Phillip T. Slee

Bullying among Australian school children : reported behavior and attitudes toward victims

The extent of bullying among Australian school children and attitudes toward victims of bullying were investigated in a survey of Australian school children between the ages of 6 and 16 years (n = 685) and their teachers (n = 32). Approximately 1 child in 10 was subjected to peer group bullying. Boys reported being bullied more often than girls, who tended to be more supportive of victims. With increasing age, there was a slight but significant decline in reported bullying; notably, however, attitudes toward victims became less supportive. Attitudes toward victims were examined in detail by using a reliable and validated 20-item Likert scale. Factor analyses of the childrens responses yielded three interpretable factors: a tendency to despise the victims of bullies; general admiration for school bullies; and avowed support for intervention to assist the victim. An understanding of such attitudes is desirable for designing effective intervention programs.

Dimensions of interpersonal relation among australian children and implications for psychological well-being

Three dimensions of interpersonal relations among Australian school children were hypothesized as reflecting tendencies (a) to bully others, (b) to be victimized by others, and (c) to relate to others in a prosocial and cooperative manner. School children from two secondary schools (School A, n = 285; School B, n = 877) answered 20 questions assessing styles of interpersonal relations. Factor analyses of the item scores obtained from each of the two schools provided highly similar results, supporting the factorial independence of the three hypothesized dimensions. Students attending School B answered additional questions to assess self-esteem, level of happiness, and liking for school. Generally low levels of self-esteem were found among children who reported being more victimized than others, and high self-esteem among children practicing more prosocial behavior. The tendency to bully others was correlated negatively with happiness and liking school, but no relationship was found between this variable and self-esteem.

Peer victimization and its relationship to depression among Australian primary school students

Abstract Victimization is increasingly being recognized around the world as a psychologically harmful, physically damaging and socially isolating aspect of the school life of a small but significant group of children. The principal aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between three dimensions of childrens peer relations, namely the tendency to be victimized, to bully and to be prosocial and depression. Questionnaires were administered to 353 primary school students assessing various dimensions of peer relations and depression. As predicted the tendency to be victimized was found to be significantly associated with depression. Interestingly there was also a significant association between depression and the tendency to bully. The findings highlight the need for early identification of, and intervention with, children at risk for peer relations problems.

The relationship of Eysenck's personality factors and self-esteem to bully-victim behaviour in Australian schoolboys

In the present study we examined the relevance of selected personality variables, namely Eysencks factors of extraversion, psychoticism and neuroticism, and the psychological well being factor of self-esteem to the tendency to bully and to be victimized. Male primary school children (n = 87) with a mean age of 10.9 years completed the Junior Eysenck Personality Inventory and the Coopersmith Self Esteem Inventory. Childrens tendency to bully and to be victimized was assessed by means of questionnaire and teacher nomination. As predicted the tendency to bully was found to be significantly associated with psychoticism while the tendency to be victimized was significantly associated with introversion and low self-esteem. The expected association between being victimized and neuroticism was not confirmed.

Australian school children's self appraisal of interpersonal relations: The bullying experience

The extent and nature of bullying among South Australian primary school children and their self appraisals of peer relations were investigated in a survey of 412 primary school children between the ages of 7 to 13 years. It was found that 10% of boys and 6% of girls were subject to peer group bullying and for 8% of such children the bullying episodes lasted 6 months or more. Factor analysis of styles of interpersonal relating amongst children identified three independent factors including a tendency to bully, to be victimised and to act in a pro-social manner. The tendency to be victimised correlated negatively with self appraisals of the number of friends, popularity, happiness at school and feelings of safety at school. The findings are discussed in relation to research linking negative self appraisals of interpersonal competence with isolation and proneness to depression in later years.

'It Hurts a Hell of a Lot...' The Effects of Indirect Aggression on Teenage Girls

This article reports on a qualitative investigation of the effects of indirect aggression from peers (e.g. spreading false stories, exclusion from the group) on teenage girls. Focus groups, pair and individual interviews were conducted with teenage girls and their key teachers to explore the effects of indirect aggression on girls. The perceived characteristics of typical victims of indirect aggression also emerged from the study. The girls initially respond to indirect aggression with confusion and may deny suffering any ill-effects. However, as is the case with other forms of victimization, girls certainly experience a range of negative psychological effects including anxiety, loss of selfesteem and depression. This pain leads to a desire to escape through leaving the group or the school and even to thoughts of suicide. The girls fear that the harassment from peers may not end and witnesses or bystanders do not intervene for fear of what may happen to them. The pain of indirect aggression may be compounded by irrational self-talk by the girls. Some girls react to indirect aggression by retaliating against their aggressors and often conflict is resolved by girls who employ one-to-one strategies that avoid the power of the group. Some victims of indirect aggression are reported to bring the wrath of peers upon themselves through their actions in provoking others. However, the tendency to blame the victim may be a way of alleviating guilt on behalf of the perpetrators of aggression. Victims of indirect aggression may be particularly vulnerable if they are new or have few friends or lack assertiveness. An understanding of the painful effects of indirect aggression on girls is an important prelude to designing interventions to assist girls in their peer relationships.

Situational and interpersonal correlates of anxiety associated with peer victimisation

InStudy One the nature of peer bullying among 353 Australian primary school children from years three to seven was studied with a view to understanding the anxiety generated by victimisation. Over one-third of the sample reported feeling unsafe from bullying at school and over half of the sample believed that the reason children did not ask for help from bullying was that they were too afraid. InStudy Two 114 primary school students from a second school were assessed for social-evaluative anxiety associated with peer victimisation at school. The findings indicated that victimisation was associated with fear of negative evaluation amongst males and females and social avoidance amongst females.

Behind the Scenes and Screens

This qualitative study explores the human dimension of two subtypes of bullying in an Australian schooling context. Individuals’ knowledge, understanding, and experiences of covert (behind the scenes) and cyber (behind the screens) bullying were explored through stories of what has actually been occurring in and around their schools. Participants were adolescent students (n = 20), teachers (n = 10) and school counselors (n = 6) from a variety of schools across Adelaide, South Australia. They recounted stories about covert and cyberbullying from their social networks and schooling contexts, giving authentic “voice” to these behaviors. Each narrative was uploaded to a dedicated website, contributing to an online “storybook,” and providing information rich cases that enabled “issues of central importance” (Patton, 1987) to emerge. Narrative and thematic analyses revealed that covert and cyberbullying have much in common, but that cyberbullying in particular evoked strong negative feelings and emotions which ...

School and Home Relationships and Their Impact on School Bullying

Previous school-related bullying research focused largely on inter-relationships among perpetrators and victims and more recently has included influences on, and by, peers. Still, less attention is given to wider school relationships that consider families and teachers. Students across grades 5—9 in 22 South Australian schools reported on how well they felt supported by their peers, families and teachers and the extent to which they perceived these groups as sources of stress in their lives at school. Six hundred and twenty-one teachers also assessed their students’ adaptive and non-adaptive behaviour. Links between stress and support and students’ experience of school, including bullying and victimization were examined using path analysis. Along with the expected impact of poor peer relationships and bullying/victimization, relationships with teachers exerted an equally powerful influence on students’ reports of bullying. Teachers need to be made aware that developing strong supportive relationships with students has a flow-on effect of reducing bullying.

Bullying: Health Concerns of Australian Secondary School Students

ABSTRACT In Australia while adult-adult and adult-child violence has been recognised and legislated against, the issue of child-child violence has not been taken seriously. In the present paper consideration is given to Australian and overseas research which highlights the extent of the problem amongst secondary school students and the effects of peer group victimisation on the health of both the perpetrator and victim. In this study of 220 secondary school students 8.14% reported being bullied ‘once a week or more’. Bullying was associated with poorer health status amongst the victims, both boys and girls, and with poorer health in girls who showed a tendency to bully. The findings were discussed in terms of the need for early intervention and counselling of those caught up in the bully/victim cycle.