Examining developmental differences in the social‐emotional problems among frequent bullies,victims, and bully/victims

Bullying poses a threat to children's social‐emotional functioning and their perceptions of school climate, yet few studies have examined different types of social‐emotional and behavior problems presented by children involved in bullying, as a bully, victim, or bully/victim across multiple school levels. The current study used data from 24,345 elementary‐, middle‐, and high‐school students to examine the association between frequent involvement in bullying and aggressive impulsivity, attitudes toward aggressive retaliation, internalizing symptoms, peer relations, and perceptions of school climate. Logistic regression analyses indicated that bully/victims were most likely to display internalizing symptoms, problems in peer relationships, and have poorer perceptions of the school environment. Both frequent bullies and bully/victims displayed aggressive‐impulsive behavior and endorsed retaliatory attitudes. High‐school students frequently involved in bullying tended to display the greatest risk for internalizing problems, but less risk for aggressive impulsivity. Developmental trends and implications for prevention and early intervention are discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Are reading difficulties associated with bullying involvement?

Reading difficulties (RDs) are easily noticed by classmates, may cause frustration in the affected students, and are often accompanied by emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal problems at school. Although interviews with students with RDs have revealed bullying experiences, whether RDs actually increase the risk of bullying involvement has not been investigated before. We tested the association of self-reported RDs with peer-reported involvement in bullying in a nationally representative sample of 17,188 students (grades 3–8) from 1045 classrooms in 147 schools. Results indicated that experienced difficulties in the most fundamental learning skill seem to put students at risk especially for victimization at school (viewed by peers as victims and bully/victims), when gender, level of schooling, self-esteem, and difficulties in math were taken into account. In general, over a third of students with RDs were involved in bullying as victims, bullies, or bully/victims, compared with approximately a fifth of students without RDs.     

Bystander Behaviours Among Israeli Children Witnessing Bullying Behaviour In School Settings

As part of an international study that examined students' bystander behaviour when witnessing bullying in the school environment, we asked 216 junior high and 190 elementary Israeli school students to respond to a questionnaire addressing various issues related to bystander behaviours, following viewing a video showing various bullying incidents. Results showed that more than half of the students observed verbal and physical bullying and more than third of the students observed sexual coercion type of bullying on a weekly basis. Overall, most of the students reported that they would not support the bully when witnessing bullying and would support the victims and/or call a teacher. In other words, verbally they possess the right attitude towards bullying. Further analysis of students' responses, based on their status in relation to bullying, that is, reported being a victim, bully, bully/victim or neither, revealed that victims tend to report calling teachers more than students who reported being bullies and also bully/victims. Notably, bullies as bystanders were more likely to support bullies and not to get a teacher. Implications of these results for teachers who attempt to combat bullying in their schools are discussed.     

Bystander Behaviour Among Italian Students

This paper reports the Italian data on the bystanders' project. In the last decade, several studies have been conducted on the prevalence and nature of bullying among primary and secondary students as well as on individual and social risk factors, illustrating that bullying in the Italian context is a widespread phenomenon. No research has been conducted, so far, on the 'bystander' behaviours of those students who see other peers being bullied or bullying others in school either physically, verbally or through sexual coercion (i.e. touching girls). The study was conducted with 594 students (51.9% boys and 48.1% girls), aged 12–16 years old, with a mean age of 13.1 (SD=0.87). They were recruited from six different middle schools, two in each of three different sites in Italy: Northern Italy (Vercelli), Central Italy (Rome) and Southern Italy (Catania). Results showed that though the most likely reaction is supporting the victim by trying to discourage the bully, gender differences emerged, with girls more likely than boys to support the victim and boys more likely to encourage the bully or simply ignore. Differences resembling the same pattern emerged also with regard to own involvement as a bully or a victim. Findings are discussed by looking at possible applications for intervention.     

Telling is compelling: the impact of student reports of bullying on teacher intervention

Research increasingly recognises the importance of student bystander and adult educator shared responsibility for successful bully prevention. The role of teacher observations versus student reports of bullying, as well as staff preparedness, as predictors of teacher involvement was investigated in 115 middle school teachers. Being told by students about bullying incidents was the strongest predictor of teacher involvement. However, the relation between being told about bullying, or observing it, and coaching students on how to manage bullying was most evident when teachers felt highly prepared to handle bullying situations. Results from this study point to the pivotal role that both teacher preparedness and student reporting play in teacher responsiveness to bullying. Implications for training school professionals and bully prevention programmes are discussed.     

The repercussions of reporting bullying: some experiences of students at an independent secondary school

This article reports on the complex web experienced by young people when making decisions to report bullying in school. The study was conducted in the secondary school of an independent day and boarding school in the east of England. A Participatory Action Research approach was used with student voice and perspective at its core. This study involved five students as co-researchers with the first author to explore the concept of ‘snitching’ about bullying. Data were collected from the wider student group through a variety of methods including questionnaires, focus groups and interviews. The findings suggest that the process of reporting bullying is more complex than adults once thought. Students have to negotiate a complex web in firstly deciding if the bullying is serious enough to report. The concept of ‘serious’ bullying is contentious, particularly between boarders and day students, but physical abuse and/or repetition tended to be characteristic of ‘serious’ bullying. Once considered ‘serious’ enough, students have to weigh up the potential repercussions from the bully or the wider friendship group if they ‘snitch’. Students were therefore in conflict between loyalty to the bully and wider friendship group in deciding if unfairness had taken place and should be reported. Finally students needed to decide who they trusted to report the bullying to. The students in this study often reported to teachers who they perceived as supportive and authoritative.     

Relationships between school climate,bullying and delinquent behaviours

Given that schools are, potentially, powerful sites for influencing adolescent behaviour, it is important that there is greater understanding of the psychosocial aspects of the school climate that can be leveraged for this purpose. The research reported in this article used structural equation modelling (with data from a sample of 6120 students at Australian high schools) to examine the influence of the psychosocial school-level environment on students’ self-reported experiences of bully victimisation (i.e. being victims of bullying) and engagement in delinquent behaviours. Further, we examined whether bully victimisation mediated the relationships between school climate variables and delinquent behaviours. School connectedness and rule clarity were negatively associated with both bully victimisation and delinquency (p < 0.05), and teacher support was negatively associated with bully victimisation (p < 0.01), confirming the importance of these aspects of the school-level environment. However, affirming diversity and reporting and seeking help both had positive influences on bully victimisation (p < 0.05), raising concerns about the ways in which these aspects of the school-level environment might have been promoted. Importantly, bully victimisation was found to mediate the influence of five of the six school climate constructs on delinquent behaviours (p < 0.001). This study advance our understanding of how specific aspects of the school climate influence the prevalence of bullying and delinquent behaviour, adding weight to the call for educators to actively monitor and enhance psychosocial aspects of the school climate in order to improve student behavioural outcomes.     

Bullying as a Group Process in Childhood: A Longitudinal Social Network Analysis

This study investigates the dynamic interplay between bullying relationships and friendships in a sample of 481 students in 19 elementary school classrooms (age 8–12 years; 50% boys). Based on a relational framework, it is to be expected that friendships would be formed when two children bullied the same person and that children would start to bully the victims of their friends. Similarly, it is to be expected that friendships would be formed when two children were victimized by the same bully and that children would become victimized by the bullies of their friends. Longitudinal bivariate social network analysis supported the first two hypotheses but not the latter two. This study provides evidence for group processes in bullying networks in childhood.     

Bullying: Group differences of being victim and being bully and the influence of social relations

Bullying refers to several aspects of social interaction and communication. As a negative indicator of social inclusion, it has a high impact on students' well-being/health. Therefore, the present paper focuses on bullying of risk groups (gender, migration background, …), the influence of social relations on bullying and its context on school-well-being. 353 secondary school students (Austria) participated. Results indicated that boys were more likely to be bullies as well as victims. Regression analyses indicate that being female and positive teacher-student-relationships are significant predictors of being a bully less often and a positive peer-relationship is a predictor of being a victim less often. A negative correlation was found for both being a bully and being a victim and school-well-being. The findings highlight that social relations rather than being member of a minority group are important factors causing bullying and victimisation. Results will be discussed, taking into account methodological-analytical conditions.     

Stand by me: The effects of peer and teacher support in mitigating the impact of bullying on quality of life

Bullying is one of the most common forms of school violence. Engagement in bullying has been shown to have adverse effects on perpetrators and victims of bullying. In this study, the impact of bullying on well‐being (quality of life/life satisfaction) was explored in a sample of elementary and middle school children (N = 4,331). Results suggest that students who bully and/or are bullied experience reduced life satisfaction and support from peers and teachers compared to “bystanders” (children who are neither victims nor perpetrators of bullying). Mediational analyses demonstrate that peer and teacher support might mitigate the impact of bullying on the quality of life of victims. This study underscores the value of efforts to promote social support from peers and teachers in both universal bullying prevention programs and school climate initiatives. Furthermore, results support further investigation into the possible contributions of bystanders in supporting school‐wide bullying prevention/school climate strategies. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Prospects of adolescent students collaborating with teachers in addressing issues of bullying and conflict in schools

Advice to schools on countering bullying has emphasised the need for a whole school approach. This implies close collaboration between students and teachers. Little attention, however, has been paid to how students view the prospects of such collaboration. Two student surveys (n=7091 and n=632) were conducted among Australian adolescent schoolchildren, average age 14 years. The results suggest that approximately 40% of the students believed that teachers were not usually interested in taking action to stop bullying and a similar proportion were either opposed or unsure whether they should collaborate. Multiple regression analysis indicated that students who were more involved in bully/victim encounters as either as bullies or as victims were more likely than others to disparage the conflict resolution skills of teachers. In addition, bullies were particularly inclined to judge teachers as unfair in their behaviour toward students. The implications of these findings for the implementation of whole school approaches to conflict and bullying and for teacher education are discussed.     

Bullying victims’ perceptions of classroom interaction

This study investigated bullying victims’ perceptions of their teachers’ support and monitoring when controlling for level of mental health problems, peer relationships, gender, and grade level. Given the nested structure of the data, multilevel analyses were employed to examine these associations. The quality of classroom interaction is highly relevant for bullying prevention and intervention. A survey was administered to 1,571 fifth- to 10th-grade students in 10 schools. The findings revealed that bully victimization was significantly associated with weak teacher instructional support, but no significant association was observed between bully victimization and teachers’ emotional support or monitoring. These associations were negative when peer relationships were not controlled for because victims reported teacher support and monitoring issues less frequently than non-victims. The findings underscore the importance of classroom interaction and peer relationships for bullying prevention and intervention and the need to create positive relationships between teachers and students and among students in the classroom.     

Motivational interviewing as a positive response to high‐school bullying

Intervention approaches to bullying are largely preventive in nature, and even these have been shown to be ineffective, if not iatrogenic, with adolescents. Responses to bullying are limited to traditional punitive approaches or “no‐blame” approaches aiming to restore the relationship between the targeted students. Neither of these approaches may effectively engage the perpetrator of bullying at a motivational level, and we propose motivational interviewing (MI) as a means of promoting meaningful behavioral change among youths who bully. We provide a narrative review of MI and map its core features onto the extant literature on self‐reported motivations for bullying, highlighting the ways that MI fits with bullying and could serve as a potent solution that could be deployed by school psychologists and other student support staff members. Qualitative preliminary feedback and initial competency in MI from trained practitioners are presented as preliminary data from a cluster‐randomized control trial, documenting school staff perspectives on the integration of MI into their approach to bullying with recommendations for integrating MI into school settings.     

‘Just be friends’: exposing the limits of educational bully discourses for understanding teen girls’ heterosexualized friendships and conflicts

The present paper explores the conceptual limitations of the bully discourses that ground UK anti‐bullying policy frameworks and psychological research literatures on school bullying, suggesting they largely ignore gender, (hetero)sexuality and the social, cultural and subjective dynamics of conflict and aggression among teen‐aged girls. To explore the limitations of bully discourses in practice, the paper draws on a pilot, interview‐based study of girls’ experiences of aggression and bullying, illustrating how friendships and conflicts among the girls are thoroughly heterosexualized, en‐cultured and classed. Drawing on girls and parent interview narratives, I also trace some of the effects of bully discourses set in motion in schools to intervene into conflicts among girls. I suggest these practices miss the complexity of the dynamics at play among girls and also neglect the power relations of parenting, ethnicity, class and school choice, which can inform how, why and when bullying discourses are mobilized.     

One School's Experience of Engaging with a Comprehensive Anti-Bullying Programme in the Irish Context: Adolescent and Teacher Perspectives

In this article, the authors report on the evaluation of an anti-bullying programme, the cool school programme (CSP), conducted in a secondary school in Ireland. The study explored how participation in the anti-bullying programme affected students and teachers in one second-level school. The programme focused on students' faith in the teachers' ability to deal with bullying effectively, their willingness and confidence in telling a teacher about bullying and whether they felt safe in school. Teacher confidence and behaviour with regard to bullying were also explored. The study found that 91 per cent of students felt that teachers took bullying seriously. Eighty-nine per cent thought that teachers knew how to deal with bullying and 75 per cent felt able to tell a teacher if they were bullied. Eighty-seven per cent said there was a better atmosphere in their class. Ninety-three per cent of students felt safe in school. Seventy-two per cent of teachers reported greater confidence in their ability to manage bullying and 84% reported increased vigilance. Ninety-four per cent thought that students felt safer in the school. Sixty-nine per cent said there was a better atmosphere in the school. Most felt that the programme was now part of the school culture (94%) and would continue in the school (97%). The authors acknowledge that relying on reported levels of bullying may not give a complete picture of the impact of an anti-bullying intervention. They argue that researchers may need to take into consideration teacher approachability, challenging the culture of silence, responding appropriately and ensuring student safety in school when evaluating programmes.     

Bullying in Italian schools: the role of perceived teacher unfairness

The principal aim of the study is to examine the role of perceived teacher unfairness in predicting bullying behaviour. Data were taken from the “Health Behaviour in School Aged Children” project, a cross-sectional survey investigating health behaviours among early adolescents in selected European countries. Bullying behaviour (bully, victim, and bully/victim), perceived teacher unfairness and others confounding factors were measured through a self-administered questionnaire filled out by a representative sample of 4,386 (48.4% males) Italian students (11, 13, and 15 years old). Covariates included demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, school performance and other psychological factors. After adjusting for age and gender, teacher unfairness showed a significant association with being a bully (OR = 1.59; CI = 1.40–1.80) and a bully or victim (OR = 1.47; CI = 1.21–1.78). This relationship remained significant after additional adjustment for several potential confounding factors. Results show that characteristics of the school setting such as teacher unfairness can be significant predictors of involvement in bullying behaviour among early adolescents.     

Dynamics within the Bully/Victim Paradigm: A qualitative analysis

The present research examined whether high school students ethically justify bullying behaviour within a school context. Ten students, purposefully selected because of their specific roles within the bully/victim paradigm, participated in semi-structured interviews. Data analysis using the constant comparative method associated with grounded theory revealed complex social structures that existed within the purposefully selected sample. These structures are dynamic and demand compliance by students. The consequences for dissent are social isolation and exclusion. A student's categorisation within the bully/victim paradigm may be determined by their ability to comply with the requirements of the complex constructs in the school social environment.     

On bullshit and bullying: taking seriously those we educate

School bullying continues to plague students around the globe. Bullying research to date has largely employed empirical methodologies, including both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Using a philosophical lens, this paper seeks to better understand the intentionality of bullying by considering the satisfaction derived in the tears of another. Specifically, current bullying research takes seriously the notion that bullying is primarily a problem between a bully and a victim (i.e. that the bully does not like the victim). In this paper I suggest that the bully is bullshitting us and her/his project is far bigger than the victim s/he targets. In the final analysis bullying prevention, as well as education itself, requires us to take seriously not only the activities of students, but the desires (i.e. the ‘I likes’) that help us understand when we are being bullshitted and when we are not.     

How teachers address cases of bullying in schools: a comparison of five reactive approaches

According to student surveys conducted cross-nationally, a substantial proportion of students continue to be bullied at school after they have sought help from teachers. This article examines a range of strategies that teachers employ in dealing with bully/victim cases. The most commonly used strategy is Direct Sanctions: the imposition of disciplinary sanctions on the person or persons identified as responsible for the bullying. Some other strategies seek to engage students more actively in resolving the problem. These include Restorative Practice, Mediation (including peer mediation), the Support Group Method and the Method of Shared Concern. This article describes and discusses the application of each of the strategies and the extent to which students may become creatively engaged in producing a solution. Available evidence suggests that the use of Direct Sanctions is no more successful than alternative strategies in addressing cases of school bullying and may result in less sustainable outcomes.     

学校欺负行为干预研究综述

欺负行为是中小学生之间经常发生的一种特殊类型的攻击性行为,它对儿童及青少年的身心健康发展具有很大的伤害性。因此,受到许多国家研究者的广泛关注,并开展了相应的干预研究,也取得了一定的效果。了解国内外学者所做的有关学校欺负行为的干预研究,对我们开展学校欺负行为干预研究,促进学生健康成长有一定的借鉴意义。