Bully and Victim Problems in Elementary Schools and Students' Beliefs about Aggression

Abstract

The study was undertaken to survey the prevalence and nature of bullying in elementary school children; and to investigate the bullies and victims' beliefs supporting aggression. A total of 379 grades 4 to 6 students in Calgary were surveyed. Results of the Bully/Victim Questionnaire (Olweus, 1989) indicated that 21.3% were bullied and 11.6% bullied others "sometimes" or more often at school that term. Victims tended to be the youngest students of the sample, both boys and girls, and were at risk for being bullied by both age-males and older students. Verbal abuse was the most common form of bullying, and there was no significant association between gender and either direct or indirect forms of bullying. The playground was the most commonly cited location where bullying occurred. Bullies tended to be in the older grades and were mainly boys. Also, results of the Beliefs Measure revealed that bullies were more likely than victims and students who were neither victims nor bullies to endorse certain aggression-supporting beliefs. Implications for antibullying programs are discussed.

L'étude a été entreprise pour étudier la fréquence et la nature de l'intimidation chez les enfants au niveau élémentaire et enquêter les croyances sur l'agression chez les brutes et les victimes. Un total de 379 élèves de la 4ème jusqu'à la 6ème année à Calgary ont servi pour l'étude. Les résultats du questionnaire sur les brutes/victimes (Olweus, 1989) indiquent que 21,3% ont été victimes d'intimidation par une brute et 11,6% ont intimidé les autres "parfois" ou plus souvent à l'école. Les victimes ont tendance à être les plus jeunes sujets de l'échantillonnage, garçons ou filles, et elles étaient à risque d'être intimidées par les écoliers du même âge et les plus vieux. L'a-bus verbal était la méthode la plus commune d'intimidation et il n'y avait aucun lien significatif entre les sexes et les méthodes directes ou indirectes d'intimidation. Le terrain de jeux est l'endroit le plus cité comme lieu où se produit ces intimidations. Les brutes semblent être des écoliers des années plus avancées et sont surtout des garçons. De plus, les résultats des mesures de croyances ont révélé que les brutes favorisent plus souvent que les victimes et les écoliers qui n'ont pas été victimes et qui ne sont pas des brutes, certaines croyances appuyant l'agression. Des insinuations pour des programmes anti-intimidation sont discutées. Bully and Victim Problems in Elementary Schools and Students' Beliefs about Aggression

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