The long-term effects of coping strategy use in victims of bullying

The ways in which children appraise and cope with school bullying are likely to influence the long-term outcomes experienced. To examine this possibility, 219 Spanish undergraduate students (73 male, 146 female) aged between 18 and 40, completed an adapted version of the Retrospective Bullying Questionnaire (RBQ; Sch?fer et al., 2004) and a distress scale (Rivers, 1999). Results indicated that neither coping strategies reported by victims of bullying nor the match between control appraisal and coping strategy influenced levels of distress experienced as adults. Control, threat and challenge appraisals did, however, influence long-term distress. Explanations for these effects are discussed, and include the possibility that appraisals may directly influence levels of distress and the quality of emotions experienced by victims during the actual bullying episode. Active strategies were perceived by students to be effective in dealing with bullying, whereas those centered on avoiding the conflict, or which involved aggression, were considered ineffective.     

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, victimisation 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.     

Intervention for aggressive victims of school bullying in Hong Kong: a longitudinal mixed-methods study

The distinction between aggressive and passive victims of school bullying is well documented. Aggressive victims exhibit restlessness and hot-temperedness, are easily provoked, and take revenge when irritated, whereas passive victims are quiet and timid when attacked or insulted and withdraw rather than retaliate. To date, there has been no evidence-based evaluative study examining interventions designed specifically to reduce aggressive victimization, and neither has there been an inclusive assessment screening of high-risk aggressive victims prior to intervention. This study addressed these research gaps by employing multi-stage assessment procedures and a mixed-mode methodology in a one-year longitudinal design. Data were collected from student self-reports, parent and teacher rating scales, and individual structured interviews with students, parents and teachers. A total of 269 potential high-risk aggressive victims were identified from among 5,089 schoolchildren, 68 of whom were screened out and randomly assigned to 10 treatment groups, with 39 completing a one-year follow-up study. Multivariate analysis of variance identified significant improvements in physical and verbal victimization (F(2,47, 93.99) = 10.73, p < 0.01), verbal victimization (F(2.74, 104.14) = 12.80, p < 0.01) and social exclusion scores at the three follow-up assessments compared to the pre-treatment scores, and the qualitative results were consistent, showing participants' cognition, emotion, and behavior to have been positively reconstructed by the group intervention. The consistent quantitative and qualitative results confirm that the cognitive-behavioral group therapy program reported herein is effective in reducing aggressive victims' anxious and depressed emotions and reactive cognition.     

Middle school students' perceptions of school climate,bullying prevalence,and social support and coping

The aim of this exploratory study was to examine middle school students’ (N = 88) perceptions of bullying, school climate and social support and coping. Data were collected using online surveys (n = 80) and face-to-face interviews (n = 8). Quantitative analyses revealed that prevalence of teasing, victimization, and bullying experiences significantly predicted perceptions of school climate. Qualitative findings provided further insight into student perceptions of bullying indicating several overlapping themes, when examining victimization, verbal and social bullying, causes of bullying, coping, and frustration with school resources dealing with aggressive behavior. Recommendations for addressing potential detrimental outcomes of bullying behavior and for improving perceptions of school climate are provided.     

The use of coping strategies by Danish children classed as bullies, victims, bully/victims, and not involved, in response to different (hypothetical) types of bullying

The coping strategies employed in response to different types of bullying, by 305 Danish children (142 boys, 163 girls) in school years four to nine (aged 10-15 years), were investigated. Children were classed into four bully-victim status types. A revised version of the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire was used for the classification of children, and a Self-Report Coping Measure for the investigation of coping strategies. The coping strategy of Externalizing was used significantly more by children classed as bully/victims compared with victims and not involved children: Seeking Social Support and Internalizing were preferred significantly more by girls, whereas Externalizing was preferred significantly more by boys; Distancing, Seeking Social Support, and Internalizing were favored significantly more by children in years four to six compared with children in years seven to nine. Looking at coping strategies in response to different types of bullying, Seeking Social Support was used significantly more in response to attack on property relative to verbal bullying, social exclusion, and indirect bullying, and Distancing was used significantly less in response to attack on property compared with any of the other types of bullying. The results are discussed in relation to implications for educational practice.     

Social experience and school bullying

The goal of the present study is to investigate the relationship between school bullying and various aspects of the urban and scholastic environment where participants live, such as sense of community, exposure to dangerous and violent situations within the neighbourhood, perceptions of the safety of the neighbourhood and perceptions of the school environment. The research, performed in Ercolano, a town near Naples, covered the whole of Ercolano's population (n = 734) of 7th, 10th and 13th grade students. Data were analysed using a multivariate analysis of variance. Results showed that bullying role (pure bullies, pure victims, bully victims, not‐involved) is significantly associated with the way subjects perceive their exposure to dangerous and violent situations within the neighbourhood, their relationship with classmates and their relationship with teachers. Pure bullies and bully victims are especially likely to experience dangerous and violent situations in the neighbourhood where they live and have a more negative perception of their relationship with teachers; for pure victims and bully victims, a significant association is obtained with negative perceptions of relationships with classmates. These findings suggest the need for intervention strategies that extend beyond the classroom to the broader community and neighbourhood. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emotional adjustment in victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying and traditional bullying

Given the rise in cyberbullying among secondary education students and the importance of certain psychological adjustment variables for the comprehension of this type of violent behavior, both in bullies and in victims, the purpose of the present study was to analyse the emotional adjustment of those involved in cyber- and traditional bullying. The adjustment variables studied were self-concept, perceived stress, loneliness, depressive symptomatology, social anxiety, life satisfaction, and emotional intelligence. Using a sample of 1318 adolescents (47% boys), aged between 11 and 17 years, four groups were established to compare victims and cybervictims (uninvolved students, traditional victims, cybervictims, and traditional–cybervictims). The analysis of variance showed that students who performed the same role (bully or victim) in both contexts (at school and online). In particular, those who suffered traditional or cyberbullying or both conjointly presented lower scores in physical and social self-concept, life satisfaction, emotional clarity, and emotion regulation, as well as higher scores in perceived stress, loneliness, depression, and social anxiety. In bullies—traditional, cyberbullying or both simultaneously—higher scores were observed in perceived stress, loneliness, depressive symptomatology, fear of negative assessment, avoidance, and general social anxiety, and lower scores in the dimensions of academic and family self-concept, life satisfaction, emotional clarity, and emotion regulation. In general, the findings indicate that students who were involved in bullying situations, both victims and bullies, presented more damaged emotional profiles than those who are uninvolved, especially students who performed the same role (bully or victim) in both contexts (at school and online).

     

MMPI-2 configurations among victims of bullying at work

Bullying at work, the systematic exposure to psychological violence and harassment in the workplace, places a serious strain on many employees. The aim of this study was to investigate psychological correlates of bullying among former and current victims using the MMPI-2. A total of 85 individuals, recruited among members of two Norwegian associations of bullying victims, participated in the study. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) Bullied victims have an elevated personality profile on the MMPI-2, although different kinds of personality profiles may be distinguished; (2) the personality profiles of the victims are related to the type of behaviour and the intensity of the behaviours experienced by the victim. Both hypotheses were confirmed. The study demonstrated, using cluster analysis, that the sample of bullied victims can be divided into three personality groups (“The seriously affected”, “The disappointed and depressed”, and “The common”.) The elevated 3-2-1 personality profile was most typical. Surprisingly, the victims of the common cluster reported the highest level of exposure to bullying, suggesting a vulnerability factor among the other victims. The scores on the new MMPI-2 Content scales were also analysed. The seriously affected group reported a high level of generalized anxiety, fear of specific incidences, and many health concern worries.     

Moral disengagement in self-reported and peer-nominated school bullying

This study examined the relation between moral disengagement and different self-reported and peer-nominated positions in school bullying. The aims of this study were to (1) investigate moral disengagement among children for whom self-reported and peer-nominated bully status diverged and (2) compare levels of disengagement among self-reported and peer-nominated pure bullies, pure victims, bully-victims, and children not involved in bullying. A sample of 739 Danish sixth grade and seventh grade children (mean age 12.6) was included in the study. Moral disengagement was measured using a Danish version of the Moral Disengagement Scale and bullying was measured using both self-reports and peer nominations. Results revealed that both self-reported and peer-nominated bullying were related to moral disengagement, and that both pure bullies and bully-victims displayed higher moral disengagement than outsiders. Discrepancies between self-reported and peer-nominated bullying involvement indicates that a person's social reputation has a stronger association with moral disengagement than so far expected. Implications are discussed, highlighting the importance of further research and theory development.     

Parenting at home and bullying at school

The present study aimed at examining the relationship that may exist between specific parental practices at home and the child’s bullying and victimization experiences at school. This study attempted to go beyond parental styles, a variable that most of the earlier studies have used and introduce three, relatively new parameters of bullying and victimization; namely, parent–child conflict, parental monitoring and child disclosure. It was found that parenting at home seems to be related to bullying at school. However, not all aspects of parenting are related, and not in the same way. Parent–child conflict was found to be positively correlated to, and a potent predictor of both bullying and victimization; child disclosure was found to be negatively correlated to and also a potent predictor of bullying (not victimization), while parental monitoring, unlike earlier reports, was found to be statistically unrelated to either bullying or victimization.     

Reducing car use by volitional strategy of action and coping planning enhancement

Personalized travel plans have been regarded as potentially effective soft measures in mobility management. This research conducted a randomized social experiment aiming at citizen car-use reduction, and examined the effect of implementing two personalized travel plans: action plans and coping plans. The two types of plans were designed respectively for enhancing action planning and coping planning as the volitional factors of behavior change. The results supported the effectiveness of the combined action-plus-coping plan intervention in reducing car use, but not of the action plan alone intervention. In addition, the influence of intervention on behavioral intention, action planning, and coping planning, were also presented.     

Dyadic nominations of bullying: Comparing types of bullies and their victims

Previous studies indicate that when identifying individuals involved in bullying, the concordance between self- and peer- reports is low to moderate. There is support that self- and peer- identified victims constitute distinct types of victims and differ in adjustment. Likewise, differentiating between self- and peer- reports of bullying may also reveal distinct types of bullies. The goal of this study was to examine differences between types of bullies identified via dyadic nominations (self-identified, victim-identified, and self/victim identified). First, we examined the concordance between dyadic nominations of bullying and traditional measures of bullying (i.e., self- and peer-reports). Second, we compared the behavioral profiles of the bully types to nonbullies, with a focus on aggressive behaviors and social status. Third, we examined whether the types of bullies targeted victims with different levels of popularity, as well as the role of their own popularity and prioritizing of popularity. Participants were 1,008 Dutch adolescents (50.1% male, M_age = 14.14 years, standard deviation [SD] = 1.30) who completed a classroom assessment of dyadic nominations, peer nominations, and self-report items. Results indicated that victim identified and self/victim identified bullies were more aggressive, more popular, and less socially preferred than self-identified bullies and nonbullies. Self/victim identified bullies targeted victims with the highest social status. The association between bully type and victims' popularity was further qualified by bullies' own popularity and the degree to which they prioritized popularity. Implications for the implementation of dyadic nominations are discussed.     

Psychiatric distress and symptoms of PTSD among victims of bullying at work

Distress and symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) were investigated among targets of experienced bullying at work, that is, the exposure to persistent or recurrent oppressive, offensive, abusive behaviour where the aggressor may be a superior or a colleague. The participants in the present study were all recruited from two associations of bullied victims (n=102, response rate=57%). A high level of distress and symptoms of PTSD was revealed in the sample, both according to recommended cut point scores for HSCL-25, PTSS-10 and IES-R, and when comparing the sample with traumatised samples. Three out of four victims reported an HSCL-25 level higher than the recommended threshold for psychiatric disease. Sixty and 63% of the sample reported a high level of IES intrusion and IES avoidance, correspondingly. The level of bullying, operationalised as the frequency of negative acts the individual had been exposed to at work, showed a stronger interconnection with distress and PTSD than a more unspecified, subjective measure of bullying, as well as the time since the bullying took place and the duration of the bullying episode. Those still being pestered reported a higher level of distress and PTSD than victims in which the bullying episodes were terminated more than 1 year ago, but the findings were somewhat mixed. Positive affectivity (PA) and especially negative affectivity (NA) contributed significantly to the explained variance of distress and PTSD in various regression analysis models, but did not interact with measures of bullying. Nor were mediator effects found between bullying, PA/NA and traumatic stress reactions. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Early detection of drug use and bullying in secondary school children by using a three-dimensional simulation program

The current study analyzes the psychometric properties of an innovative three-dimensional (3D) simulation program, entitled Mii-School (MS), designed for the early detection of drug use and bullying in Secondary School children. This computer program showed adequate reliability and construct validity. The factorial structure, as well as the explanatory weight of the different factors, is presented. In addition, the results of a parallel version in paper and pencil format are also presented and compared with those of the computerized version (i.e., MS). There was a statistically significant difference between the two formats in the total (i.e., combined) sore of risk. When drug use and bullying were separately analyzed, differences were found only with regard to drug use. The relevance of these results as well as the suitability of this type of 3D instrument for the early detection of risky behaviors in young people are discussed.     

Dimensions of empathy and bystander intervention in bullying in elementary school

The current study investigated associations among cognitive empathy, affective empathy, internalizing problems, and the five steps of the bystander intervention model (notice bullying events, interpret as an event requiring intervention, accept responsibility for intervening, know how to intervene, and act). Participants included 336 fourth and fifth grade students (58.9% boys) at a school in the Midwest region of the United States. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that greater cognitive empathy was related to noticing bullying events, accepting responsibility to intervene, and knowing how to intervene. Affective empathy was significantly related to the actual act of intervention. Further, significant interactions revealed that affective empathy was positively associated with interpreting bullying as an event that required intervention at low and moderate levels of internalizing problems, but not at high levels of internalizing problems. Overall these findings underscore the need to examine the decision to intervene as the culmination of a series of steps as outlined in the bystander intervention model, with each step potentially influenced by a unique set of precursors.     

Stress and coping in early adolescence: relationships to substance use in urban school samples

Measures of stress and coping were obtained from two cohorts of urban adolescents during the seventh- to eighth-grade period and were related to indices of cigarette smoking and alcohol use. Predictions were derived from a stress coping model of substance use. Stress was indexed by measures of subjective stress, recent events, and major life events; coping was assessed by behavior-based and intention-based methods. Concurrent and prospective analyses were consistent with predictions, indicating that stress was positively related to substance use, and four coping mechanisms (behavioral coping, cognitive coping, adult social support, and relaxation) were inversely related to substance use. Two types of predicted interactions, Stress X Coping and Positive X Negative Events, were found. Measures indexing peer support, distraction coping, and aggressive coping were positively related to substance use, independent of other predictors. Implications for substance use theory and prevention research are discussed.     

Basic assumptions and symptoms of post-traumatic stress among victims of bullying at work

Results from several empirical studies suggest that many victims of bullying suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, few researchers have attempted to explain why exposure to bullying may result in severe trauma. Furthermore, no studies have related these symptoms to the victims' exposure to other distressing life events. The aims of this study were therefore to assess the prevalence and intensity of PTSD analogue symptomatology among a group of 118 victims of bullying at work. Second, we investigated whether victims of bullying who report being more affected by other distressing life events than by bullying were more likely to suffer PTSD analogue symptomatology. In accordance with Janoff-Bulman's cognitive theory of PTSD, a third aim was to investigate whether victims of bullying and non-bullied controls differ in their basic assumptions of themselves, others, and the world. Based on self-report measures, 76% of the victims portrayed symptoms indicating post-traumatic stress disorder. However, although 29% were found to meet all DSM-IV-TR criteria for PTSD, another 47% only failed to fulfil the A1 criterion, i.e., they did not report serious injuries or threats to their physical integrity while being bullied. Measurements of symptom severity scores indicated that 61.7% portrayed a moderate to severe or severe level of impairment, whereas 73.6% displayed a moderate or severe impairment in functioning. Compared with victims who failed to meet all or several diagnostic criteria for PTSD, a significantly higher percentage of the victims meeting all criteria reported feeling more negatively affected by an event other than bullying, indicating that exposure to other traumatic life events may increase victims' vulnerability. Finally, significant group differences on six out of eight basic assumptions were demonstrated between victims of bullying and non-bullied controls, indicating that exposure to bullying at work may result in increased negative views on self, others, and the world.