Do Research Definitions of Bullying Capture the Experiences and Understandings of Young People? A Qualitative Investigat
- PDF / 314,594 Bytes
- 10 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 54 Downloads / 197 Views
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Do Research Definitions of Bullying Capture the Experiences and Understandings of Young People? A Qualitative Investigation into the Characteristics of Bullying Behaviour Jenny Jeffrey 1 & Jaimee Stuart 2
# Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Abstract A set of criteria defining bullying behaviour (an intention to harm, repetition, and power imbalance) has been applied to enable generalisation of research findings. However, few studies have examined whether this fits with the experiences and understandings of young people. This qualitative study investigated 20 youth’s (14–17 years old) conceptualisations of bullying. Results indicate that young people have distinct understandings of bullying; participants cited the victim’s reaction, the publicity of the interaction, and the role of friendship as critical considerations instrumental to their definition of bullying. These results yield important implications for the development and efficacy of intervention programmes. Keywords Bullying . Victimisation . Adolescence . Definitions
Bullying is understood to be a social problem that has severe negative impacts extending beyond the outcomes for those who are directly involved, also affecting bystanders, families, and communities (Salmivalli 1999). Research has consistently shown that bullying is a destructive phenomenon that is particularly prevalent during late childhood and early adolescence which can result in long-term detrimental, and sometimes fatal, outcomes (Hawker and Boulton 2000; Stassen Berger 2007; Wolke et al. 2013). It is a behaviour that is found to be expressed by young people in virtually all schools regardless of contextual and geographical differences and can be seen as one of the most pressing modern public health concerns for children and adolescents (Espelage and Swearer 2003). There are different types of bullying, which are commonly classified as either direct (overt) or indirect (covert) (Van der Wal et al. 2003). Forms of direct bullying include physical (kicking, pushing, and hitting) or verbal acts (repeated derogatory remarks and name-calling) used to hurt or humiliate the victim (Olweus 1993). In contrast, indirect forms of
* Jaimee Stuart [email protected] 1
Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
2
School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Mount Gravatt, Brisbane, QLD 4111, Australia
bullying are not always carried out in front of the victim, and often include or can occur via a third party, such as spreading rumours and social exclusion (Rivers and Smith 1994; Stassen Berger 2007). With the rise of technology and social media over the past decade, a newer form of bullying has also emerged: cyberbullying—which uses electronic means (for example through texting, messages, or posts on social media) to inflict harm on others (Slonje et al. 2013). Although we know a lot about different manifestations of bullying, both research and interventions targeting bullying tend to be fraught with definitional issues and inconsistencies in mea
Data Loading...
