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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Do bullied children get ill, or do ill children get bullied? A prospective cohort study on the relationship between bullying and health-related symptoms.

OBJECTIVES: A number of studies have shown that victimization from bullying behavior is associated with substantial adverse effects on physical and psychological health, but it is unclear which comes first, the victimization or the health-related symptoms. In our present study, we investigated whether victimization precedes psychosomatic and psychosocial symptoms or whether these symptoms precede victimization. DESIGN: Six-month cohort study with baseline measurements taken in the fall of 1999 and follow-up measurements in the spring of 2000. SETTING: Eighteen elementary schools in the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: The study included 1118 children aged 9 to 11 years, who participated by filling out a questionnaire on both occasions of data collection. OUTCOME MEASURES: A self-administered questionnaire measured victimization from bullying, as well as a wide variety of psychosocial and psychosomatic symptoms, including depression, anxiety, bedwetting, headaches, sleeping problems, abdominal pain, poor appetite, and feelings of tension or tiredness. RESULTS: Victims of bullying had significantly higher chances of developing new psychosomatic and psychosocial problems compared with children who were not bullied. In contrast, some psychosocial, but not physical, health symptoms preceded bullying victimization. Children with depressive symptoms had a significantly higher chance of being newly victimized, as did children with anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Many psychosomatic and psychosocial health problems follow an episode of bullying victimization. These findings stress the importance for doctors and health practitioners to establish whether bullying plays a contributing role in the etiology of such symptoms. Furthermore, our results indicate that children with depressive symptoms and anxiety are at increased risk of being victimized. Because victimization could have an adverse effect on children's attempts to cope with depression or anxiety, it is important to consider teaching these children skills that could make them less vulnerable to bullying behavior.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed2004

Bullying: who does what, when and where? Involvement of children, teachers and parents in bullying behavior.

Bullying victimization is associated with several health issues. Prevention of bullying is therefore an important goal for health and education professionals. In the present study, 2766 children from 32 Dutch elementary schools participated by completing a questionnaire on bullying behavior, and the involvement of teachers, parents and classmates in bullying incidents. The results of this study show that bullying is still prevalent in Dutch schools. More than 16% of the children aged 9-11 years reported being bullied on a regular basis and 5.5% reported regular active bullying during the current school term. Almost half of the bullied children did not tell their teacher that they were being bullied. When teachers knew about the bullying, they often tried to stop it, but in many cases the bullying stayed the same or even got worse. With regard to active bullying, neither the majority of the teachers nor parents talked to the bullies about their behavior. Our results stress the importance of regular communication between children, parents, teachers and health care professionals with regard to bullying incidents. In addition, teachers need to learn effective ways to deal with bullying incidents. Schools need to adopt a whole-school approach with their anti-bullying interventions.

Aggression↗
PubMed2006

Social behavior and peer relationships of victims, bully-victims, and bullies in kindergarten.

BACKGROUND: Although the prevalence of bully/victim problems in school-age children and adolescents has been investigated in many countries, only a few studies have been carried out among younger children. This study examines social behaviors and peer relationships of children involved in bully/victim problems in kindergarten. METHODS: Three hundred and forty-four five- to seven-year-old children participated. Children were categorized as victims, bully-victims, bullies, and non-involved by means of teacher ratings and peer nominations. Teachers completed questionnaires on children's social behavior patterns. Peer relationships were assessed by means of peer nominations and social cluster mapping. RESULTS: Compared to non-involved children, victims were more submissive, had fewer leadership skills, were more withdrawn, more isolated, less cooperative, less sociable, and frequently had no playmates. As expected, bullies and bully-victims were generally more aggressive than their peers. In addition, bully-victims were less cooperative, less sociable, and more frequently had no playmates than non-involved children. Bullies were less prosocial, and had more leadership skills than non-involved children. Bullies belonged to larger social clusters and were frequently affiliated with other bullies or bully-victims. CONCLUSIONS: We were able to establish distinct behavior patterns for bullies, bully-victims, and victims. Some of these social behaviors may be considered as risk factors for being victimized or becoming a bully. Our findings also emphasize the significance of peer relationships in bully/victim problems. On the one hand, victimized children's lack of friends might render them psychologically and socially vulnerable, and thus more prone to becoming easy targets. On the other hand, bullies seemed to be preferred playmates, particularly for other aggressive boys. This affiliation of aggressive children might lead to an increase in bullying behavior. Our understanding of the social and interactional nature of bullying and victimization has practical implications for prevention and intervention against bully/victim problems.

Aggression↗
PubMed2004

'What about bullying?' An experimental field study to understand students' attitudes towards bullying and victimization in Italian middle schools.

BACKGROUND: Attitudes towards bullying at school are influential in understanding and preventing bullying behaviour but they should be measured with reference to the particular conditions under which bullying takes place. AIMS: To establish how far positive and negative judgments of bullying and victims and blaming of the victim vary according to the gender of observers, gender of bullies and of victims and whether the bullying took place alone or in group. SAMPLE: Participants were 117 students (49 boys and 68 girls), aged 11-12, recruited from a middle school in Italy randomly allocated to one of four independent groups according to experimental condition: bullying alone among girls, bullying alone among boys, bullying in groups among girls, bullying in groups among boys. METHOD: Participants watched one of four versions of a video according to experimental condition showing a brief standardized bullying episode taking place at a school; they then had to fill in a self-report questionnaire measuring the dependent variables: respondents' positive or negative judgments towards the bully and the victim shown in the video and how far the victim was blamed for what had happened. RESULTS: Overall, results indicate students have positive attitudes towards the victims of bullying and tend not to blame them for what has happened. However, same gender identification lead girls to blame male victims more than female victims and the reverse applies in case of boys providing their judgments. A bully acting alone is considered stronger and braver than when acting in a group. CONCLUSIONS: The limits and potential of the study are presented with special attention to implications for intervention strategies in school by focusing on the role observers could play in supporting the victims and discouraging the bullies.

Aggression↗
PubMed2006

Nurse bullying: organizational considerations in the maintenance and perpetration of health care bullying cultures.

AIM: To examine bullying within nursing from a micro-sociological perspective and elucidate interactive mechanisms contributing to its causes and continuation within the nursing profession. BACKGROUND: The paper is part of a doctoral research study into bullying within nursing. It considers issues pertinent to management, and in the role of negotiated interactions within the National Health Service when dealing with bullying problems. The complex dynamics involved can be problematic for management when dealing with bullying, while often managers have been targets of bullying themselves and not infrequently accused of it. Features of bullying activity are explored, along with issues of target and bully awareness, a central feature in bullying negotiations. Issues of awareness and emergence of bullying behaviour have been identified through vignettes and unstructured interviews, and the research has identified complex interactive events in the creation and maintenance of nurse bullying activity. It is hoped that with a clearer understanding of such mechanisms and manifestations that bullying in the workplace can be reduced or eliminated. The paper is of practical use to nurse managers in illuminating such mechanisms and bringing bullying awareness to the fore. Such activity is ultimately damaging to the organization in both cost and time; and significant for professional practice by its impact upon the nurse and their work in supportive and safe environments. It will also to allow managers to consider their own practice and reactions to bullying activity within the profession. CONCLUSIONS: The overall findings from the research point strongly to bullying activity being essentially 'learned behaviour' within the workplace rather than any predominantly psychological deficit within individual perpetrators and targets.

Humans↗
PubMed2001

Consequences of workplace bullying with respect to the well-being of its targets and the observers of bullying.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the effects of workplace bullying and the psychological work environment on the well-being and subjective stress of the targets and observers of bullying. METHODS: In a questionnaire study, stress and psychological ill-health were measured, and the causes of reported stress were analyzed for municipal employees (N=949, 85% women, 15% men, mean age 41 years for the men and 40 years for the women). RESULTS: Both the targets of bullying and the observers reported more general stress and mental stress reactions than did respondents from the workplaces with no bullying. The targets also expressed feelings of low self-confidence more often than did those who had not been subjected to bullying. Being bullied, but also features of one's work, especially haste, excessively difficult tasks and poor goal clarity, predicted the stress reactions reported. Of the single forms of bullying, judging a person's work unjustly or in an offending manner, restricting a person's possibilities to express his or her opinions, and assaulting one's private life were the most clearly connected with all the stress reactions measured. Victim history was associated with feelings of low self-confidence. The targets of bullying used sleep-inducing drugs and sedatives more often than did the respondents who were not bullied. CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that not only the targets of bullying, but also bystanders, suffer when someone is bullied in the workplace. Bullying must therefore be regarded as a problem for the entire work unit and not merely as a problem of the target.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Adolescent male bullies, victims, and bully-victims: a comparison of psychosocial and behavioral characteristics.

OBJECTIVE: To determine among male adolescents whether bully-victims would report the poorest psychosocial health, the worst attitudes toward school, more problem behavior (delinquency, weapons possession, and substance use), and more physical injury compared with bullies, victims, and neutral students. We also assessed ethnic differences in bullying category membership. METHODS: Employing multisample latent variable models, we contrasted 1,312 males in grades 7-12 classified as bullies (n = 299), victims (n = 180), bully-victims (n = 195), and neutral (n = 638) on school attitudes, psychosocial health, problem behaviors, and physical injury. RESULTS: Hypotheses were generally confirmed, especially contrasts between bully-victims and neutrals. However, bullies did not have better school attitudes than bully-victims, and victims only marginally reported better psychological health than bully-victims. The boys of mixed ethnicity were more likely to be victims. CONCLUSIONS: Greater awareness of the problems associated with boys who both bully and are victimized is necessary for improved intervention.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Bullying in Flemish schools: an evaluation of anti-bullying intervention in primary and secondary schools.

BACKGROUND: The positive of the Norwegian anti-bullying programme (Olweus, 1992) stimulated other countries to tackle bully/victim problems. However, outcome studies found rather low levels of effect or even inconsistent results. AIMS: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate behavioural effectiveness of a school-based anti-bullying approach within Flemish schools. In addition, specific attention was given to the relationship between outcome findings and external support. SAMPLE: A total of 18 schools, comprising 1104 primary and secondary school children were recruited for this study. Students ranged in age from 10 to 16 years. METHOD: For this study, an experimental pre-test/post-test design was used which included a control group. Three groups were established. The first group, Treatment with Support, involved students from schools that implemented a school-based anti-bullying intervention with additional support from the research group. The second group, Treatment without Support, also involved students from schools that implemented a school-based anti-bullying programme. However, in contrast with those falling under the first condition, this group of schools could not appeal to the research group for additional help. The last group involved students from schools that did not implement the anti-bullying programme and served as a Control condition. Repeated measures analyses of variance were carried out. RESULTS: The findings regarding the effects of the school-based anti-bullying intervention programme on the extent of bullying and victimisation showed a mixed pattern of positive changes in primary schools and zero outcomes in secondary schools. The findings regarding the effects of external support revealed limited outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The outcomes of the evaluation study confirm that a school-based anti-bullying intervention strategy can be effective in reducing problems with bullying, especially within primary schools. It was argued that the developmental characteristics of secondary school students interfered with the programme outcomes. In addition, the findings revealed no extra effects of specific training sessions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Bullying in adolescence: psychiatric problems in victims and bullies as measured by the Youth Self Report (YSR) and the Depression Self-Rating Scale (DSRS).

Adolescents in junior high school (n = 237), completed a questionnaire on bullying as it relates to victim and to perpetrator status, suicidality and biographical data. Psychological symptoms were assessed by the Youth Self Report (YSR) and the Depression Self-Rating Scale (DSRS) supplemented by school health officers blind assessments. Bullying was common: bully only (18%), victim only (10%) and victim and bully (9%). Bullies had mainly externalizing symptoms (delinquency and aggression) and those of the victim and bully group both externalizing and internalizing symptoms as well as high levels of suicidality. Adolescents in the bully only group were more likely to be boys and to have attention problems. Moreover, a substantial proportion of the adolescents in the victim only group were judged by school health officer to have psychiatric symptoms and to function socially less well.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

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.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

Do bullied children become anxious and depressed adults?: A cross-sectional investigation of the correlates of bullying and anxious depression.

There is little empirical research examining the historical and clinical correlates of exposure to childhood bullying in adult clinical subjects. Using structured clinical assessments, the authors studied a group of adult males and females presenting to an outpatient depression clinic, to examine the childhood risk factors and the distinguishing comorbid features associated with those reporting exposure to bullying. Just over a quarter of both men and women reported having experienced bullying that was severe and traumatic. More of these subjects also reported several other well studied childhood risk factors. Childhood correlates that were particularly relevant for exposure to bullying were parental overcontrol, illness or disability, and the tendency to have an inhibited temperament early in life. The experience of childhood bullying was strongly related to high levels of comorbid anxiety, both in terms of greater levels of state anxiety and a higher prevalence of both social phobia and agoraphobia. Independent of other childhood risk factors, exposure to bullying was especially predictive of subjects' higher levels of general state anxiety and the tendency to express anxious arousal externally when under stress. These results are compatible with both cross-sectional and prospective studies of child and adolescent samples, and highlight the potential etiological significance of early peer victimization experiences for a percentage of adults suffering from depression with comorbid anxiety.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Management of bullying and bullying in management.

Bullying can be defined as 'the improper and frequent use of power to affect someone's life adversely' (Patchett 1992) or simply coercion by fear (Adams 1992). Bullying is thought to be a significant problem within the National Health Service (NHS) but this is based on anecdotal literature by Adams (1992), Turnbull (1995) and Kline (1994). There is no clear evidence as to its exact prevalence. This is not least due to the nature of the problem that inhibits reports of the incidence of bullying. Bullying may manifest itself as a problem within a department as well as a misinformed management style. Recommendations are made to call for more awareness of the issue by research and the formation of written policies. Research based information may provide the impetus needed to introduce measures against bullying.

Aggression↗
PubMed2006

Influence of family therapy on bullying behaviour, cortisol secretion, anger, and quality of life in bullying male adolescents: A randomized, prospective, controlled study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the influence of brief strategic family therapy (BSFT) on salivary cortisol, anger, and health-related quality of life (QoL) in adolescent boys with bullying behaviour. METHOD: We selected a sample of 72 boys demonstrating bullying behaviour from the general population and treated 36 with BSFT for 12 weeks. The other 36 boys formed the control group. Primary outcome measures were salivary cortisol concentration 15 to 30 minutes after awakening and changes on the subscales of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) and the Health Survey (SF-36). RESULTS: After 12 weeks' treatment, we observed a significant reduction in bullying behaviour in the BSFT group (P = 0.017) and in the mean values (according to the intent-to-treat principle) for salivary cortisol concentration (P < 0.001). The BSFT group also showed significantly greater change on the STAXI subscales State-Anger (P < 0.001), Trait-Anger (P < 0.001), Anger-Out (P < 0.001), and Anger-Control (P < 0.001). Treatment with BSFT also resulted in significant improvement on the SF-36 subscales for Vitality (P < 0.001), Social Functioning (P < 0.001), Role-Emotional (P < 0.001), and Mental Health (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: BSFT effectively influenced bullying behaviour, salivary cortisol concentration, anger, and health-related QoL in adolescent bullying boys.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Bullying and victimization in elementary schools: a comparison of bullies, victims, bully/victims, and uninvolved preadolescents.

Research on bullying and victimization largely rests on univariate analyses and on reports from a single informant. Researchers may thus know too little about the simultaneous effects of various independent and dependent variables, and their research may be biased by shared method variance. The database for this Dutch study was large (N = 1,065) and rich enough to allow multivariate analysis and multi-source information. In addition, the effect of familial vulnerability for internalizing and externalizing disorders was studied. Gender, aggressiveness, isolation, and dislikability were most strongly related to bullying and victimization. Among the many findings that deviated from or enhanced the univariate knowledge base were that not only victims and bully/victims but bullies as well were disliked and that parenting was unrelated to bullying and victimization once other factors were controlled.

Aggression↗