Teachers’ perceptions of bullying among youth

A series of 48 vignettes of bullying was constructed by crossing (a) four kinds of social contact (physical aggression, verbal aggression, relational aggression, and non-aggression) with (b) male and female bullies, (c) male and female and victims, and (d) reaction of the victim (aggressive, passive, and no reaction). Teachers rated vignettes for seriousness. Physical aggression was perceived as more serious than any other kind of bullying, and vignettes that depicted female bullies and male victims were perceived as least serious across all kinds of bullying. Results are discussed in terms of applied implications for teachers in school settings and directions for future research.     

PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS' AWARENESS AND EXPRESSION OF EMOTIONS: ASSOCIATIONS WITH PROPOSED STRATEGIES FOR BEHAVIORAL MANAGEMENT IN THE CLASSROOM

This research examined whether prospective teachers’ emotion regulation styles, dispositional empathy, and conceptions of competent student emotion and behavior were predictive of their attitudes about bullying and proposed responses to peer conflict. Overall, participants perceived physical bullying as more serious than verbal and relational bullying. Prospective teachers also expressed higher levels of sympathy for victims and a greater likelihood of intervention in response to physical bullying. Regression analyses demonstrated that valuing emotional competence and the role of teachers in supporting its development were meaningfully associated with expressed support for victims and with proposed responses to the perpetrators of this type of classroom aggression. Interestingly, those respondents who reported higher levels of situationally specific sympathy for victims (and not dispositional empathy) also reported that they would be more likely than their counterparts to intervene on their behalf. The emotional reactivity component of dispositional empathy was, however, positively associated with regulated responses to peer conflict involving a difficult child. The emotion regulation variables, although associated with the outcome measures in correlational analyses, were not unique predictors of prospective teachers’ bullying attitudes.     

Self-blame tendency of bullied victims in elementary and secondary schools

The current scales for self-blame are not suitable for school bullying scenarios and most lack validity. This study used a self-developed scale to measure bullied victims’ tendency to self-blame and further examined whether victims and bully/victims exhibited different tendencies toward self-blame under both bullied and generalized scenarios. The study consisted of 1,320 student participants from grades five to nine. The research instrument was a self-constructed bullied-victim self-blame scale (BSS), and the results were analyzed using the Rasch rating scale model. The Rasch results showed strong evidence of BSS reliability and validity. The results indicated that participants’ self-blaming tendency scores were positively correlated with depression (r = .31). In addition, participants’ self-blaming scores in relational bullying were higher than those in verbal and physical bullying. The self-blaming tendency of bully/victims under bullied scenarios was higher than that of victims, but no difference was found between bully/victims and victims for generalised scenarios. The participants’ tendency to self-blame under generalised scenarios was significantly higher than under bullied scenarios. The tendencies of various roles to self-blame under different scenarios and the self-blaming counselling strategies for victims are discussed at the end of this study.     

心理学视域下校园欺凌的形成机理及对策

校园欺凌是国内外中小学中普遍存在的现象,从心理学角度考察其成因、探索相应干预措施有着重要意义。有关欺凌事件直接参与者的研究表明:部分欺凌者存在一定程度的反社会行为或认知特征,欺凌行为也是青春期个体获取、维护社会支配地位的一种手段;某些"另类"特征、情绪和社会交往问题会让儿童青少年成为易受欺凌的对象;欺凌和受欺凌都可能导致个体情绪、行为等方面的适应障碍,其不良影响甚至会延续相当长的时间;欺凌-受欺凌者是最不稳定的一类角色,兼具欺凌者与受欺凌者两者的缺点,适应状况通常最差。班级内的同伴生态、旁观者的行为和朋友关系都会影响欺凌事件的发生几率及所导致的后果。某些家庭和父母特征也是与欺凌行为联系密切的危险性或保护性因素。积极的师生关系有助于减少欺凌事件的发生,也能对其后果起到缓冲作用。但缺乏培训的父母和教师,通常无法及时准确地识别欺凌事件并做出有效应对。当前教育实践中,可以有效防控校园欺凌的措施大致可以划分为两类;一是面向特定相关群体的单水平干预,二是要求学生、家长、教职员工等都要参与其中的多水平干预。     

The association between school exclusion,delinquency and subtypes of cyber- and F2F-victimizations: Identifying and predicting risk profiles and subtypes using latent class analysis

This purpose of this paper is to identify risk profiles of youth who are victimized by on- and offline harassment and to explore the consequences of victimization on school outcomes. Latent class analysis is used to explore the overlap and co-occurrence of different clusters of victims and to examine the relationship between class membership and school exclusion and delinquency. Participants were a random sample of youth between the ages of 12 and 18 selected for inclusion to participate in the 2011 National Crime Victimization Survey: School Supplement. The latent class analysis resulted in four categories of victims: approximately 3.1% of students were highly victimized by both bullying and cyberbullying behaviors; 11.6% of youth were classified as being victims of relational bullying, verbal bullying and cyberbullying; a third class of students were victims of relational bullying, verbal bullying and physical bullying but were not cyberbullied (8%); the fourth and final class, characteristic of the majority of students (77.3%), was comprised of non-victims. The inclusion of covariates to the latent class model indicated that gender, grade and race were significant predictors of at least one of the four victim classes. School delinquency measures were included as distal outcomes to test for both overall and pairwise associations between classes. With one exception, the results were indicative of a significant relationship between school delinquency and the victim subtypes. Implications for these findings are discussed.     

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.     

Perceived severity of school bullying in elementary schools based on participants’ roles

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived severity of school bullying among participants with different roles (victims, bullies, bullies/victims and non-involved individuals) and to determine whether interactions between type of bullying and participant roles exist. Two Olweus-like global items and a revised School Bullying Severity Scale for elementary students were used in this study. A total of 1816 valid surveys completed by students in grades 5 and 6 (mean age = 11.5, SD = .84) were collected. Data were analysed using a mixed-model two-way ANOVA. The results revealed a significant main effect of type of bullying. Physical and verbal bullying were perceived as more severe than relational and cyberbullying. A significant two-way interaction between bullying category and participant role was also identified. Bullies did not perceive the four types of victimisation behaviours differently, whereas victims and bullies/victims both rated physical victimisation as most severe and cyber-victimisation as least severe. However, effect sizes were small. Implications for bullying prevention and intervention are discussed.     

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.     

Three‐year results of the Friendly Schools whole‐of‐school intervention on children's bullying behaviour

A group randomized controlled trial tested the efficacy of the Friendly Schools program to reduce student bullying behaviour. This socio‐ecological intervention targeted the whole school, classroom, family, and individual students to reduce bullying behaviour. Self‐report data were collected in 29 schools over three years from a cohort of 1968 eight to nine‐year‐olds. Surveys measured frequency of being bullied, bullying others, telling if bullied and observing bullying. Results indicate that intervention students were significantly less likely to observe bullying at 12, 24 and 36 months and be bullied after 12 and 36 months, and significantly more likely to tell if bullied after 12 months than comparison students. No differences were found for self‐reported perpetration of bullying. The findings suggest whole‐of‐school programs that engage students in their different social contexts appear to reduce their experiences of being bullied and increase their likelihood of telling someone if they are bullied.     

Validation of the perceived school bullying severity scale

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.     

Expressed Readiness of Australian Schoolchildren to Act as Bystanders in Support of Children who are Being Bullied

Promoting interventive action on the part of student bystanders witnessing peer victimisation is currently seen as a promising way of reducing bullying in schools. A video depicting bullying in the presence of bystanders was viewed by late primary (n = 200) and early secondary school students (n = 200). Some 43% of the students indicated that they were likely to help the victim. Questionnaires were employed to assess student attitudes towards victims, beliefs about the expectations of parents, friends, and teachers, perceived self‐efficacy, and social desirability response set. Multiple regression analysis identified as significant predictors of expressed intention to intervene: attending primary school, having rarely or never bullied others, having (reportedly) previously intervened, positive attitude to victims, and believing that parents and friends (but not teachers) expected them to act to support victims. Implications for action to reduce bullying in schools are discussed.     

The PEACE Pack: an evaluation of interventions to reduce bullying in four Australian primary schools

Background The evidence is now quite clear that bullying in schools is an international problem. Bullying is widely regarded as a particularly destructive form of aggression, with harmful physical, social and emotional outcomes for all involved (bullies, victims and bystanders), and with particular risks for children with special needs. The research of the past 25 years confirms its widespread nature where it is most likely in groups from which the potential victim cannot escape—e.g. schools. In 1994 an Australian Commonwealth Government inquiry, following on from the pioneering work of research documented by Smith and co-workers, heralded a growing awareness of the need to address the issue of school violence, particularly bullying. Internationally, researchers have identified the impact of intervention programmes to reduce school bullying. In Australia a nationally and internationally used, systemically based intervention programme called the PEACE Pack, has previously been shown to be effective in reducing bullying in primary schools.

Purpose The purpose of the present study was to provide further supporting longitudinal evidence regarding the efficacy of the PEACE Pack in markedly reducing bullying among young children of junior primary and primary school age. Further, the study also identified the characteristics of a small group of children who do not appear to benefit from intervention efforts. Finally, in this paper, a computer-based innovation for collecting school-based data regarding student perceptions of bullying is described.

Sample The sample of 954 pupils comprised 458 males and 496 females from four Australian primary schools in Adelaide, a large metropolitan city in Australia. The pupils ranged in age from 5.4 to 13.5 years.

Design and methods The study involved a pre- and post-test design and the administration of a questionnaire to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of the PEACE Pack programme to address the issue of school bullying.

Results The interventions were effective in reducing the level of school bullying in the junior primary and primary schools, although there were variations in the gains achieved across the age range and across the four schools.

Conclusions In the present study the systemic PEACE Pack interventions resulted in approximately one-fifth of pupils in the overall sample reporting that they were being bullied ‘less’ as a result of year-long interventions. This effect was greatest in the primary schools, particularly for boys. Consideration was given to a small group of students who reported being bullied ‘more’ after the interventions, and to the development of a computer-based assessment procedure for assessing the extent of bullying in schools.     

School teachers bullied by their students: Teachers' attributions and how they share their experiences

Previous studies suggest that many teachers worldwide are bullied by students. However, deeper understanding of teachers' bullying experiences; of their interpretations of the causes of bullying; and of how they cope with these experiences, is lacking. Using an Internet survey we examined the attributions made by Finnish elementary and lower secondary school teachers for their victimisation; the people with whom they share their experiences; and the links between these. Three kinds of attribution were identified: student-related, institution-related, and teacher-related. Selection of the persons with whom teachers shared their experiences was determined by the nature of the attributions given for victimisation.     

Bullying in schools: why it happens,how it makes young people feel and what we can do about it

In spite of decades of research and more recent guidance by Government, bullying in schools remains a serious concern to young people and to educational practitioners. This two year qualitative study explored the meanings eight teenagers gave to bullying they had experienced, and related this to an analysis of previous research and school policies about bullying. The findings from the study revealed that bullying affected the subjectivity of young people, including how they positioned themselves and believed themselves to be positioned by others. It also found previous research and school policies focused on the behavioural aspects of bullying, neglecting the subjective meanings that it had for those who experienced it. The research findings suggested that a more open approach by adults to what bullying means to individuals, and clearer guidance to teachers on how to work with them about subjective meanings, may provide a new direction in supporting young people who have been bullied.     

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.     

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.     

School bullying as a creator of pupil peer pressure

Background:?Research into school bullying has a long tradition but a rather narrow scope. Many prevention programmes have been designed, but despite extensive investigation, most studies suggest that bullying is not decreasing. There is something paradoxical in this phenomenon. In order to have any real impact on some phenomena, thorough understanding is needed. What, then, is the essence of school bullying? How does it develop and how is it maintained in a community? In the present study written material and interviews concerning pupils´ experiences of bullying were used to examine how the status of the bully is created among pupils and how cultural norms and values in the community are constructed via bullying. Bullying as a phenomenon is a hidden process, where teachers are often misled. The meanings given to bullying behaviour can often be understood only by the pupils in the community. This is why bullying is possible in the presence of the teacher and also during lessons. The study suggests the need to see bullying in a broader social and cultural framework, which also provides a new way of understanding pupils´ social relationships.

Purpose:?This study attempts to understand school bullying as a phenomenon from a social and cultural viewpoint. Communication in and meanings given to bullying acts in the school community are in focus.

Sample:?The study sample comprised 85 lower secondary school pupils, aged 13–15, from various schools in central Finland. The data analysed consisted of 85 written accounts and 10 interviews.

Design and methods:?Pupils were asked to write about ‘School bullying’. The interviews were open-ended thematic interviews or episodic interviews (cf. Friebertshäuser). A hermeneutic method was used in analysing the meanings in the texts. The transcribed texts were analysed using categories and themes within which the meanings given to bullying were interpreted.

Results:?Our study suggested that bullying behaviour consists of short communicative situations which are often hidden from teachers. These separate situations account for the subjective experience of bullying. Bullying behaviour is a way of gaining power and status in a group or school class. The status is maintained by calling a pupil who is bullied different names. The ‘difference’ in the bullied pupil is interpreted as a culturally avoidable characteristic. In this way, bullying behaviour creates cultural norms and forces all pupils in the bullying community to follow them. Telling stories and calling the bullied pupil names increases the group's cohesion and the treatment of the bullied pupil creates fear in other pupils, who do not dare to fight bullying. In a community where bullying occurs, fear and guilt are obvious.

Conclusions:?Bullying is embedded in cultural norms, values and social status in the whole community. The hidden nature of the phenomenon emerges in short communicative situations that should be taken seriously. This research applies an approach from sociology and cultural studies to an area that has been dominated by psychological approaches. In doing so, it opens up a variety of interpretations of what bullying is and how it develops in schools.     

成人对儿童欺负行为干预情况的调查研究

欺负行为是儿童身上较为常见的不良行为。采用Olweus儿童欺负问卷,对教师与家长这两类成人群体对小学儿童欺负行为的干预现状的调查研究表明:(1)关于儿童在学校受欺负之事,成人的关注与干预程度较低。其中,教师与家长关注程度的差异达到显著水平。(2)当儿童受到欺负后,向成人求助的比率较低。(3)关于儿童在学校欺负他人之事,成人的关注与干预程度较低。