of bullying in schools and implementing effective measures to prevent bullying should be ensured by an interdisciplinary team so that students cannot be harmed by bullying behaviors.
... Children may not want to self-identify as victims of bullying (even on anonymous questionnaires) as it may imply that they are socially undesirable (Teräsahjo & Salmivalli, 2003). This may be why several studies have documented the existence of non-identified victims who do not refer to themselves as a "victim of bullying" but who selfreport receiving bullying behaviors (Q'Moore, Kirkham, & Smith, 1997;Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers, & Johnson, 2005). Indeed, previous research suggests that asking youth about specific bullying behaviors before questions about whether they have been involved in "bullying" can lead to higher prevalence rates than the converse (e.g., in the BVQ; Huang & Cornell, 2015). ...
... Second, perceived harm may be more predictive of victims' adjustment than are actual rates of victimization (Volk et al., 2014). In addition, self-identified victims may experience more severe forms of bullying than non-identified victims (Theriot et al., 2005). Lastly, children's responses to a peer's hostile behavior have been shown to follow directly from their perceptions of the peer's intention, rather than the peer's actual intention (as portrayed in video vignettes; Dodge et al., 1984). ...
Bullying, a common type of violent behavior in school-aged youth, is traditionally conceptualized as a particular form of repeated peer aggression that is intentional and that involves a power differential between the bully and the victim. Intentionality and power differentials distinguish bullying from general aggression between peers which may lack these characteristics. Despite the fact that nearly every investigation of bullying references this specific definition, studies infrequently constrain their assessment of bullying to ensure that intentionality and power differentials are present. This review (a) argues for why the existing inconsistency in requiring intentionality and power differentials when assessing bullying is a problem for the field, (b) explores challenges in validly ensuring intentionality and power differentials are present when assessing bullying, and (c) puts forward recommendations for more clearly distinguishing between bullying and general peer aggression in future work.
... ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.09.11.611600 doi: bioRxiv preprint 14, 19, and 22, with higher scores reflecting greater self-reported victimization. The OB/VQ has demonstrated strong psychometric properties, with reliability estimates for the victimization items ranging from 0.83 to 0.88 (15,16). ...
To explore this, we conducted the largest structural MRI analysis to date (n=2094, including 1009 females), across three time points from the IMAGEN study, tracking region-specific brain volume trajectories from adolescence to early adulthood using a data-driven approach. Generally, experienced bullying showed increased subcortical volumes in the putamen (beta=0.12), caudate (beta=0.06), accumbens (beta=0.06), amygdala (beta=0.07), hippocampus (beta=0.06), paired with decreased cerebellar (beta=-0.10), entorhinal, (beta=-0.12), and insula (beta=-0.11) volumes. Females exhibited more volumetric changes in emotional processing areas whereas males had more changes in motor and sensory regions. These findings point to widespread associations between bullying victimization and brain development, offering a potential neurobiological framework to explain the emotional and behavioral difficulties observed. Importantly, this study emphasizes the need for a sex-sensitive approach in future research and interventions related to bullying.
... Hereby, the self-identification as a victim is important. Students who experienced bullying and labelled themselves as victims experienced poorer psychosocial functioning than those who did not adopt the label 13 . Similarly, the self-labelling as a "survivor" rather than as a victim has advantages. ...
Self-identification as a victim of violence may lead to increased negative emotions and stress and thus, may change both structure and function of the underlying neural network(s). In a trans-diagnostic sample of individuals who identified themselves as victims of violence and a matched control group with no prior exposure to violence, we employed a social exclusion paradigm, the Cyberball task, to stimulate the re-experience of stress. Participants were partially excluded in the ball-tossing game without prior knowledge. We analyzed group differences in brain activity and functional connectivity during exclusion versus inclusion in exclusion-related regions. The victim group showed increased anger and stress levels during all conditions. Activation patterns during the task did not differ between groups but an enhanced functional connectivity between the IFG and the right vmPFC distinguished victims from controls during exclusion. This effect was driven by aberrant connectivity in victims during inclusion rather than exclusion, indicating that victimization affects emotional responses and inclusion-related brain connectivity rather than exclusion-related brain activity or connectivity. Victims may respond differently to the social context itself. Enhanced negative emotions and connectivity deviations during social inclusion may depict altered social processing and may thus affect social interactions.
... Previous studies have shown poor correlations between self-and peer-reported measures of bullying (r ≈ 0.3) (62,66,92). The absence of anonymity in self-reports has been indicated as a possible reason for the low correspondence between self-reports and peer nominations (62), and some authors have suggested that some students may be uncomfortable labeling themselves as victims of bullying (93,94). In children with SEN, especially in those with difficulties interpreting social situations, there may be additional limitations to recognizing and providing an accurate self-report of bullying situations (95), thus further supporting the use of peer-reported measures. ...
Introduction: Bullying is a major preventable risk factor for mental disorders. Available evidence suggests school-based interventions reduce bullying prevalence rates. This study aims to test the efficacy of a web-enabled, school-based, multicomponent anti-bullying intervention to prevent school bullying and to assess its effects on mental health and quality of life.
Methods and analysis: Cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in 20 publicly funded primary and secondary schools in Madrid, Spain. Schools are randomly allocated to either the intervention arm ( n = 10) or conventional practices arm ( n = 10). The web-enabled intervention (LINKlusive) lasts ~12 weeks and consists of three main components: (i) an online training program for teachers and parents, (ii) a web-guided educational program for students, focusing on promoting respect for diversity, empathy, and social skill development, and (iii) a web-guided, teacher-delivered, targeted intervention program for bullying situations identified based on peer-support strategies and individual intervention for those involved (i.e., bullying victims and perpetrators). The primary objective is to compare differences between peer-reported bullying victimization in the intervention and control arms at the end of the intervention. Secondary outcome measures are additional measures of bullying victimization and perpetration, mental health symptoms, self-esteem, and quality of life. A follow-up assessment is conducted 1 year after the end of the intervention. Treatment effects will be tested using multilevel mixed models, adjusting for school-, classroom-, and student-related covariates. Considering the increased bullying rates in children with special educational needs, a specific subgroup analysis will test the efficacy of the intervention on bullying prevalence, mental health, and quality of life in this particularly vulnerable population.
Ethics and Dissemination: The Deontology Commission of the School of Psychology, Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain reviewed the study protocol and granted ethical approval on 21st January 2019. The results of the trial will be disseminated in relevant peer-reviewed journals and at conferences in the field.
Trial Registration Number: ISRCTN15719015.
... 19 Compared to inpatient samples, the prevalence of prior convictions in outpatient mental health care samples appears to be a little less, with one study showing a prevalence of about 36%. 20 Beyond the prevalence of criminal justice involvement in mental health samples, there is a need to further examine the nature of the mental illness-criminalness relation in community-based psychiatric patients. One important variable linked to criminalness is antisocial attitudes, which are attitudes or dispositions that violate the social norm, including criminal and defiant behavior. ...
The relationship between criminogenic risk and mental illness in justice involved persons with mental illness is complex and poorly understood by clinicians, researchers, administrators, and policy makers alike. Historically, when providing services to justice involved persons with mental illness, clinicians have emphasized mental health recovery (eg, psychiatric rehabilitation) at the exclusion of treatments targeted at criminogenic risk. More recently, however, researchers have demonstrated with great clarity that criminogenic risk not only contributes but is likely the leading factor in the criminal behavior committed by persons with mental illness. Yet, we still do not know the nature of this criminogenic-mental illness relationship, how this relationship impacts treatment needs, and of ultimate concern, what this relationship means in terms of individual and societal outcomes. In this paper we briefly define criminogenic risk and the research that demonstrates the role of criminogenic risk in criminal justice involvement of persons with mental illness. We also review prevalence rates of persons with mental illness justice involvement, and then discuss important factors to be considered when assessing risk to include both criminogenic and mental illness risk. We conclude this paper by reviewing treatment and management strategies for persons with mental illness that are criminal justice involved particularly reviewing and building off the recommendations put forth by Bartholomew & Morgan.
... An observational study or peer nomination might have yielded more accurate information on bullying than a self-report study (Kaltiala-Heino & Fröjd, 2011). Self-report survey method may result in underreporting of victimization (Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers, & Johnson, 2005), and the same could concern self-reporting of being a bully, due to social desirability. Self-report, actually with the same WHO questions, has nevertheless been used in many studies (Kaltiala-Heino & Fröjd, 2011). ...
We analyzed the associations between sexual orientation and subjection to/perpetration of bullying at school, taking into account confounding by psychiatric symptom dimensions and involvement in the other role. Survey data among 25,147 boys and 25,257 girls in comprehensive school, and 33,231 boys and 36,765 girls in upper secondary education in Finland were used. Data were analyzed using cross-tabulations with Chi-square statistics and logistic regression. Even though associations between sexual minority status and subjection to bullying grew weaker when confounding was controlled for, independent associations were found in both boys and girls, and in both younger and older adolescents. Positive associations first seen between same sex attraction and bullying perpetration leveled out and partially turned inverse when controlling for confounding. Uncertainty about one’s interests had different associations with involvement in bullying in different age groups.
... The OB/VQ has been found to have strong psychometric properties. Reliability estimates for the victimization items range between 0.83 and 0.88 (Solberg & Olweus, 2003;Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers, & Johnson, 2005). In the present sample, the OB/VQ victimization items also demonstrated high internal consistency, α = 0.81. ...
The current study investigated the relations among traditional and cyber victimization, depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and gender in a school-based sample of 403 9th grade (13 to 16-year-old) adolescents. Path analyses indicated that both traditional victimization and cyber victimization were associated with suicidal ideation indirectly through depressive symptoms. Although there was little evidence of gender differences in the associations among peer victimization and depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation, the relation between depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation was found to be significantly stronger for girls than boys. The current investigation confirms the complexity of the association between peer victimization and suicidal ideation and that depressive symptoms, as well as gender, may play a role in this complex relation. Future research should continue to explore the associations among victimization, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation within a social ecological framework.
... On their side, school bullies are more likely to have criminal records in the future, particularly for violent crimes ( Olweus, 1991). Traditionally, bullying has been analyzed through the perspectives of the bullies (e.g., Baldry & Farrington, 2000;Olweus, 1978), of the victims (e.g., Green, Collingwood, & Ross, 2010;Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers, & Johnson, 2005), or of the (potential) bystanders of bullying situations (e.g., Correia, Alves, Almeida, & Garcia, 2010;Obermann, 2011;Thornberg & Jungert, 2013). We believe that the perspective of the general public should also be considered in order to effectively tackle this social problem. ...
School bullying has seldom been analyzed through the perspective of society in general. However, severe collective reactions often emerge towards bullies when they attract public attention. In this paper, we analyze the process underlying these non-normative forms of collective action triggered by bullying. A survey was presented to 350 Portuguese participants following the release of a viral video depicting a bullying situation. Results showed that assignment of responsibility to the aggressor predicted agreement with popular justice, which was mediated by anger and moderated by perceived ineffectiveness of social control. Specifically, greater responsibility attributed to aggressors yielded greater anger towards them, which, in turn, triggered more agreement with popular justice. Moreover, this effect was stronger for participants who believed that formal social control mechanisms were ineffective. We discuss these results in light of their contribution for tackling bullying, as well as for the literature on deviance, social control and collective action.
... As we cannot assume that all students share similar understandings of what constitutes bullying, general bullying measures may underreport bullying compared with specific, behavior-based measures (Bradshaw and Waasdorp 2009;Sawyer et al. 2008). For example, 22.9% of students in a study by Theriot et al. (2005) met behaviorbased victimization criteria but failed to self-identify as victims of bullying. Likewise, while 72% of students surveyed by Esbensen and Carson (2009) denied being bullied when asked via general measures, only 18% did not report experiencing any behavior-specific measures of bullying. ...
To tackle adolescent bullying and identify students most vulnerable to being bullied, it is essential to examine both occurrences of bullying behaviors and students’ own likelihoods of reporting bullying. This study examines ethnic and gender differences in students’ odds of reporting bullying using the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, a nationally representative study of United States high school sophomores (N = 15,362; ages 15–19; 50.2% female). Compared to White and female students, minority (particularly Black and Hispanic) and male students report comparable or greater experiences of bullying behaviors (such as being threatened, hit, put down by peers, or having belongings forced from them, stolen or damaged), but are less likely to report that they have been “bullied.” These findings point to racialized and gendered differences in reporting bullying experiences such that indicators of “weakness” in peer relations may carry a greater stigma for minority and male students.
... Each participant was asked to report her vulnerability to victimization (e.g., "overall, how vulnerable to victimization do you feel?"). The definition of victimization was left open to interpretation as previous research has shown that self-identification as a victim is more important than severity (Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers, & Johnson, 2005). Participants scored their vulnerability on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (not vulnerable) to 7 (very vulnerable). ...
Two studies investigated the relationship between hypervigilance, vulnerable gait cues, and a history of sexual victimization. In Study 1, (N = 130), gait was coded for traits relating to vulnerability where half of the sample was unaware of being videotaped (Unaware condition) and the other half was aware (Aware condition) to induce hypervigilance (between-subjects design). Gait was associated with a history of victimization, but only in the Unaware condition. A mediation analysis found that perceived impact of victimization mediated the association between victimization and vulnerable gait. In Study 2, female university students (N = 62) were measured on their victimization history and hypervigilance. Walking styles of participants were coded for the presence of vulnerability cues in both an Unaware and Aware condition (within-subjects design). A regression analysis revealed an association between hypervigilance and a reduced change in walking style between the two conditions. More notably, hypervigilance was found to moderate the relationship between sexual victimization and vulnerable gait but not violent victimization and vulnerable gait. These results suggest that hypervigilance may be an adaptive response that reduces perceived vulnerability in sexually victimized women.
... Despite their widespread use, questions have been raised regarding the anonymity of self-assessment questionnaires, the inclusion of a definition of the behaviors under investigation, the employed time-frame (e.g., CB/CV experiences during the last year, 2e3 months or 30 days), as well as the cutoff point for classifying someone as a CB/CV participant (e.g., Chan, Myron, & Crawshaw, 2005;Denissen, Neumann, & van Zalk, 2010;Juvoven & Gross, 2008;Kiriakidis & Kavoura, 2010;Ortega, Elipe, Mora-Merch an, Calmaestra, & Vega, 2008;Solberg & Olweus, 2003;Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers, & Johnson, 2005;Vandebosch & Van Cleemput, 2009). Depending on its purpose, each questionnaire assesses different CB/CV forms, types and behaviors, and accordingly varies in the number of items (Ortega et al., 2008). ...
This study investigated the construct validity of a newly developed Greek questionnaire assessing cyber-bullying (CB) and cyber-victimization (CV), the Cyber-Bullying and Victimization Experiences Questionnaire-Greek (CBVEQ-G), constructed due to dearth of relevant measures. Analyses were performed on data collected from 1097 Greek adolescents. The structure of the CBVEQ-G was modeled by means of confirmatory factor analysis, and its convergent validity was tested against theoretically related measures. Results supported the validity and reliability of a correlated two-factor (CB, CV) model, while the correlated four-factor model was marginally supported. Measurement invariance across gender and grade level was established, while significantly positive correlations were found between cyber and traditional bullying/victimization, and between CB and antisocial personality traits.
... Another indicator that social beliefs about bullying may be problematic is illustrated by the fact that bullied individuals are often reluctant to self-identify as victims for fear of being stigmatized as weak or overly sensitive (Stockdale, 2002;Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers, & Johnson, 2005). Research has found that perceptions of victim weakness may be the potential drivers for the high rate of underreporting of bullying on the part of both the victim and bystanders, leading to difficulties in implementing and maintaining change following antibullying interventions (Bradshaw et al., 2007). ...
A growing body of research illustrating the detrimental consequences of bullying has led to many anti-bullying interventions being developed. Despite good intentions, evidence suggests that such programs vary considerably in their efficacy. The current study examines the social discourse around bullying in the New Zealand environment in order to see whether underlying beliefs may undermine or influence approaches to mitigate bullying. The study employed an exploratory, qualitative approach of social discourses in the media. Using 31 online media articles, and 501 related online comments, methods of applied thematic analysis revealed three main themes which captured the beliefs that a) victims of bullying are weak, b) perpetrators of bullying are evil and c) bullying is a normal and, in some ways, acceptable behavior. Such findings illustrate the role that societal beliefs play in shaping the environment in which bullying occurs, and have important implications for future bullying research and interventions.
... En general las investigaciones realizadas muestran una pequeña proporción de 10% a 20% de los participantes que pueden ser clasificados como víctimas o como agresores (Solberg et al., 2007). Sus principales limitaciones consideran sus propiedades psicométricas, tanto para su fiabilidad, como para su validez, obteniendo en diferentes estudios coeficientes que varían su rango desde regular (Pellegrini, Bartini & Brooks, 1999; Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers & Johnson, 2005) hasta aceptable (Solberg & Olweus, 2003), suponiendo que su mayor empleo colectivo se debe a su facilidad comparativa inter-poblacional y en el tiempo, al ser uno de los primeros creados por Olweus (1986), el autor precursor de esta materia. Otra deficiencia importante es que a nivel latinoamericano no se encuentra un uso similar debidamente validado. ...
Validamos la Escala de Agresión Entre Pares (Cajigas de Segredo, 2004), considerando las propiedades psicométricas analizadas por Macía y Miranda (2009), incorporando una subescala breve de agresión virtual, ampliando las características muestrales utilizadas porambas investigaciones. Evaluamos a 675 alumnos y alumnas, pertenecientes a cursos de sexto año básico a segundo año medio. Reportamos resultados satisfactorios para su validez de constructo con base en Análisis Factorial Exploratorio, donde extrajimos 11 factores (9 para la Escala original y 2 al incorporar la nueva subescala). Observamos coincidencias en las propiedades psicométricasevaluadas previamente, lo que nos permite contar con un instrumento de agresión entre pares debidamente validado, incluyendo la agresión virtual como una dimensión relevante.
... Peer nominations or observational methods might yield a more reliable picture of an adolescent's involvement in bullying (Cole, Cornell, & Sheras, 2006;Kim, 2006). It has been suggested that a self-report survey method is likely to result in underreporting of being victimized (Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers, & Johnson, 2005), and the same could apply to self-reporting of being a bully, due to social desirability. However, most of the research actually uses self-report methods, particularly in large data such as ours, and actually very commonly the same WHO questions (Kaltiala-Heino & Fröjd, 2011). ...
Overweight is reportedly a risk factor for being bullied, and body image may mediate this association. Research on associations between overweight and bullying has so far only focused on children and early adolescents. We explored associations between actual and perceived overweight at age 15 and involvement in bullying at ages 15 and 17. A total of 2070 Finnish adolescents responded to a survey at ages 15 and 17. Self-reported weight and height, perceived weight and involvement in bullying were elicited. Being overweight at age 15 was not associated with being bullied or with being a bully at age 15 or 17. Perceived overweight among girls was associated with subsequent involvement in bullying as a bully and in feeling shunned. Weight related bullying may decrease from pre- and early adolescence to middle adolescence. The associations between perceived overweight and self-identification as a bully, and those between perceived overweight and feeling isolated may be explained by the phenomena representing psychological dysfunction.
... Scores range from 7 to 40 with higher scores representing more types of violence experienced and with more frequency (Cronbach's α = .76). Similar variables have been significant in previous studies of school violence (e.g., Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers, & Johnson, 2005). For the seventh variable in this block, students were asked if they felt safe at school overall (1 = strongly disagree, 3 = neutral, 5 = strongly agree). ...
School resource officer (SRO) programs that place sworn law enforcement officers at schools are a popular violence prevention strategy. Despite widespread implementation, little is known about the impact of interacting with these officers on students’ attitudes about SROs and feelings of school connectedness. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of SRO interaction on the attitudes and feelings of 1,956 middle and high school students at 12 schools in one school district. Multivariate analyses showed that more SRO interactions increased students’ positive attitudes about SROs yet decreased school connectedness. Overall, the results suggested a complex relationship between SRO interactions, students’ attitudes, and experiences with school violence. The implications of these results and strategies for how officers can contribute to a positive school environment are discussed.
... The reason for this was threefold. First, the stigmatising nature of the term bullying may encourage dishonest answers(Ireland 2002a, b, c, d;Theriot et al. 2005). Second, participants may have different understanding of the definition of bullying(Connell and Farrington 1996). ...
Background
To date, no study examined possible contributions of environmental factors to bullying and victimization in adolescent residential care facilities.
Objective
By testing one part of the Multifactor Model of Bullying in Secure Setting (MMBSS; Ireland in Int J Adolesc Med Health 24(1):63–68, 2012), this research examined the way the physical and social residential environment relates to bullying and victimization in adolescent residential care.
Method
Young people aged 11–21 (N = 272) from ten residential institutions in Croatia completed: (a) an anonymous self-reported bullying questionnaire; (b) the social residential environment questionnaire; and (c) the physical residential environment questionnaire.
Results
The results demonstrated that both bullies and victims reported having significantly lower levels of perceived peer support than other residents. Male bullies also reported significantly lower levels of their overall wellbeing within their facilities and were significantly more likely than non-bullies to perceive their facilities as having problems with cleanliness and food. Male victims were significantly younger than non-victims. Female victims reported lower levels of their overall wellbeing than non-victims as well as poorer relationship with staff.
Conclusion
The results are discussed with reference to the relevant prison and school-based bullying literature and directions for future research are provided. Overall, the findings of this study are consistent with the part of the MMBSS (Ireland 2012) examined and provide initial support for the notion that the special nature of the physical and social residential environment may be important in explaining bullying in care.
... Several empirical and conceptual analyses strongly attested to the functionality of the two selected variables in terms of construct validity and certain measurement properties. Internal consistency reliabilities (Cronbach's alpha) for the Being Bullied scale or the Bullying scale (consisting of the 8-9 items concerning different forms of bullying) have been investigated in a number of samples from different countries and are in the .80-.90 range (Fekkes, Pijpers, & Verloove-Vanhorick, 2005;Felix and McMahon, 2006;Ferguson, San Miguel, & Hartley, 2009;Hartung, Little, Allen, & Page, 2011;Jenson, Dieterich, Brisson, Bender, & Powell, 2010;Kyriakides, Kaloyirou, & Lindsay, 2006;Stavrinides, Georgiou, & Theofanous, 2010;Strohmeier, Kärnä, & Salmivalli, 2011;Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers, & Johnson, 2005). As peer nominations and peer ratings have become relatively common techniques for the identification of bullies and victims, such measures have also been used to examine the concurrent/convergent validity of the OBQ. ...
In the present article, we used IRT (graded response) modeling as a useful technology for a detailed and refined study of the psychometric properties of the various items of the Olweus Bullying scale and the scale itself. The sample consisted of a very large number of Norwegian 4th-10th grade students (n = 48 926). The IRT analyses revealed that the scale was essentially unidimensional and had excellent reliability in the upper ranges of the latent bullying tendency trait, as intended and desired. Gender DIF effects were identified with regard to girls' use of indirect bullying by social exclusion and boys' use of physical bullying by hitting and kicking but these effects were small and worked in opposite directions, having negligible effects at the scale level. Also scale scores adjusted for DIF effects differed very little from non-adjusted scores. In conclusion, the empirical data were well characterized by the chosen IRT model and the Olweus Bullying scale was considered well suited for the conduct of fair and reliable comparisons involving different gender-age groups. Information Aggr. Behav. 9999:XX-XX, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
... Indeed, one could analyze the interaction between frequency of victimization and self-reported harmfulness of victimization to examine whether the consequences of exposure to bullying perceived as harmful vary as a function of the frequency of victimization. The importance of victims' views of harmful impact is supported by research on general aggression demonstrating that perceived harm is a better predictor of victim behaviors than are actual rates of victimization (Book, Hunter, Costello, & Gautier, submitted) and that harm from the victim's perspective is likely to be the most powerful predictor of the final outcomes of that victimization (Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers, & Johnson, 2005). ...
... This definition has been widely used in the scientific world. For example, Theriot et al state [18], that "the three key concepts that differentiate bullying (as defined by Olweus) from other forms of school violence and conflict are: (1) an intent to harm or upset another student, (2) the harmful behavior is done "repeatedly and over time", and (3) the relationship between the bully (or bullies) and the victim(s) is characterized by an imbalance in power." In the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report cards on child well-being, bullying is seen as occurring when: "another student, or a group of students, say or do nasty and unpleasant things to him or her. ...
Background
We ask whether verbal abuse, threats of violence and physical assault among Canadian youth have the same determinants and whether these determinants are the same for boys and girls. If these are different, the catch-all term “bullying” may mis-specify analysis of what are really different types of behavior.
Methods
We analyze five cohorts of Canadian youth aged 12-15 from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY). There are 11475 observations in total. Pearson’s correlation coefficients and six different multivariate strategies are used.
Results
There are many faces to bullying, in terms of its form and relative frequencies for boys versus girls. Although some characteristics of an adolescent are strong predictors of being subject to more than one type of bullying, some other characteristics are only correlated with specific types of bullying.
Conclusions
The many faces of bullying, and their correlation with different factors, imply different policy interventions may be needed to address each issue effectively.
... Research on bullying reveals that this is a widespread problem, with estimates of Children's True and False Reports 3 school-aged children who have been bullied ranging from 15 to 45% (Craig, 1998;Veenstra et al., 2005). However, fewer than half of bullying victims report the incident, potentially out of fear that they will not be believed (Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers, & Johnson, 2005). Also of concern is the potential for bullying claims to be false. ...
As children can be victims or witnesses to crimes and may be required to testify about their experiences in court, the ability to differentiate between children's true and fabricated accounts of victimization is an important issue. This study used automated linguistic analysis software to detect linguistic patterns in order to differentiate between children's true and false stressful bullying reports and reports of non-stressful events. Results revealed that children displayed different linguistic patterns when reporting true and false stressful and non-stressful stories, with non-stressful stories being more accurately discriminated based on linguistic patterns. Results suggest that it is difficult to discriminate accurately and consistently between children's true and false stories of victimization.
... Sus principales limitaciones consideran sus propiedades psicométricas, tanto para su fiabilidad, como para su validez, obteniendo en diferentes estudios coeficientes que varían su rango desde regular (Pellegrini, Bartini & Brooks, 1999;Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers & Johnson, 2005) hasta aceptable (Solberg & Olweus, 2003), suponiendo que su mayor empleo colectivo se debe a su facilidad comparativa inter-poblacional y en el tiempo, al ser uno de los primeros creados por Olweus (1986), el autor precursor de esta materia. Otra deficiencia importante es que a nivel latinoamericano no se encuentra un uso similar debidamente validado. ...
The Aggression Among Peers Scale (Cajigas de Segredo, 2004) was validated in this work. Psychometric properties analyzed by Macia and Miranda (2009) were considered, with the inclusion of a brief sub-scale regarding virtual aggression, and an extension of the original sample characteristics reported in both previous works. Evaluation was performed on 657 students ranging from sixth year in elementary school to the second year of high school. Satisfactory results were obtained for construct validity. Exploratory Factorial Analysis extracted 11 factors (9 for the original scale and 2 for the new sub-scale). Psychometric properties were equivalent with the ones reported in previous analyses, which implies the scale status of a validated instrument of aggression among peers, which also includes virtual aggression as a relevant dimension.
... Sin embargo, la información sobre sus propiedades psicométricas es escasa, a pesar de que se han realizado múltiples estudios y adaptaciones con este instrumento (p. ej., Kyriakides, Kaloyirou y Lindsay, 2006;Pellegrini, Bartini y Brooks, 1999;Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers y Johnson, 2005). No es hasta el 2003 (Solberg y Olweus) cuando se plantean algunas propiedades psicométricas. ...
Bullying is a highly topical issue, appearing with some frequency in the mass media, especially in extreme circumstances. It is a difficult problem to address, but in order to do so we must first evaluate it. Yet even its assessment poses a major challenge. Following a review of the self-report instruments available for dealing with bullying today, we decided to build a new one due largely to the shortcomings inherent to many of them. This paper concludes the research that began several years ago for the development of a new measure of bullying and presents the final version of the Multimodal Questionnaire of School Interactions (MQSI-IV), consisting of 36 items and five factors: a) Intimidating behaviors (bullying), b) Bullying victimization (bullied), c) Active bystander defending the victim, d) Extreme bullying/Cyber bullying, and e) Passive bystander. The paper presents other psychometric characteristics of the instrument, as well as the differences between girls and boys and between different age groups (ages 10 to 15) in the five dimensions of bullying.
... Accordingly, it is appropriate to briefly report about relatively recent studies with such information. With regard to the reliability of the bullying perpetration and bullying victimization scales of the eight or nine various forms of bullying included in the OBQ, there are now available seven empirical studies with such information from independent researchers from several different countries (Fekkes et al. 2005, Felix & McMahon 2006, Ferguson et al. 2009, Hartung et al. 2011, Jenson et al. 2010, Kyriakides et al. 2006, Stavrinides et al. 2010, Strohmeier et al. 2011, Theriot et al. 2005). Results have been reported in the form of internal consistency coefficients like Cronbach's alpha or item response theory (IRT) technology and have been uniformly quite good with reliabilities in the 0.80–0.90 ...
give a brief definition of . . . bullying or victimization / report some prevalence data and draw a sketchy portrait of typical victims and bullies as a general background
report on a study that examines the possible long-term consequences of regular bullying or victimization by peers in school [drawing from a follow-up study of men at age 23, some of whom had been victims of bullying for a period of at least 3 years, from Grades 6–9]
[examine] the effects of the school-based anti-bullying intervention program that [was] developed and evaluated in 42 schools in Norway / evaluation of the effects of the intervention program is based on data from approximately 2,500 students originally belonging to 112 Grade 4–7 classes in 42 primary and junior high schools in Bergen (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
... For example, 12 students reported "never" being victimized yet received two or more nominations as a victim, including two students who received eight victim nominations each. Past studies have shown that some students may be reluctant to label themselves as victims of bullying (Stockdale, Hangaduambo, Duys, Larson, & Sarvela, 2002;Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers, & Johnson, 2005). In one study, the majority of students (grades 4 through 6) reported at least one verbal (76%) or physical (66%) bullying experience in the past week, yet 66% responded "none" to the general bullying question: "During the past 7 days at school, how many times have you been bullied?" ...
Researchers examining the effectiveness of schoolwide anti-bullying programs typically use student self reports to measure reductions in bullying. In contrast, researchers who study peer aggression frequently employ peer nominations. This study compared self reports of bullying with peer nominations in a sample of 355 middle school students. Self report demonstrated low to moderate correspondence with peer nominations for bullying others (r = .18) and for victimization (.32). More than twice as many students were categorized as bullies using peer nomination (11%) as compared to self report (5%). Despite their limited agreement, both self- and peer-reported bullying/victimization were associated with school maladjustment. These results raise concern about the reliance on self or peer reports alone to assess the prevalence of middle school bullying.
... We cited behavioral indicators of each type of bullying for children to answer on the questionnaires, as suggested by Espelage, Bosworth, & Simon (2000), rather than a global measure, which has been shown to cause underreporting of prevalence (Theriot et al., 2005). We defined physical bullying as pushing, hitting, or taking away things. ...
We studied perceptions of Oklahoma public school students (n = 7,848) regarding bullying. Specifically, we asked for their thoughts about the seriousness of bullying, the hurtfulness of bullying, their involvement in bullying (as victim or perpetrator), their responses to being bullied or seeing someone else being bullied, and what they wanted adults to do to make the situation better. Children who were bullied frequently worried more about bullying, thought bullying was more serious and hurtful, and wanted adults to do more to fix the situation. To improve the situation, children wanted adults to provide better supervision.
... Other researchers have investigated the prevalence of bullying with the specific questions from the OBVQ, and students who endorsed 2-3 times per month on at least one of the items were regarded as self-reported victims or bullies (Scheithauer, Hayer, Petermann, & Jugert, 2006;Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers, & Johnson, 2005). Alternatively, other researchers have added the scores, with higher total scores indicating more frequent or more serious experiences of bullying or being bullied (Georgiou, 2008;Georgiou & Stavrinides, 2008;Smith & Gross, 2006). ...
Research on school bullying has tended to focus on its prevalence or frequency while ignoring its perceived severity. This study attempted to construct a perceived School Bullying Severity Scale (SBSS). The original 24-item instrument, revised from the Victim Scale of the School Bullying Scales, covered the four categories of physical, verbal, relational and cyber bullying. The partial credit model was used to conduct Rasch analysis with ConQuest software on data derived from two samples of Taiwanese secondary school students. Sample 1 and sample 2 consisted of 605 and 869 students, respectively. Three items were deleted after examining the quality of the data from sample 1. The reliability and validity of the 21 items on the final scale were verified using data from sample 2. Results demonstrated the reliability and validity of information collected by the SBSS. This study also found that secondary school students rated relational and cyber bullying as more severe than physical and verbal bullying. Differences between teachers’ and students’ perspectives on the perceived severity of various bullying behaviours as well as implications for preventing and intervening in bullying are discussed.
... The retrospective study design has both pros and cons. Bullied children tend to not fully acknowledge the bullying at the time (Stockdale, Hangaduambo, Duys, Larson, & Sarvela, 2002;Taylor, Wood, & Lichtman, 1983;Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers, & Johnson, 2005), possibly because of the threat bullying poses to an individual's self‐image, including the risk of social exclusion from the peer group. An advantage of adult retrospective reports is that these concerns are less of a problem because adults are more likely to be emotionally and physically distanced from these distressing childhood events and also able to identify an event as " bullying. ...
Children who are clumsy are often bullied. Nevertheless, motor skills have been overlooked in research on bullying victimization. A total of 2,730 Swedish adults (83% females) responded to retrospective questions on bullying, their talents in physical education (i.e., coordination and balls skills) and school academics. Poor talents were used as indicators of poor gross motor skills and poor academic skills. A subset of participants also provided information on educational level in adulthood, childhood obesity, belonging to an ethic minority in school and socioeconomic status relative to schoolmates. A total of 29.4% of adults reported being bullied in school, and 18.4% reported having below average gross motor skills. Of those with below average motor skills, 48.6% were bullied in school. Below average motor skills in childhood were associated with an increased risk (OR 3.01 [95% CI: 1.97-4.60]) of being bullied, even after adjusting for the influence of lower socioeconomic status, poor academic performance, being overweight, and being a bully. Higher odds for bully victimization were also associated with lower socioeconomic status (OR 2.29 [95% CI: 1.45-3.63]), being overweight (OR 1.71 [95% CI: 1.18-2.47]) and being a bully (OR 2.18 [95% CI: 1.53-3.11]). The findings indicate that poor gross motor skills constitute a robust risk-marker for vulnerability for bully victimization. Aggr. Behav. 9999:XX-XX, 2013. © 2013 The Authors. Aggressive Behavior Published by Wiley-Blackwell.
... Another interesting direction for future research is the nature of vulnerability itself. Some researchers have suggested that the identification of oneself as a victim is more influential on body language than is actual history of victimization (as asserted by Theriot, Dulmus, Sower, & Johnson, 2005). Past victimization, therefore, may only lead to an increased chance of future victimization if victims perceive themselves as vulnerable to victimization. ...
Previous research has shown that victims display characteristic body language, specifically in their walking style (Grayson & Stein, 1981). Individuals scoring higher on the interpersonal/affective aspects of psychopathy (Factor 1) are more accurate at judging victim vulnerability simply from viewing targets walking (Wheeler, Book, & Costello, 2009). The present study examines the relation between psychopathy and accuracy in assessing victim vulnerability in a sample of inmates from a maximum security penitentiary in Ontario, Canada. Forty-seven inmates viewed short video clips of targets walking and judged how vulnerable each target was to victimization. Higher Factor 1 psychopathy scores (as measured by the PCL-R; Hare 2003) were positively related to accuracy in judging victim vulnerability. Contrary to research with noninstitutional participants (Wheeler et al., 2009), inmates higher on Factor 1 of psychopathy were more likely to rationalize their vulnerability judgments by mentioning the victim's gait. Implications of these findings are discussed.
... Once considered a normal process of growing up (Lipman, 2003), officials now recognize the costs of such a tolerant view. Bullying is not a momentary trauma but a continual stressor for many children (Lane, 1989;Newman, Holden, & Delville, 2005;Schwartz, Gorman, Nakamoto, & Toblin, 2005;Theriot, Dulmus, Sowers, & Johnson, 2005). For example, the U.S. Secret Service reported that in its examination of 37 school shootings, the majority of shooters suffered extreme and longstanding bullying and harassment (Lumsden, 2002;Vossekuil, Fein, Reddy, Borum, & Modzeleski, 2002). ...
This study investigated the effects of increasing levels of multimedia interventions (cognitive behavioral treatment, videotapes, and CD-ROM modules) on self-reported bullying and victimization among urban third graders. Students' self-ratings were assessed using Reynolds' Bully Victimization Scale (Reynolds, 2003). The results indicated that the interventions did produce statistically significant reductions in bullying and victimization scores; however, these reductions were not universally associated with multimedia intervention type. Implications for school counselors and future researchers are offered. (Contains 3 tables.)
Background
There is a need for more sustainable interventions and for assessing the effectiveness of school-based universal anti-bullying programmes in vulnerable populations. We assessed the efficacy of a multicomponent, web-enabled, school-based intervention that aims to improve school climate and reduce bullying (LINKlusive) relative to conventional practices (control condition).
Methods
We conducted a cluster randomised controlled trial in primary and secondary schools in Madrid, Spain. The primary outcome measure was peer-reported bullying victimisation after the 12-week intervention (study endpoint). We analysed data using longitudinal mixed-effects models. The trial was registered with the ISRCTN registry (15719015).
Findings
We included 20 schools (10 in each group); 6542 students participated at baseline; 6403 were assessed at study endpoint. After the intervention, there was a statistically significant reduction in bullying victimisation in both the intervention (OR 0.61, 95% CI [0.41, 0.90]) and control groups (OR 0.69, 95% CI [0.51, 0.92]), with no evidence of differences in the whole sample (OR 0.89, 95% CI [0.58, 1.36]; aOR 0.89, 95% CI [0.58, 1.37]). Subgroup analyses showed a statistically significant effect of LINKlusive on bullying victimisation in primary education (aOR 0.68, 95% CI [0.47, 0.98]). In students with peer-reported bullying victimisation at baseline, LINKlusive showed a statistically significant effect on depression (−1.43, 95% CI [−2.46, −0.40], adjusted standardised mean difference (SMD) −0.41) and quality of life (2.18, 95% CI [0.80, 3.56], adjusted SMD 0.45).
Interpretation
LINKlusive could be effective in reducing bullying victimisation in primary school students. Sustainable whole-school interventions to promote mental health and reduce risk factors are warranted to improve outcomes in young people, especially in the early years of education.
Funding
10.13039/501100004587Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 10.13039/501100004837Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.
Despite the large body of evidence on bullying, little attention has been paid to adoptees, who represent a population more vulnerable to experiencing problems in peer relationships and school adjustment. This study presents the results from the Spanish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Study. We studied bullying among 251 adopted and 753 non-adopted adolescents aged between 11 and 15 years and its relationship with their well-being. We analyzed different roles (bully, victim, and bully-victim) and types of bullying (physical, verbal, relational, and cyberbullying). In addition, we explored possible differences concerning the type of adoption (domestic or intercountry). The results show that domestic adoptees usually experience more bullying, whereas intercountry adoptees showed no differences compared with non-adoptees. On the other hand, the relationship between bullying and well-being is virtually identical for both types of adoptees and non-adoptees. Thus, adoption alone does not seem to be a risk factor for bullying. It is the particular circumstances surrounding each type of adoption what can put adolescents at a greater risk. Teachers should consider paying special attention to instances of bullying involving domestic adoptees in order to improve their peer relationships.
Purpose
This paper aims to clarify an important nuance by proposing that people attribute human mind to brands on two distinct dimensions: think and feel.
Design/methodology/approach
Eight studies were conducted to first develop and validate the 14-item Brand Anthropomorphism Questionnaire, and then to investigate how the two subscales, think or feel dimensions, influence consumer moral judgment of brands.
Findings
This research developed a 14-item Brand Anthropomorphism Questionnaire with two subscales, which are psychometrically sound and show discriminant validity with regard to existing brand constructs. Furthermore, think or feel brand anthropomorphism dimensions can predict consumers’ moral judgment of brands.
Research limitations/implications
The present research offers preliminary evidence about the value of distinguishing between think brand and feel brand in consumer moral judgment. Further research could investigate other potential impact of the two dimensions, and possible antecedents of think/feel dimensions.
Practical implications
Managers can use the scale for assessment, planning, decision-making and tracking purposes. In addition, in the event of brand scandal or brand social responsibility activities, public-relations efforts can use the findings to earn or regain the trust of consumers, as this research demonstrates that marketers can shape (tailor) the feel or think dimensions of brand perception to change consumers’ moral judgment of the brands.
Originality/value
This research makes theoretical contribution to the brand anthropomorphism literature by differentiating the two dimensions and exploring the influence of anthropomorphism of consumer moral judgment.
Háttér és célkitűzések: Az iskolai kortársbántalmazás kvalitatív vizsgálatát egy nemzetközi egészségmagatartás- kutatás részeként azzal a céllal végeztük, hogy felmérjük, a diákok bullying meghatározása (szóhasználat, jelentés, ismeretanyag) megfelel-e a kutatásban és a szakemberek által használt kortársbántalmazás koncepciónak. Mindemellett a hazai bullyingvizsgálatok néhány módszertani kihívására is választ kerestünk.
Módszer: Az iskolai adatfelvételben 5–9. évfolyamos diákok vettek részt (129 fő). A tanulók fókuszcsoportokban válaszoltak strukturált interjú nyitott kérdéseire, és szógyűjtéseket végeztek. A diákok válaszait tematikus elemzésen alapuló kvalitatív módszerrel dolgoztuk fel.
Eredmények: A tanulók válaszai 13 fő, és további alkategóriákba rendeződtek: az elkövető és az áldozat jellemzői, az erőviszonyok egyenlőtlensége, az ismétlődés, a kortársbántalmazás okai és következményei, a cyberbullying jellemzői, a bullying formái, továbbá a bullyinghoz kapcsolódó további agresszív események, elkülönítés másfajta agressziótól, a határ bullying és játékos élcelődés között, az elkövető és áldozat közti hasonlóságok, valamint a bullying fennmaradása, krónikussá válása, terjedése.
Következtetések: A tanulók a kortársbántalmazás jellemzőiről, elkövetőiről és áldozatairól árnyaltan gondolkodnak: elméletben világosan érzékelik a bullying egyik fontos kritériumát, az erőegyenlőtlenséget. Ugyanakkor még bizonytalanok az egyes konkrét esetek megítélésében, a közbelépés mikéntjében. Olweus (1991) eddig széles körben elfogadott bullying definíciója jól használható az előfordulási gyakoriságok meghatározására, ugyanakkor érdemes az ismétlődés mellett a bántalmazás súlyosságát is figyelembe venni.
This study investigated the effects of increasing levels of multimedia interventions (cognitive behavioral treatment, videotapes, and CD-ROM modules) on self-reported bullying and victimization among urban third graders. Students’ self-ratings were assessed using Reynolds’ Bully Victimization Scale (Reynolds, 2003). The results indicated that the interventions did produce statistically significant reductions in bullying and victimization scores; however, these reductions were not universally associated with multimedia intervention type. Implications for school counselors and future researchers are offered.
Compared to those without disabilities, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are at increased risk of experiencing victimization across the lifespan. In this chapter, we discuss the progression of victimization from child abuse in early childhood, to bullying during the school-age years, and finally to criminal victimization in adulthood. We begin with a discussion of the notion that victimization is a lifelong concern for individuals with IDD. We then describe the methodological difficulties in establishing reliable definitions and prevalence rates for specific forms of victimization. After noting these limitations, we discuss three types of victimization in greater detail. In terms of child abuse, we discuss the prevalence of abuse among children with disabilities, while also discussing risk factors and potential prevention and intervention strategies. Next, we discuss the experiences of bullying of adolescents with IDD, while providing information on why these students are at increased risk and which prevention and intervention strategies might be implemented to reduce bullying of students with IDD. Finally, we discuss criminal forms of victimization experienced by adults with IDD, while noting specific risk factors that increase risk and the importance of prevention and intervention strategies. We end this chapter with a call for additional longitudinal victimization investigations to better understand the lifespan perspective of victimization and the relation between risk factors and experiences; an emphasis on the relation between disability etiology and experiences of victimization; and a focus on resilience and well-being of individuals with IDD who experience victimization.
Purpose
– This research examined some personal characteristics of victims of bullying in residential care for youth. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
– A total of 601 young people aged 11-21 from 22 residential facilities in Croatia completed an anonymous self-reported bullying questionnaire, the Big Five Personality Inventory, the Basic Empathy Scale and the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale.
Findings
– The results demonstrated that male and female victims lacked self-esteem, presented with neurotic personality traits and were likely to believe that bullying was just part of life in residential care. Female victims also presented with lower levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness, while male victims were young and had a history of victimisation during their previous placement, in school and at the beginning of their current placements.
Practical implications
– Victims in care might benefit from programmes addressing their low self-esteem, high neuroticism and attitudes approving of bullying. Male residential groups should not accommodate young boys together with older boys. New residents who have a history of victimisation during their previous placement and in school should be supervised more intensively but in a manner that does not increase their perception of being victimised.
Originality/value
– The present study is the first work that examines individual characteristics of bullying victims in care institutions for young people. As such, the study offers some insights on how to protect residential care bullying victims.
Turan Oflazoǧlu had remained true to the historicity at their plays. Writer had managed to give historical events with bright and attractive style. When historical events had been told, benefiting from the arts of Oflazoǧlu will turn into funny process the education of history. İt's continue being a problem said by students frequently, not to stick in the mind or to forget immediately for the historical events. It was known that historical events were learned by belles lettres are stick in the mind for a long time. At this work we will discuss a method that will help to teach history lesson or endear lesson to students. İt will contribute to permanent learning instead of narrating historical events with chronological order and teach by rote, to make students read belles lettres which narrated historical events. Discussing with students the historical divagation at the classroom by under supervision a specialist will be turn the lesson to funny and usefull form.
Teasing and bullying in childhood are known to pose a range of short- and long-term risks for psychological health and well-being. They have been the subject of extensive study over the past 10 years, with research focusing on defining the phenomena and reporting on prevalence, possible causes and implications for those affected. This chapter reviews the literature on teasing and bullying, as it pertains across the lifespan to individuals with cleft lip and/or palate; the impact of teasing and bullying on children and adults with cleft is considered, and recommendations for management and intervention are made.
Connell and Farrington (1997) carried out the first study of the reliability and validity of reports of bullying and victimisation in correctional institutions, using individual interviews. The present research describes the second study on this topic using questionnaire measures of self, peer and staff reports of bullying and victimisation in one Children's Home (N=16 residents, 15 peers, 6 staff, making up to 1440 comparisons) and one Correctional Home (N=19 residents, 18 peers, 6 staff, making up to 2052 comparisons) in Croatia. The present study improved on the Connell and Farrington study by examining the test–retest stability of the questionnaire and using relative improvement over chance coefficients in assessing inter-rater reliability. Unlike in the Connell and Farrington study, self-reports of bullying and victimisation were collected in small groups rather than in individual interviews. Generally, there was significant agreement between residents, peers and staff in identifying bullies and victims, and the test–retest stability of the questionnaire was high. In line with the findings of Connell and Farrington, it is concluded that self-reports provide the most reliable and valid data about bullying amongst institutionalised youth.
Bullying involves a powerful person intentionally harming a less powerful person repeatedly. With advances in technology, students are finding new methods of bullying, including sending harassing emails, instant messages, text messages, and personal pictures to others. Although school bullying has been studied since the 1970s, relatively little is known about students’ experiences of cyberbullying. The present study explored the prevalence of cyberbullying while also examining sex and grade differences. Results showed that a substantial proportion of students in Grades 6, 7, 10, and 11 are involved in cyberbullying: Girls are more likely than boys to be the targets of cyberbullying, and cyberbullying declines in high school. Despite significant findings, the magnitude of these group differences is small. Implications for interventions are discussed.
One of the most significant findings of school bullying research is the identification of bully-victims, or those students who are both bully and bullied. While researchers have hypothesized that this group has unique characteristics and experiences, limited research compares the perceptions and bullying experiences of this group to those of bullied children who do not bully others. This study seeks to fill such a research gap by contrasting the characteristics and bullying experiences of victims and bully-victims. Among 192 children at rural elementary and middle schools, 31 percent are victims while 11.5 percent are bully-victims. Based on chi-square and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) comparisons of bullying victimization, bully-victims experience more total bullying. They are also more likely to experience name-calling or teasing, physical assault, having money or items taken or damaged, and bullying based on race or color. They experience many of these behaviors with greater frequency than nonbullying victims. The authors discuss these findings and their implications for bullying research and antibullying interventions at rural schools.
The occurrence of bullying, victimization, and aggressive victimization was documented in a sample of 5th graders. Bullies comprised about 14% of the sample, whereas aggressive victims and victims comprised, respectively, 5% and 18%. Bullying and aggressive victimization was positively related to youngsters' emotionality and activity and negatively related to peer popularity. Although proactive and reactive aggression was related to bullying scores within the group of bullies, only proactive aggression was related to within-group popularity for bullies. Having friends and being liked by one's peers were protective factors against victimization, although the latter was more powerful than the former. Suggestions for future research, school policy, and intervention are made.
Three rural schools located in Appalachia, United States, were the site for this research study that examined the prevalence of bullying among children. A convenience sample of students in grades 3 through 8 completed the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire. Results found that of the 192 students included in this study, 158 children (82.3%) reported experiencing some form of bullying at least once in the past three months. This prevalence rate is substantially higher than the figures reported in other U.S. studies. Such a significant finding may confirm that school bullying is a bigger problem in rural communities than in urban areas. Given variations in the definition of bullying and measures of frequency, comparisons to other studies should be made cautiously. Instead, this finding should be viewed as a validation for further research rather than as a definitive conclusion.
Familial and adult influences, peer relations, and distal contextual factors were tested as correlates of a continuous measure of bullying behavior within a sample of 558 middle school students. Only 19.5% of the sample reported exhibiting no bullying behavior in the past 30 days. Parental physical discipline, time spent without adult supervision, negative peer influences, and neighborhood safety concerns were each positively associated with bullying behavior. In contrast, positive adult role models were associated with less bullying behavior. Results suggest that counselors should focus prevention and intervention efforts on the risk factors within the larger social context of an adolescent's life.
This special issue on bullying and victimization in School Psychology Review, highlights current research efforts in American schools on bullying and peer victimization, and how this research can inform prevention and intervention planning. This introductory article provides a brief overview of several major insights gained over the last decade from research on bullying in school-aged youth and sets the stage for the special issue. Research on psychosocial correlates in bullying behaviors is reviewed and four insights that provide directions fur future research are derived. The contributing authors in the special issue augment these insights by examining the intluence of the peer ecology on bullying (Rodkin & Hodges, 2003). Using longitudinal and multivariate methodologies in bullying research (Long & Pellegrini, 2003), assessing the climates within the school where bullying typically occurs (Leff, Power. Costigan. & Manz, 2003), exploring implementation issues of school-wide bullying prevention programming (Orpinas, Horne, & Staniszewski. 2003), reviewing laws and policies to address bullying (Limber & Small, 2003), and challenging researchers to reach a consensus on bullying research (Furlong, Morrison, & Greif, 2003).
Developed a peer nomination scale to assess the degree to which children are subjected to direct physical and verbal abuse by peers. Ss were 165 boys and girls in the third through sixth grades. About 10% of the children could be classified as extremely victimized. Age and sex differences in victimization were nonsignificant. Children's victimization scores were uncorrelated with their aggression scores (also assessed by peer nominations), were negatively correlated with peer acceptance, and were positively correlated with peer rejection. When children's victimization and aggression scores were treated as dual predictors of peer rejection, over half of the variance in peer rejection could be accounted for. Implications of the fact that a small group of children consistently serve as targets of peer aggression are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The occurrence of bullying, victimization, and aggressive victimization was documented in a sample of 5th graders. Bullies comprised about 14% of the sample, whereas aggressive victims and victims comprised, respectively, 5% and 18%. Bullying and aggressive victimization was positively related to youngsters' emotionality and activity and negatively related to peer popularity. Although proactive and reactive aggression was related to bullying scores within the group of bullies, only proactive aggression was related to within-group popularity for bullies. Having friends and being liked by one's peers were protective factors against victimization, although the latter was more powerful than the former. Suggestions for future research, school policy, and intervention are made. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Methods of identifying aggressive/bullying and victimized youngsters in a middle school sample were compared. First, the authors compared teachers' and research associates' ratings of students' aggression and found that the 2 measures were significantly correlated. Second, direct observations of youngsters' aggression and victimization were compared with indirect, diary measures kept by youngsters of the same behaviors. The measures were not interrelated, but the diary measures were related to the peer and self-report measures, whereas the direct observations were related to peer and teacher measures. Third, the authors compared the ability of different peer and self-report measures to identify youngsters at different levels of aggression and victimization severity. All measures were associated, even at low levels of severity. Results are discussed in terms of different instruments that provide information on public and private behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The authors propose a dialectical conceptual framework for the bully-victim-bystander interaction often seen in school violence. A clinical and interactional typology is proposed for the detection of children falling into these patterns, with the goal of affording early and vigorous intervention and consultation opportunities with teachers and school administrators.
Self-help agencies are funded as adjuncts of, referral sources for, or alternatives to community mental health agencies. Little is known about how these two types of organization in geographic proximity interact, whom they attract as prospective clients, and what their clients bring to the service situation. The authors compared the characteristics and past service use of new enrollees of self-help agencies and community mental health agencies serving the same geographic area.
Interview assessments were conducted with 673 new users at ten pairs of self-help and community mental health agencies serving the same geographic areas. Client characteristics were evaluated with multivariate analysis of variance and chi square tests.
Clients of community mental health agencies had more acute symptoms, lower levels of social functioning, and more life stressors in the previous 30 days than clients of self-help agencies. The self-help agency cohort evidenced greater self-esteem, locus of control, and hope about the future. Clients of self-help agencies had received more services from facilities other than self-help or community mental health agencies in the previous six months, and clients of self-help agencies who were not African American had more long-term mental health service histories.
Although self-help and community mental health agencies both provide services to people with major mental disorders, community mental health agencies deliver primarily acute treatment-focused services, whereas self-help agencies provide services aimed at fostering socialization, mutual support, empowerment, and autonomy.
This study examined African-Americans' use of comprehensive mental health services. 248 long-term users of self-help agencies (SHAs) were interviewed about their use of 37 different mental health services from various providers in a six-month period. Multiple regression analysis showed that the homeless and African-Americans were the high users in our sample. A subsequent MANOVA procedure suggested that this may be the result of African-Americans' increased use of SHAs. While African-Americans are low service users in traditional studies focusing on a narrow list of services and providers, this research argues for including SHAs in future studies of African-American service use.
Developed a peer nomination scale to assess the degree to which children are subjected to direct physical and verbal abuse by peers. Ss were 165 boys and girls in the third through sixth grades. About 10% of the children could be classified as extremely victimized. Age and sex differences in victimization were nonsignificant. Children's victimization scores were uncorrelated with their aggression scores (also assessed by peer nominations), were negatively correlated with peer acceptance, and were positively correlated with peer rejection. When children's victimization and aggression scores were treated as dual predictors of peer rejection, over half of the variance in peer rejection could be accounted for. Implications of the fact that a small group of children consistently serve as targets of peer aggression are discussed.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate a project to delay sexual activity among early adolescents in rural Appalachia. One-hundred and twenty-six 11- and 12-year-old White girls were involved in a year-long school-based program designed to improve self-concept, expectations for the future, educational plans, perceptions of maternal acceptance, and knowledge of human reproduction. The intervention participants, as compared to the comparison participants, revealed somewhat less traditional sex role orientations, significantly improved self-concept, and lessened anxiety. Implications are presented for the replication of this project model in other rural schools.
A theory of victims' responses to their victimization, termed Selective Evaluation, is proposed. It is maintained that the perception that one is a victim and the belief that others perceive one as a victim are aversive. Victims react to this aversive state by selectively evaluating themselves and their situation in ways that are self-enhancing. Five mechanisms of selective evaluation that minimize victimization are proposed and discussed: making social comparisons with less fortunate others (i.e., downward comparison); selectively focusing on attributes that make one appear advantaged; creating hypothetical, worse worlds; construing benefit from the victimizing event; and manufacturing normative standards of adjustment that make one's own adjustment appear exceptional. The theory is integrated with the existing literature on victimization, and possible functions of selective evaluation are discussed.
Retrospective data were collected from adolescent students in order to clarify perceptions of victimization by bullies in small-town midwestern schools. Seventy-two percent of females and 81 percent of male respondents felt that they had experienced bullying at some point in their student careers (76.8 percent overall). Fewer students were considered chronic victims as self-reported severity of bullying increased. Though there are some difficulties in making a direct comparison, preliminary results indicate that victimization by bullies is more prevalent in the USA than in European countries.
An abstract is not available.
This paper briefly reviews the literature on violence in rural schools and communities, as well as the causes of rural crime and violence. General demographic and economic characteristics of rural communities are listed, followed by facts on rural school enrollments, achievement, and funding. Recent changes in rural communities that might contribute to crime and violence include the diminishing influence of church, school, and family and the economic restructuring that is undermining sense of community and lessening local control. Rural America can no longer be characterized as a safe haven from crime and violence, but information on rural violence and rural school violence is limited. Data on rural crime rates are listed, followed by findings from three studies of rural school violence. These findings indicate that rural school violence is increasing; over half of the boys and one-fifth of the girls in a Texas study had been in a fight involving weapons; and most violence occurred in unsupervised areas such as hallways, restrooms, cafeteria, and locker rooms. Small schools may have advantages that improve school safety. Nine possible causes of rural violence are briefly discussed: culture of violence, poverty, urbanization, rapid economic and population change, organized crime, urban export of criminals, substance abuse, guns, and youth poverty. (Contains 21 references.) (SV)
Because school violence is not confined to cities, even rural administrators and board members have become legally responsible for addressing the issue. To prevent lawsuits and ensure school safety, districts must have an official policy, knowledge about potentially disruptive students, law enforcement liaisons, and inservice education for teachers. A sidebar recounts one rural superintendent's sobering experience. (MLH)
Labeling theory tends to focus largely on the offender. Yet, implicit in interactionist theories of deviance is a concern for the social situation as a whole. This logically includes the victim of crime. This article explores the potential of extending the interactionist perspective on deviance to the experiences of victims of crime. Specifically, I outline a parallel labeling process for victims in which differential social reactions to this status, flowing from varying attributions of sympathy worthiness, have an impact on the behaviors, adjustment, and identities of the individuals concerned. This process is further distinguished from the related labeling of emotional deviance. I then present the results of a qualitative study of individuals who have suffered the murder of a loved one. Through an empirical examination of the varying social reactions to these individuals by extended family, friends, acquaintances, and the community, as well as victims' varying responses thereto, I indicate how familiar terms such as accommodation, labeling, primary, secondary, and tertiary deviance each have their conceptual counterpart in the experiences of victims.
Despite the fact that many incidents of extreme violence have taken place in rural areas there is still some resistance on the part of rural school administrators to admit that violence is a problem in their schools. This article provides a comparison of rural and urban student and staff self-report of school violence (perpetration, victimization and weapon carrying) and discusses the implications of these findings.
Bullying is a considerable problem in schools. It has various negative effects on the children involved. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how children themselves interpret and construct bullying. Three elementary school classes with a high number of victim nominations were chosen among the 48 classes taking part in a larger study. The pupils from selected classes were interviewed in small groups. The interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed and analyzed using the discourse analytical methodology described by Potter and Wetherell [1987]. Various recurrently used systems of terms (e.g., interpretative repertoires) were found. The results suggest that bullying can be construed as unproblematic and justified among children. For example, the ‘interpretative repertoire of underestimation’ constructs bullying as a game or some other harmless action, the ‘odd student repertoire’ describes the victim as a negatively deviant student who cannot behave as he/she should and the ‘interpretative repertoire of deserving’ constructs meaningful reasons for hostility towards the victim. These and other interpretative repertoires are described and discussed. Aggr. Behav. 29:134–154. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The study of school bullying has recently assumed an international dimension, but is faced with difficulties in finding terms in different languages to correspond to the English word bullying. To investigate the meanings given to various terms, a set of 25 stick–figure cartoons was devised, covering a range of social situations between peers. These cartoons were shown to samples of 8– and 14–year–old pupils (N= 1,245; n= 604 at 8 years, n= 641 at 14 years) in schools in 14 different countries, who judged whether various native terms cognate to bullying, applied to them. Terms from 10 Indo–European languages and three Asian languages were sampled. Multidimensional scaling showed that 8–year–olds primarily discriminated nonaggressive and aggressive cartoon situations; however, 14–year–olds discriminated fighting from physical bullying, and also discriminated verbal bullying and social exclusion. Gender differences were less appreciable than age differences. Based on the 14–year–old data, profiles of 67 words were then constructed across the five major cartoon clusters. The main types of terms used fell into six groups: bullying (of all kinds), verbal plus physical bullying, solely verbal bullying, social exclusion, solely physical aggression, and mainly physical aggression. The findings are discussed in relation to developmental trends in how children understand bullying, the inferences that can be made from cross–national studies, and the design of such studies.
The key aim of the present research was to study the “functionality” of two global variables in the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire and to examine the appropriateness of different cutoff points of these variables for prevalence estimation. Several empirical and conceptual analyses strongly attested to the functionality of the two selected variables in terms of construct validity and selected measurement properties. Similarly, a number of analyses indicated that (having been bullied/having bullied other students) “2 or 3 times a month” was a reasonable and useful lower-bound cutoff point. With this cutoff point, “involved” students, victims, and bullies differed very markedly and in clearly different ways from “non-involved” students in conceptually related variables. Prevalence estimates derived in this way can be conveniently obtained, have a reasonably well-defined meaning, can be easily understood by users, and can be reproduced unambiguously by different researchers/administrators and at different times. An important background for the article is the fact that several common methods, including peer nominations, are not well suited for prevalence estimation. Prevalence data for victims, bullies, and bully-victims are also presented. All data were derived from the New Bergen Project Against Bullying, comprising a sample of 5,171 students from 37 schools in the town community of Bergen, Norway. At the time of the data collection, the spring of 1997, the 2,544 girls and 2,627 boys were in grades 5 through 9, with modal ages of 11 through 15 years. Aggr. Behav. 29:239–268, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
This study examined factors that influence a student's decision to report being bullied at school. An anonymous survey of 2,437 students in six middle schools identified 898 students who had been bullied, including 25% who had not told anyone that they were bullied and 40% who had not told an adult about their victimization. We investigated chronicity and type of bullying, school climate, familial, demographic, and attitudinal factors that influenced victim reporting to anyone versus no one, to adults versus no one, and to adults versus peers. Logistic regression analyses indicated that reporting increased with the chronicity of victimization. Reporting was generally more frequent among girls than boys, and among lower grade levels. Students who perceived the school climate to be tolerant of bullying, and students who described their parents as using coercive discipline were less likely to report being bullied. Implications for improving victim reporting of bullying are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 30:373–388, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
This research uses data from the Area-Identified National Crime Victimization Survey to examine the influence of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage on the likelihood of police notification by victims of violence. The results indicate that neighborhood disadvantage does not significantly affect the likelihood of police notification among robbery and aggravated assault victims. However, a significant curvilinear effect of neighborhood disadvantage is observed for simple assault victims. The implications of these results for community-level crime research and for theoretical perspectives on police notification are discussed.
For three decades, the southern subculture of violence thesis was the center of debate for homicide researchers. Often, the South was regarded as a homogeneous region regarded as a subculture without attending to within-region variations. This research tested whether there were subregional variations within the state of Kentucky, paying particular attention to the coal-producing counties of Appalachia as an internal colony. Sociodemographic factors, economic distress, Core-Appalachia, and alcohol were used as predictors of homicide in the state. Using path analysis, it is argued that economic distress and Core-Appalachia predict homicide with alcohol acting as a significant intervening factor in the relationship. It is concluded that sociodemographic, subcultural, structural, and lifestyle factors are interrelated and predictive of overall homicide rates in the state. Treating the South as a uniform region is questioned.
Teachers play a crucial role in preventing and managing the widespread problem of bullying. Despite this, scant attention has been paid to their views on this type of problem.
To determine (i) what behaviours teachers regard as bullying; (ii) teachers' attitudes towards bullying, bullies and victims; (iii) teachers' self-beliefs about their ability to deal with bullying and their need for training; (iv) teachers' views of their responsibility for bullying in various locations; (v) the impact of length of service on attitudes and perceived ability to cope with bullying.
Pre-, infant, junior, and secondary school teachers (N = 138) from schools selected on a convenience basis. Age range 19 to 57 years (mean = 35.8), length of teaching experience range one to 38 years (mean = 12.2 years).
Standardised questionnaire completed and returned within a one-week period.
Teachers viewed a wide range of behaviours as bullying, but significantly more agreed that some items (e.g., 'Threatening people verbally') were bullying than agreed others were (e.g., 'Leaving people out'). Teachers expressed generally negative attitudes towards bullying and bullies, and were generally sympathetic towards victims, although sympathy diminished with increasing length of service. Teachers, regardless of length of service, were not confident in their ability to deal with bullying and 87 per cent wanted more training. Significantly more teachers felt responsible for preventing bullying in the classroom and playground than outside of school.
School psychologists must consider teachers' views about many aspects of the problem of bullying if they are to devise optimum strategies for tackling it.
Although violence among US youth is a current major concern, bullying is infrequently addressed and no national data on the prevalence of bullying are available.
To measure the prevalence of bullying behaviors among US youth and to determine the association of bullying and being bullied with indicators of psychosocial adjustment, including problem behavior, school adjustment, social/emotional adjustment, and parenting.
Analysis of data from a representative sample of 15 686 students in grades 6 through 10 in public and private schools throughout the United States who completed the World Health Organization's Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey during the spring of 1998.
Self-report of involvement in bullying and being bullied by others.
A total of 29.9% of the sample reported moderate or frequent involvement in bullying, as a bully (13.0%), one who was bullied (10.6%), or both (6.3%). Males were more likely than females to be both perpetrators and targets of bullying. The frequency of bullying was higher among 6th- through 8th-grade students than among 9th- and 10th-grade students. Perpetrating and experiencing bullying were associated with poorer psychosocial adjustment (P<.001); however, different patterns of association occurred among bullies, those bullied, and those who both bullied others and were bullied themselves.
The prevalence of bullying among US youth is substantial. Given the concurrent behavioral and emotional difficulties associated with bullying, as well as the potential long-term negative outcomes for these youth, the issue of bullying merits serious attention, both for future research and preventive intervention.
This article describes two courses, Health in Rural Appalachia and Clinical Practice in Appalachia, developed by one of the authors to increase students' cultural competence as professional nurses. Characteristics of the Appalachian culture are described as well as the need for cultural awareness and sensitivity in those providing health care. Both the three-credit seminar course and the one-credit clinical course are described. Students' comments, from journals and other assignments, are interspersed throughout to illustrate various aspects of the cultural heritage they experienced as they worked with nurses and patients in eastern Kentucky.
To examine the prevalence and correlates of bullying in 7 rural elementary schools from students', parents', and teachers' perspectives.
Surveys were completed by 739 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students, 367 parents, and 37 teachers.
Students tended to report higher prevalence of bullying than did parents or teachers, and their reports were associated with aggression, attitudes toward violence, and perceptions of school safety.
Bullying behavior is prevalent in rural elementary schools and is indicative of aggression and proviolence attitudes. Parents and teachers need to pay closer attention to bullying behavior among schoolchildren and to impart their knowledge to children in a comprehensive, coordinated manner.
The study of school bullying has recently assumed an international dimension, but is faced with difficulties in finding terms in different languages to correspond to the English word bullying. To investigate the meanings given to various terms, a set of 25 stick-figure cartoons was devised, covering a range of social situations between peers. These cartoons were shown to samples of 8- and 14-year-old pupils (N = 1,245; n = 604 at 8 years, n = 641 at 14 years) in schools in 14 different countries, who judged whether various native terms cognate to bullying, applied to them. Terms from 10 Indo-European languages and three Asian languages were sampled. Multidimensional scaling showed that 8-year-olds primarily discriminated nonaggressive and aggressive cartoon situations; however, 14-year-olds discriminated fighting from physical bullying, and also discriminated verbal bullying and social exclusion. Gender differences were less appreciable than age differences. Based on the 14-year-old data, profiles of 67 words were then constructed across the five major cartoon clusters. The main types of terms used fell into six groups: bullying (of all kinds), verbal plus physical bullying, solely verbal bullying, social exclusion, solely physical aggression, and mainly physical aggression. The findings are discussed in relation to developmental trends in how children understand bullying, the inferences that can be made from cross-national studies, and the design of such studies.
In elementary schools, the prevalence of bullying ranges from 11.3% in Finland to 49.8% in Ireland. The only United States study of elementary students found that 19% were bullied. Bullying behavior declines as students progress through the grades. School bullying is associated with numerous physical, mental, and social detriments. A relationship also exists between student bullying behavior and school issues such as academic achievement, school bonding, and absenteeism. Prevention of school bullying should become a priority issue for schools. The most effective methods of bullying reduction involve a whole school approach. This method includes assessing the problem, planning school conference days, providing better supervision at recess, forming a bullying prevention coordinating group, encouraging parent-teacher meetings, establishing classroom rules against bullying, holding classroom meetings about bullying, requiring talks with the bullies and victims, and scheduling talks with the parents of involved students. Finally, this review suggests further studies needed to help ameliorate the bullying problem in US schools.
Previous research suggests that 3 general processes underlie the decision of property crime victims to notify the police: One that is cognitively driven by reward/cost considerations, one that is affectively driven, and another that is socially driven. This study is the first to employ a community sample of crime victims to compare the 3 processes within a single study. Computer-assisted interviews were conducted with 422 property crime victims (n = 129 burglary, n = 293 theft) located via a random digit dialing procedure. Logistic regression analyses showed that each process independently accounted for a significant amount of the variance in victim reporting, and that there were no interactions among the three processes in predicting reporting. Of the 3 processes, social influence was the best predictor of reporting. Analysis of the affect-driven process showed that reporting was primarily a function of the level of fear rather than anger or the level of generalized arousal upon discovering the crime.
Mean difference is significant after a Bonferroni adjustment for multiple comparisons
- M T Theriot
*** Mean difference is significant after a Bonferroni adjustment for multiple comparisons. M.T. Theriot et al. / Children and Youth Services Review 27 (2005) 979–994 References
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