Impact of the word “bully” on the reported rate of bullying behavior |
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| Authors: | Allison S Kert Robin S Codding Georgiana Shick Tryon Mariya Shiyko |
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| Institution: | 1. The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York;2. University of Massachusetts, Boston |
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| Abstract: | This study examined whether the definition and use of the word “bully” would result in lower self‐reports of bullying behavior by providing students with one of three versions of a self‐report measure with: (a) no reference to the word bully or its definition, (b) the definition of the word bully followed by use of the word in each item, or (c) the definition of the word bully and no further mention of the word bully in the item stems. Participants (N = 114) completed surveys, and statistical comparisons examined the impact of the word bully on reports of bullying behavior. Analyses indicated that respondents provided with a definition of and repeated exposure to the word bully reported significantly less bullying behavior than those who were not exposed to the word or its definition. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
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