Erling Roland

Bullying, depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts

Bullies, victims and pupils neutral to bullyingwere compared on depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts.The sample included 2,088 Norwegian boys and girls in grade 8. The results revealed that both bullies and victims had significantly higher mean scores than neutral pupils on both depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts. Victims had a significantly higher mean score on depressive thoughts than the bullies. On suicidal thoughts, the mean score for bullies was above that of the victims, but this differencewas not significant. Girls had significantly higher mean scores than boys on both depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts. This was the case for all pupils, and for victims, bullies and the neutral pupils. Questions of causality between depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts and involvement in bullying are discussed and research on this issue is suggested.

Bullying in school: Three national innovations in Norwegian schools in 15 years

In Norwegian primary and secondary schools, approximately 5% of the pupils are bullied persistently, and about the same percentage of the pupils bully regularly. Three national programs to counteract bullying in schools are described and discussed. The first one was conducted in 1983, and the second one in 1996. A third, very comprehensive 3-year program is decided and will be started about 2000. The content of these national programs has changed gradually, from being rather bullying and intervention focused to being more preventive and comprehensive. Improvement of the school as an organisation and improved, general classroom management are two central aspects in the recent approach, which is supposed to have multiple effects. Also, the support system for the schools to implement and maintain a national program has developed, and it includes researchers, personnel from Educational Psychological School Services (EPSS) and headteachers in the forthcoming program. Research, which has promoted these changes in content and support system, is discussed.

Bullying and Victimization among Native and Immigrant Adolescents in Norway: The Role of Proactive and Reactive Aggressiveness.

This study compares levels of bullying others, victimization, and aggressiveness in native Norwegian and immigrant adolescents living in Norway and shows how bullying is related to proactive and reactive aggressiveness. The sample consists of 2,938 native Norwegians (1,521 girls, 1,417 boys) and 189 immigrant adolescents (97 girls, 92 boys) in school grades 8, 9, and 10. Data were collected via self-assessments. Structural equation models were conducted separately for girls and boys in both groups. The levels of victimization, reactive and proactive aggressiveness were the same for both native Norwegians and immigrant adolescents but there was a significant difference in the levels of bullying others. Compared with the native Norwegians, immigrant adolescents were found to be at higher risk of bullying others. Structural models revealed significantly stronger relations between affiliation-related proactive aggressiveness and bullying others in immigrant boys compared with the other groups. This indicates that the wish for affiliation is an important mechanism of bullying others in immigrant boys. We also suggest further research and the practical importance of the findings for prevention of targeting immigrant adolescents.

Bullying in Schools: Is the direct approach to reducing bullying always the best?

Introduction Projects to reduce bullying have had some notable successes, both at local level (e.g. Smith and Sharp, 1994) and in local evaluations of national programmes (e.g. Olweus, 1993, Roland, 2000; Roland and Munthe, 1997). However, the gains have often been short term. When they have been maintained at two-year follow-up, as in the project in Bergen, Norway, it seems probable that progress was maintained by the researchers visiting schools in the follow-up period to give them feedback and to discuss further work with staff (Olweus, 1991, 1993; Roland, 2000; Roland and Munthe, 1997). While adopting a range of procedures, the primary focus of these projects was on bullying as a psychosocial problem. They sought to raise awareness of it among pupils and teachers, to convince everyone in the school community that it was unacceptable, and to describe methods to stop ongoing bullying. The 1996–97 project in Norway (Roland, 2000; Roland and Munthe, 1997) broadened the scope to emphasise the quality of day-to-day classroom management. The mainly bullying-focused approach described above is consistent with a large body of literature, which has investigated characteristics of bullies and their victims. Thus Olweus (1993) argued that bullying results from adverse home conditions, which create a stable aggressive trait within some pupils. Crick and Dodge (1994) saw a social-skills deficit as the origin of bullying.

Professional Cultures in Schools With High and Low Rates of Bullying

Most research on bullying in schools has focussed on characteristics of bullies or victims, and their families. Relatively little has investigated the schools contribution to pupil bullying. Information was obtained from teachers in 22 Norwegian primary schools on bullying and 3 aspects of professional culture. The school highest in bullying had significantly worse scores on all professional culture variables than the school lowest on bullying. The results are discussed with reference to the possibility that improvement in professional culture may contribute to less bullying and overall improvement in behaviour. In turn, these may be prerequisites for improvement in academic standards.

Perceived Social Support at School and Emotional and Musculoskeletal Complaints among Norwegian 8th Grade Students

Abstract Results from the present study indicate that a majority of Norwegian 8th grade students experience satisfactory support from teachers and relations with peers. However, about 6% of the sample reported being harassed on a weekly basis. Moreover, results indicate that there is room for improvement, especially regarding the teachers’ emotional support of students, as well as their ability to prevent students from being harassed. Twelve per cent of the sample reported more severe emotional complaints, whereas 10% of 8th grade students reported more severe musculoskeletal complaints. Results showed significant associations of teacher support and peer relations with emotional as well as musculoskeletal complaints (EM complaints). Exposure to harassment at school and a perceived lack of academic support from teachers showed the strongest associations with EM complaints. Associations were stronger for students reporting learning difficulties than for students not reporting learning difficulties. This was...

The 1996 Norwegian Program for preventing and managing bullying in schools

The Norwegian Ministry of Education has recently initiated a new nationwide program to prevent and manage bullying in school. The Centre for B ehavioural Research. StavangerCollege. is responsible for the professional contents of the new programme. Both previous research and experience with the 1983 national campaign against bullying in school. comprise an important background for this new large-scale project. Research indicates that management is essential to reduce the prevalence of bullying. and the 1983 campaign showed that continuity was vital. The new national programme also focuses on the necessity of involvement from more people; school administrators. teachers. pupils. parents and a corps of resource people who can assist the schools in developing schoolbased action plans. A booklet for the teachers. a collection of articles for the parents. and a notebook of ideas on how the pupil councils can work to improve school and class climate and contribute to the reduction of bullying have been publishe...

The broken curve: Effects of the Norwegian manifesto against bullying

The first Norwegian Manifesto (Manifesto-I) Against Bullying was launched by the Prime Minister in autumn 2002 and lasted for 2 years. A background for Manifesto-I was that school bullying had increased almost linearly in Norway with over 60% more victims and bullies since 1995. During the manifest period, the percentage of victims and bullies were reduced. After that period, from 2004 to 2008, the percentage of victims and bullies increased again, although a second manifesto (Manifesto-II) was launched by a new government in January 2006. The changes for both victims and bullies were significant. Preconditions for the success of the Manifesto-I and the activities comprising it are described, analysed, and compared with the Manifesto-II period.

Bullying and affiliation: A study of peer groups in native and immigrant adolescents in Norway

This study (1) investigated the extent to which native Norwegian and immigrant girls and boys bully others and (2) examined peer groups to find out with whom pupils affiliate with when bullying others. Furthermore, the study explored whether immigrant boys, more than native Norwegian boys, were carrying out bullying together with others. To identify bullies, self-assessments, nominations by co-bullies and nominations by victims were used. Social cognitive mapping (SCM) was used to identify peer groups. Peer groups were classified according to number of bullies and non-bullies in the group. The sample comprised 97 native Norwegian adolescents (55 girls, 42 boys) and 59 immigrant adolescents (34 girls, 25 boys) attending grades 8, 9 and 10. Configural frequency analyses showed that immigrant boys were less often identified as non-bullies but more often identified as bullies than expected by chance. On the contrary, immigrant girls were more often identified as non-bullies but less often identified as bullies than expected by chance. In addition, immigrant boys were overrepresented in bullying groups and immigrant girls were overrepresented in zero bullying groups. Furthermore, more immigrant boys than one would expect were bullying together with others, and more Norwegian girls that one would expect were bullying alone. Implications for bullying prevention programmes in schools are discussed.

Emotional problems in traditional and cyber victimization

Previous studies show an association between traditional and cyber victimization. However, there seem to be differences in how these forms of being bullied relates to emotional problems in the victims. Few studies focus on symptoms of general anxiety and depression as separate variables when comparing traditional and cyber victimization. Self-assessment was used from a sample of 3,046 Norwegian adolescents: 1,583 boys and 1,463 girls, ages 15 to 16 years. Significantly higher prevalence of traditional victimization than cyber victimization for both genders was found. The prevalence of being a victim of either type of victimization was significantly higher for boys than girls. Structural equation models showed significant differences between traditional victimization and cyber victimization and their relation to emotional problems. There was a stronger association between traditional victimization and depressive symptoms than between cyber victimization and depressive symptoms. Results also showed a stronger association between cyber victimization and symptoms of anxiety than between traditional victimization and symptoms of anxiety.