Helen Cowie

Definitions of bullying: a comparison of terms used, and age and gender differences, in a fourteen-country international comparison

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.

Profiles of non-victims, escaped victims, continuing victims and new victims of school bullying

BACKGROUND Victims of school bullying are known to be at risk in peer relationships and to sometimes use ineffective coping strategies, but little previous research has examined differences among escaped victims, continuing victims and new victims. AIM A follow-up design compared friendships, behavioural characteristics, victimization experiences and coping strategies of pupils who had 2 years previously answered a questionnaire identifying themselves as victims (V) or non-victims (NV) of school bullying and whose current victim status could be identified. SAMPLE 406 pupils aged 13-16 years (190 boys, 216 girls): 175 non-victims (NV-NV), 146 escaped victims (V-NV), 27 new victims (NV-V) and 58 continuing victims (V-V). METHOD Structured interviews were given to pupils, together with the SDQ. Teachers also filled in the SDQ. School records of attendance were obtained. RESULTS Escaped victims did not differ greatly from non-victims, but had some self-perception of continuing peer relationship difficulties. Continuing victims, irrespective of gender, liked other pupils and breaktime less (but did not dislike other aspects of school), had fewer friends in school (but not outside school), more often missed school (sometimes because of bullying), scored high on problem scales of the SDQ, and were more likely to be involved in bullying others as well as being bullied. New victims tended to resemble continuing victims. Continuing victims did not differ from escaped victims on type of bullying, but new and continuing victims less often reported talking to someone about a specific incident of bullying. Most victims gave mainly victim-related reasons for the bullying having taken place. CONCLUSION The results are discussed in relation to why some pupils become or continue to be victims in secondary school, and recommendations for anti-bullying procedures in schools designed to help such victims.

Measuring workplace bullying

Workplace bullying is increasingly being recognized as a serious problem in society today; it is also a problem that can be difficult to define and evaluate accurately. Research in this area has been hampered by lack of appropriate measurement techniques. Social scientists can play a key part in tackling the phenomenon of workplace bullying by developing and applying a range of research methods to capture its nature and incidence in a range of contexts. We review current methods of research into the phenomenon of bullying in the workplace. We examine definitional issues, including the type, frequency, and duration of bullying acts, and consider the role of values and norms of the workplace culture in influencing perception and measurement of bullying behavior. We distinguish methods that focus on: (a) inside perspectives on the experience of bullying (including questionnaires and surveys, self-report through diary-keeping, personal accounts through interviews, focus groups and critical incident technique, and projective techniques such as bubble dialogue); (b) outside perspectives (including observational methods and peer nominations); (c) multi-method approaches that integrate both inside and outside perspectives (including case studies). We suggest that multi-method approaches may offer a useful way forward for researchers and for practitioners anxious to assess and tackle the problem of bullying in their organizations.

Interventions to Reduce School Bullying

In the last 2 decades, school bullying has become a topic of public concern and research around the world. This has led to action to reduce the problem. We review interventions targeted at the school level (for example, whole school policy, classroom climate, peer support, school tribunal, and playground improvement), at the class level (for example, curriculum work), and at the individual level (for example, working with specific pupils). Effectiveness of interventions has been sporadically assessed. We review several systematically evaluated, large-scale, school-based intervention programs. Their effectiveness has varied, and we consider reasons for this. We suggest ways to improve the evaluation and comparability of studies, as well as the effectiveness of future interventions.

Bystanding or standing by: Gender issues in coping with bullying in English schools

The effect of peer support systems on users, peer supporters, the whole school, and teachers is discussed in light of an interview study on the experience of being a peer supporter and further analysis of the data collected in a survey on peer support from a range of perspectives, Overall, it is concluded that peer support has benefits for victims of bullying and for the school climate; the peer supporters also benefit from the experience, However, there remain some concerns, notably around gender issues, with boys being significantly underrepresented as peer supporters, and with a substantial number of male victims failing to report the bullying to anyone. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of existing literature in the field.

The Role of Peer Support in Helping the Victims of Bullying in a School with High Levels of Aggression.

This study examines the impact of a peer support service as an intervention to counteract bullying in a school with a serious problem. The impact of the intervention was assessed by a survey and by qualitative interviews with staff, peer supporters, users and potential users of the service. The survey indicated that the intervention had no overall effect on levels of bullying in the school as a whole or on the likelihood that peers would intervene to help. However, the interviews indicated that peer helpers and some victims were helped by the initiative, and some potential users of the service perceived it in a positive light. Some explanations of the findings and implications for implementation of such interventions are discussed.

Short-Term Longitudinal Relationships Between Children's Peer Victimization/Bullying Experiences and Self-Perceptions Evidence for Reciprocity

This study tested transactional models to explain the short-term longitudinal links between self-perceptions and involvement in bullying and victimization among 115 9- to 10-year-old children. Self-perceptions were measured with Harter’s Self-Perception Profile for Children (six sub-scales) and bullying/victimization by means of peer nominations. Data were collected at two points, separated by five months, within a school year. Earlier victimization significantly negatively predicted changes in Global self-worth, social acceptance and, for girls only, physical appearance scores, and earlier social acceptance scores significantly negatively predicted changes in victimization, and bullying. Additionally, earlier bullying positively predicted changes in scholastic competence scores, and among girls but not boys there was a near significant tendency for earlier bullying to negatively predict changes in behavioural conduct scores. These findings challenge a common view that victimization, and separately bullying, are responsible for low self-perceptions. Rather, they add to the view that negative peer experiences and maladjusted outcomes are mutually related over time. The theoretical and practical implications of such a view are discussed.

Bullying and homophobia in UK schools: A perspective on factors affecting resilience and recovery

ABSTRACT This article reports the results of a three-year study focusing on the experiences of a sample of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people in the United Kingdom who were victimized by their peers at school. Data collected from 190 LGBs suggested that experiences of victimization at school were both long-term and systematic, and were perpetrated by groups rather than by individuals. Subsequently, data collected from a sub-sample of 119 participants indicated that over 50 percent had contemplated self-harm or suicide at the time they were being harassed, and that 40 percent had engaged in such behavior at least once. As adults, participants were found to exhibit symptoms associated with negative affect when contrasted with heterosexual and non-victimized LGB peers. Seventeen percent exhibited symptoms associated with PTSD. However, the results also demonstrated that the majority of participants did not differ significantly from comparison groups in terms of self-esteem, and they had a positive attitude towards their sexual orientation. These findings are discussed with reference to the current literature about the development of resilience following exposure to violence and trauma.

Overseas nurses’ experiences of discrimination: a case of racist bullying?

AIM We present three case studies of discrimination to illustrate how racist bullying as discriminatory practices operates in the workplace. BACKGROUND Workplace bullying in the British health care sector is reported along with evidence of discrimination towards overseas-trained nurses recruited to work in the United Kingdom (UK). METHODS The three interviews, which form the basis of the discussion in this paper, were selected purposively from a national study of overseas nurses because they present strong examples of the phenomenon of workplace bullying. The data on which this paper draws were collected through semi-structured, audio-recorded interviews and thematically re-analysed using nvivo V2. RESULTS The national study showed how racism is entrenched in health workplaces. Our findings in this paper suggest that racism can be understood by the concept of racist bullying. There are four key findings which illustrate racist bullying in the workplace: abusive power relationships, communication difficulties, emotional reactions to racist bullying and responses to bullying. CONCLUSIONS We argue that the literature on workplace bullying adds a layer of analysis of discrimination at the individual and organizational levels which enables us to further delineate racist bullying. We conclude that racist bullying can be specifically identified as a form of bullying. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGERS: Our data may assist managers to challenge current workplace working practices and support bullied employees. The three interviews show different responses to racist bullying which allow us to explore some implications for management practice.

Peer Support: A Strategy to Help Bystanders Challenge School Bullying

In this article, the authors first discuss the nature of peer support and some of the ways in which it has evolved over time, particularly in the UK. Under the umbrella of peer support they include activities such as befriending, peer counselling, conflict resolution or mediation and intervening in bullying situations. Secondly, they describe research studies of peer support and discuss their relevance to bystander behaviour. Thirdly, they draw some conclusions that relate to the wider context of the developing role of peer support in schools today. These include the benefits to peer supporters and the key processes of flexible monitoring and clear observation of the needs of the potential users.