This thesis is concerned with perceptions of bullying.  It examines the constructs associated with the social representation of bullying within the police service, and the social psychological processes and factors influencing the likelihood that individual officers will share such representations.  The work is framed within the social psychological theories of Social Identity Theory (SIT) (Tajfel & Turner, 1986) and Social Representations Theory (SRT) (Moscovici, 1961, 1984). The research comprised two studies.  Study one used an innovative twist on the qualitative multiple sort procedure to establish the constructs of bullying used within the police service.  Seventeen participants drawn from civilian support staff, uniformed and CID officers used themes based on issues of context, power and the type of behaviour (personal or task directed) in their evaluations of bullying.  Departmental differences were noted in the interpretational strategies used. Study two was designed to ascertain the relative importance of the constructs, identified by study one, to the constabulary’s SR of bullying and the degree to which differences in sharing such SRs could be explained by identification factors.  The manipulation scenario, which formed part of the questionnaire design, provided support for the effect of type of behaviour on the SR factor of acceptability and common-ness, but he construct of power, as represented by rank and authority, produced a more complex result, with an interaction occurring between the two.  There were significant differences between high and low identifiers and department in the degree to which respondents concurred with the constabulary’s SR of bullying.

This document describes the motivations and processes behind my writing the handbook, Dignity at Work:  Eliminate Bullying and Create a Positive Working Environment.  It also contains the typescript as submitted to Routledge, the publishers (Appendix D).  Dignity at Work was written for commercial publication but it was shaped primarily by considerations related to its being a doctoral project.  The book was designed to be a practical and user-friendly manual for both psychological practitioners in organisations as well as anyone else in an organisational setting who has the responsibility of managing others.  Dignity at Work is based on a systematic enquiry of colleagues and others involved in workplace bullying and it draws on the discipline and knowledge of the counselling, psychotherapy and psychology fields and their contribution to understanding and working with individuals and groups. The book does not aim to supersede existing research but in fact relies on the valuable work done in the field:  material I had collected over the years by reviewing the literature, talking to colleagues, and integrating my own experience.  The result is a work that seeks to provide the best response to enhancing dignity at work from the perspectives of not only the victims and their employers, but also the counsellors and psychologists who are called in to provide effective intervention.

Bullying is widely acknowledged as an insidious form of victimization that is prevalent within our schools. In the context of a wider society that may in itself be racist, racial bullying in schools is beginning to be acknowledged both in the academic literature and the media. However, studies of ethnicity and bullying are scarce. The present study aims to highlight the experiences of bullying at school for both ethnic minority and ethnic majority pupils. In particular, the relationship between ethnic identity and the experience of bullying is examined. A total of 199 secondary school pupils aged between 12 and 13 years (Year 8) from an inner city school in Leicester participated. Two questionnaires were completed which assessed their experiences of bullying and ethnic identity. Significant differences were found for ethnicity regarding the overall experience of being bullied, with ethnic majority pupils reporting experiencing more bullying than their minority peers. Ethnic minority pupils were more likely than ethnic majority pupils to experience bullying with a racial content. No relationship was found between the effect of racial bullying and ethnic identity status. Some gender differences reported in the literature were reflected in the results of this study. The results proved difficult to interpret and a critical discussion of methodological limitations is offered. Implications of the findings for schools, and the clinical implications for psychology are discussed. Future research needs are also considered.

This research addresses the question, ‘what is the relationship between young peoples’ consumption of branded goods and their sense of identity’?  It reveals consumption to be some way from the picture presented in postmodern type analyses, which emphasise pleasure and play.  Amongst my sample of twenty focus groups of late teenage students, concern about class and gender position, status and ‘distinction’ (Bourdieu 1986) emerges as the key framework which informs their ‘choices’ as consumers, and their subjective sense of identity. The judgements they make about self, other and group identity suggest consuming brands is a cultural practice which is marked by strong discursive, scopic and classificatory dimensions.  These inform a series of popular stereotypes from ‘Townies’ and ‘Skanky birds’ to ‘Essex boys.’ Such categorisations are materialised in, and embodied by, teenagers’ taste in, and use of, branded goods.  They affect, not just those who are ‘othered’, but those who do the ‘othering’, reducing choice and contributing to forms of class and gender invective, social distancing and to wider processes of ‘symbolic violence’ (Bourdieu 1977). In the context of these dimensions, and the prevalence of talk about bullying, my findings support the need for a more critically circumspect approach.  Such a framework, needs to be one which is able to take full account of consumption as an embodied set of classed and gendered, material and symbolic, emotional as well as reflexive practices.  Consuming Brands shows, young people’s negotiation of the dilemma of a ‘personalised versus commodified’ experience of the self (Giddens 1991:196), is one fraught with social risks and emotional stresses.  These are unequally shared in class and gender terms.  The accounts given, of being addressed, and acting, as consuming subjects, reveal the contradictory nature of the subjective experience of consumption, psycho-socially, and the limited choice and agency, it affords.

This thesis reports a study which explored children’s understanding and experience of spina bifida. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 8 children aged 8-11 years with spina bifida. A grounded theory approach was used to develop ‘theories’ from the data. Analysis of the data suggest that all participants were aware of ‘being different’ from their “normal” able-bodied siblings and peers and that many identified themselves in terms of having spina bifida; they spoke about being picked on, teased and about other types of bullying; and all of them disliked their physical appearance. Several ways of coping with spina bifid a were also talked about by the children. Knowledge about spina bifida tended to be functional and obtained from parents; most of the participants reported that little information about treatment was given by medical professionals which seemed to contribute to anxiety regarding treatment and hospitalization. The implications of the findings for clinical practice and further research are considered.

Research into interventions in workplace bullying appears to be largely under researched despite widespread acceptance that action is required.  Many studies exist that have explored what needs to occur to deal with workplace bullying.  It is apparent however that there is a general struggle over what people should actually do, making the absence of intervention studies somewhat puzzling.  This thesis studies a microcosm of what interventions may take place through a national helpline run by Acas, a UK based Government funded organisation with a remit to help resolve workplace relations conflicts. Adopting a framework of social construction, this thesis, using interviews and focus groups, has sought to answer the question, What role does the Acas helpline fulfil when intervening in cases of alleged workplace bullying? This thesis finds a relatively uniform response from participants which shows a lack of clarity of understanding as to what bullying at work means.  Participants also demonstrate the impossible task of providing a singular route to intervention because of the multifaceted nature of the phenomenon.  Similarly, the capacity for interventions to provide solutions that satisfy the callers’ expectations falls someway short of what was hoped for.  This is not a failing of Acas as an organisation.  Rather, it illustrates the complexity of providing interventions for complex subjective situations, such as workplace bullying, using a telephone helpline.

Research in the field of developmental psychopathology has suggested that the effects of trauma experienced in childhood and/or adolescence can remain with an individual for a number of years. This thesis reports on a three year study focusing upon the experiences of bullying at school for a non-probability sample of lesbians, gay men and bisexual men and women, and explores the psycho-social and long-term implications such events have for their development. Data collection consisted of four elements: a survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered adults’ experiences of bullying at school (N= 190); an assessment of the reliability and stability of participants’ memories (N=60); a study of their life-experiences post school (including measures of bullying in adulthood, negative affect, relationship status and post traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]; N=119); and a series of in-depth interviews (N=16). The results suggested that participants’ experiences of bullying at school were both regular and long-term (mean: 5 years), with name-calling and ridicule being the most frequently cited forms of abuse. Over 50% reported contemplating self-harming behaviour or suicide as a result of bullying at school, with 40% making one or more attempts. As adults, they were found to exhibit indices of depression and anxiety when compared to samples of heterosexuals or lesbians, gay men and bisexual men and women not bullied at school. In addition, 17% were found to meet the criteria for the diagnosis of PTSD. However, for the majority of participants, there was little evidence of low self-esteem in adulthood, or discomfort with being lesbian, gay or bisexual. Similarity, in terms of insecurity within relationships, while participants expressed concerns about the nature of their relationships with significant others, there was no evidence to suggest that their fears had become realities. The results also suggested that social support mechanisms and personal resilience played a valuable role in mitigating against potential long-term effects. The implications of these findings are discussed with reference to current literature in the field.

This research examines 8 – 11 year old children’s knowledge of bullying including their coping strategies and the effects of bullying on their self-concept. In the pilot study, a semi-structured interview developed from the work of Harris, Olthof and Terwogt (1986) was used to collect information on children’s experiences of bullying. In addition coping strategies which cold be used in the face of bullying, social support networks and the emotional experience of being the victim of bullying were also elicited. The children’s responses were categorised and Bullying Experience Scale and Coping with Bullying Scale were generated. These scales were used to investigate children’s bullying experiences and coping strategies in the main study. In the main study, the profiles of children identified as bullies, victims, both or neither, were investigated using these two new scales and two further scales, the Harter (1985) Self-Perception Profile for Children and the Butler (1994) Self-Image Profile. The aim was to categorise children into bully/victim groups and to determine how the self-perception, self-image, bullying experience and coping strategies of the children in these groups differed and whether there was an effect of gender. The results suggest, contrary to expectation, that it was the children who perceived themselves to be bullies who had the lowest self-esteem and also had more negative self-image compared to the other groups of children. Children who perceived themselves to be bullies, experienced higher levels of bullying than the other groups of children. Primary coping was the most subscribed coping strategy for the ‘bullies’ with the ‘victim’ and those uninvolved in bullying reporting more secondary coping strategies.