This research investigated the levels of being bullied and bullying for 8-15 year old pupils in school. Various studies showed that pupils’ own reports of being bullied and bullying differed from teacher and to a lesser degree peer nominations of pupils who are victims or perpetrators of bullying. Analyses of data examined the consistency of the results from two questionnaires, the ‘Life in Schools’ booklet and a questionnaire on bullying designed by Dan Olweus. Both questionnaires were evaluated for their usefulness in identifying levels of being bullied. In addition interview measures were also compared with reports from the anonymous questionnaire (Olweus questionnaire). Results showed that although there was consistency between the two measures, pupils were more likely to admit to bullying in the anonymous questionnaire than during interviews. Interview data was also collected at two time points. Study 1 investigated types of bullying, pupils’ understanding of what bullying is, and feelings of being bullied and bullying. Study 2 investigated types of bullying and who bullied whom in different ethnic/racial groups. The interview data led to the Olweus definition of bullying and questionnaire to be modified on two occasions to accommodate different types of bullying, that of indirect bullying and racial abuse. Data was also analysed to determine whether ‘ethnic minority’ pupils were more likely to be bullied or engaged in bullying compared to ‘white’ pupils. Results showed that there was no significant difference between the two groups. Further analyses of sex differences in being bullied and bullying showed that females used more indirect means of bullying compared to males although male levels of bullying were higher than that of female pupils. A Survey Service was also designed and implemented so that schools could carry out their own survey to investigate levels of bully/victim problems in schools. The Survey Service provided a package of information and a quota of questionnaires for teachers to administer to pupils in their schools. Results were then analysed by the University researcher and a portfolio returned to schools giving a breakdown by sex and class of pupils who have been bullied and bullying. The final analysis investigated the effectiveness of using a bully court in one middle school. Results showed that in the intervention classes levels of bullying declined and in the non-intervention classes bullying increased. The outcome of the results is discussed in relation to its effectiveness and the ethics of using this type of intervention.

The study firstly identifies the level, and nature of bullying behaviour in 3 mixed urban comprehensive schools and secondly considers how school differences might affect bullying behaviour. Finally it examines the perceptions of those most closely involved, the pupils and the teachers. An adapted version of the questionnaire used by Olweus (1989) in his Scandinavian studies and in turn adapted in Britain by the Sheffield Bullying Project team (see Ahmad et al., 1991) was used to collect data from 1,155 pupils (514 girls, 641 boys) related to the aims of the project. Interviews with 60 pupils and 32 teachers, which included tutors and members from the senior management teams in each school, enabled information to be gathered from diverse sources and this illuminated the phenomenon from differing perspectives. The two principal instruments of investigation, questionnaire and interview, were supplemented by the use of documents and records where available and relevant. The research findings indicated that the three schools in question have an above average level of reported bullying which includes a high rate of non-physical bullying, primarily name calling and verbal threats. One of the main findings related to school differences, highlights the effect of awareness raising among pupils and subsequently the increased likelihood of pupils to report bullying behaviour. Surprisingly teachers in the same schools predicted higher levels of bullying than the pupils themselves who felt bullying in their schools was average to low. Teachers’ perceptions about bullying appeared to be less affected by school differences than by personal experiences. Pupils who had experienced bullying were not likely to volunteer to be interviewed and among this group differing or contrasting perceptions were linked to the length of time or severity of the bullying, how it had been dealt with and the part the victim had played in overcoming adversity, rather than any school differences.

This thesis is an investigation of social problem-solving skills, psychological distress, and supportive relationships among three distinct samples. The research groups comprise a) 25 depressed inpatients and a matched comparison group; b) 50 hospital admissions following an act of suicidal behaviour; and c) 5 sub-groups of incarcerated young offenders (inmates on Strict Suicidal Supervision, inmates on protection, victims of bullying, identified bullies, comparison group) with 25 inmates in each group. Data was collected by structured interviews, standardised psychometric measures of mood states (e.g. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Beck Hopelessness Scale), problem-solving ability (e.g. Means-Ends Problem-Solving Procedure) and supportive relationships (e.g. Significant Others Scale). Data were analysed by means of parametric statistical techniques (e.g. analyses of variance and multiple regression analyses). Eight cross-sectional studies are reported. Depressed patients demonstrated problem-solving difficulties, which were related to the level of psychological distress experienced. Clinically depressed patients were also found to differ from a comparison group in their autobiographical memory recall and concentration ability – both of which were related to their impoverished problem-solving ability. Deficits in problem-solving ability in the depressed patients were not an artefact of their verbal IQ. Regression analyses of the data relating to suicidal community inpatients illustrated that social support variables were the prime predictors of suicidal intent, depression and hopelessness. Social problem-solving variables also emerged as significant predictors of psychological distress, albeit to a lesser extent. Social support and problem-solving variables were also important moderator variables in the relationship between stress and suicidality. The studies conducted with young offenders illustrated a hierarchy of problem-solving deficits and psychological distress among the inmate groups. Problem-solving ability was not an artefact of verbal IQ. The value of using problem-solving interventions with vulnerable offenders is discussed. The importance of prison relationships in the experience of stress by inmates was also highlighted. Similarly, parental relationships were related to the levels of distress experienced while incarcerated. The results of each study are discussed in relation to the relevant literature, practical implications for clinical interventions with each group, and suggestions for future research. The findings of the thesis are discussed in relationship to transactional, stress-hopelessness-distress models of psychological illness and distress.

This thesis examines the experience of pupils negotiating their early adolescence within their secondary schools. Specifically, the focus is upon sexual bullying; the sexualised hostility and interpersonal conflict between pupils, and its role in the structuring of gender relations within the peer-subculture. The research adopts an ethnographic method, interviewing and observing pupils within the schools over a five year period. The existing research on bullying in schools is criticised for its concentration on psychologistical variables of deviancy within individual children at the expense of political and cultural factors. An attempt is made by this study to reproblematise the current theories on bullying in schools, and reconceptualise the phenomenon of bullying in terms of gender and cultural studies. From this perspective, a continuum of oppressive behaviours can be seen in operation, with homophobia and misogyny implicated in the practices and processes of pupils’ construction of sexual and gender identities. The extent of the effects of these practices upon general social relations in school are discussed, and the dynamic relationship between the subcultural value systems and official organisation of the school is explored. The schools’ formal structures of discipline and control of large numbers of maturing young people are analysed in terms of their unintended consequences. An examination is made of the schools’ official discourses on competition and normality, and of the adoption, distortion and intensification of those discourses by the pupils within their own value system of personal reputation. The study then analyses their effects on the forms of gender policing carried out by the subculture.

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 study, which took place in three phases, looks at pupils’ perceptions of bullying and of the incidence and nature of bullying in a secondary school over a period of three years. The changes in the children’s perceptions of the incidence of bullying over this period are discussed and the implications of the variability in perceived incidence of bullying are drawn out. A convenient questionnaire for describing pupils’ perceptions of the incidence of bullying was devised and used to help define bullying in terms of actions between children over the period of the study. A definition of bullying was arrived at which six key statements supported by, on average, half of the pupils. A further phase of the study addressed boys’ perceptions of the process of bullying and of the school’s attempts to minimise bullying. During the period of the study, children’s perceptions of the incidence of bullying varied between different Year groups, whilst in the school as whole, the perception of the incidence of bullying and of ‘one-off’ aggressive actions reduced over time. The variability in the perceived incidence for each of the three cohorts of children, which were surveyed annually during the period of the study, was different from that of the whole school. From this, certain elements are seen as crucial in the accurate assessment of incident and monitoring of interventions, particularly regular monitoring at class and Year group level and a recognition of the complex nature of the definition of bullying itself. The implications of this study for other research into bullying and for schools attempting to monitor bullying are discussed. It is argued that, when children use the word “bullying”, they refer mainly to a core psychological process in which domination of a personal peer group is achieved through bullying type actions. A complex social mechanism is proposed in which there is an interdependent relationship between the main bullying protagonists and their supporters, in which the victims are incidental rather than central to the process, with the role of the witnesses and bystanders being crucial. Recommendations are made for schools and Local Education Authorities, as well as suggestions for further research.

The purpose of the present research is to advance our knowledge and understanding of bullying behaviour among incarcerated young offenders. This involved conducting a large-scale study investigating the prevalence, frequency, and circumstances of bullying, correlates of bullying, and characteristics of bullies and victims in young offender institutions of varying security level and type. Recommendations are made concerning how levels of bullying can be reduced based on the results. Bullying can be defined as the repeated oppression, psychological or physical, of a less powerful person by a more powerful one. This kind of behaviour is perceived as a serious problem in young offender institutions and has been implicated as the primary cause of recent deaths in at least one young offender facility. Although there is a substantial amount of research investigating bullying among school children, bullying in offender populations has been virtually ignored by criminological and psychological researchers until very recently. A sample (N=190) of male young offenders in Canadian custody facilities of varying security level and type were administered two standardized inventories measuring the prevalence, nature, and frequency of bullying behaviour, the response of staff and peers to this phenomenon, and psychological and background characteristics of offenders who are bullies and victims, as well as those who do not fall into either of these categories. A pilot study was conducted in order to develop a questionnaire to collect basic data on bullying among incarcerated young offenders and assess its value. In addition, a study was conducted in order to validate offender self-reports of bullying and victimization concurrently against peer nominations and staff reports. Information and knowledge concerning the nature and extent of bullying in a facility, the types of individuals who are likely to become bullies and victims, and circumstances within institutions which may permit or encourage bullying behaviour can be useful to correctional practitioners and policy makers. This kind of information could assist them in making institutional changes to aid in the prevention and reduction of bullying behaviour. It could also help them to classify offenders as bullies and victims to aid in the implementation of prevention measures targeted as these individuals, as well as for need and risk assessment. Hopefully, a large programme of research based on this thesis could lead to significant advances in knowledge about bullying in young offender institutions and hence to significant decreases in this troubling problem.

Four studies examined the investigative interviewing of children. Their purpose was to consider the way that children are interviewed, particularly about suspected sexual abuse, so that broader contextual factors were explicitly taken into account. To facilitate the research, an ecological framework was adopted. This stressed the importance of obtaining children’s views and relating findings to the child’s position, and of studying investigative interviewing in a wider practice and policy context than has previously taken place. In the first study, children who had been the subject of an investigative interview for sexual abuse participated in indepth interviews. The second experiment contrasted child and adult interviewers finding out what had happened during a videotaped event. Children’s help-seeking behaviour in relation to bullying and parental arguing was explored through a questionnaire in the third study. Finally, training on the Memorandum of Good Practice in Area Child Protection Committees (ACPCs) was surveyed via a questionnaire. Findings from the first and final studies suggested that the Memorandum is too heavily evidential at the expense of children’s welfare. In practice, investigative interviews resemble interrogations, rather than opportunities for children to talk about problems. The studies of children’s help-seeking, and their experiences of investigative interviews, contained a number of pointers for individual practitioners. In particular, children want supportive and empathic professionals. However, the need to reconsider children’s social networks in relation to professional intervention was highlighted by the absence of professional helpers chosen to assist with interpersonal problems. The value of interviewer training was emphasised by the study of children-as-interviewers and the survey of ACPCs’ training. The research demonstrated the importance of considering the wider context of investigative interviewing, and specifically the influence of the criminal justice system. The ecological approach proved a valuable framework, but the problems of researching macro-level systems and power structures remain.

The research confirmed that, to be effective, a leader’s style must fit the situation. The leader must correctly identify the behaviour required in a given situation, that is, appropriate to time, place, culture and people involved. Indeed, in almost any leadership situation, one will need to balance the two dimensions of task orientation and people orientation. The research also suggests that staff’s preference of a supervisory leadership style in the service and food production setting is for a “maintenance oriented” style. Moreover, this research argues that it is possible to identify the specific functions which are required by a supervisor in each situation. The first category of incidents suggests that operative staff tend to believe that their supervisors must have appropriate technical and coaching skills. Next, the category of misuse of power as well as the mismanagement of emotions, suggests the possibility of bullying and the risk of employees being exposed to abusive behaviour. Thirdly, the category of bias represents the normal human operative staff. The fourth category is very interesting: staff recall incidents when supervisors have gone beyond their roles (in the case of helping staff with their personal problems), to be one of the best actions that a supervisor can perform, but do not complain if this does not happen. This type of “sacrifice” may be related to Thai cultural norms. The other categories seem to be less significant (i.e. representing company, lacking self-assertiveness and general behaviour). Operative staff pay most attention to activities concerning the communication skills of their supervisors. Good communication does not simply concern the actions and necessary skills required by a supervisor in each situation, but also the correct mode of behaviour which staff feel their supervisor should display in that situation, to accomplish the intended goal.(DXN006,152)

This thesis explores the extent and nature of aggressive behaviour engaged in by young people. This is accomplished by focusing on two areas: school bullying amongst pupils and physical fighting – specifically amongst young women. It is speculated that bullying as one form of aggressive behaviour that young people engage in, is extremely commonplace. Furthermore, it is predicted that young women do engage in physically aggressive behaviour, both physical bullying and fighting, but they may be socialised out of this behaviour towards the end of their school careers. It is hypothesised that social pressures exerted on them led them to ‘swap’ aggression for femininity. The research hypotheses are examined using two data sources. These were 957 pupils at two secondary schools, and 31 young women from two further education colleges. The school pupils each completed a victimisation and self-report bullying questionnaire. The young women students were engaged in an in-depth interview which sought to find out about their experiences of aggressive behaviour, both as victims and perpetrators. The data found that various forms of bullying and harassment occur frequently in the lives of young people. These include verbal, exclusionary, intimidatory and physical types of bullying, as well as racial bullying and sexual bullying. Similarly, physical bullying and fighting amongst girls was reported, although limited support was found for the hypothesis that young women ‘grow out’ of using physical aggression. Further analysis of the data indicated that young people justify and sanction much aggressive behaviour amongst peers. Using concepts derived from the disciplines of ethology, criminology and victimology, a framework is presented which conceptualises this aggressive behaviour by young people as ‘normal’ everyday behaviour. The implications of this for prevention and future research are discussed.

This ethnographic study exposes hidden, sex differentiated messages conveyed to boys and girls in Israeli Jewish schools. The analysis of classroom interactions, the school culture, school documents, extra curricular activities, and teachers’ reflections about sex roles and their pupils’ sexuality, all render valuable information about the powerful undercurrents present in the Israeli educational system, that is officially committed to equal opportunities. The observations conducted over a full academic year in three schools, are read within their cultural context. References to those social constructs that both generate the subtle sexist practices observed, and explain their deeper meanings and far reaching implications, make this study significant to the understanding of the specific Israeli scene. In addition, the disparity recorded between the teachers’ stated commitment to equality, and their explicit and implicit gendered expectations, suggests a line of enquiry relevant to other educational systems too. The incompatability between traditional Jewish values, social constructs of modern Israel, and recent feminist critique, results in an ambivalent attitude to sex equity. This in turn leads to the resort to the most circuitous manner of preserving traditional values, that actually contradict the egalitarian ethos of each of the schools studied. Hence, the teachers’ belief in the complementarity of the sexes, their interest in the pupils’ patterns of heterosexual pairing, the insensitivity noted to subtle forms of sex discrimination, to sexual harassment and to double standards in evaluations, all suggest an agenda hidden from the teachers themselves. The gendered interactions and the hidden messages conveyed through them, are most pronounced in extra curricular activities. The conclusion is that whether or not the Israeli national curriculum contains or encourages sexist practices, the schools, in their unique ways, convey traditional messages about sex roles, in extremely subtle manners.

The proportion of co-educational post-primary schools in the Republic of Ireland has increased considerably. The literature on co-education points to a negative effect of co-education on girls’ academic outcomes. To investigate the gender effects of co-education on attainment, the Leaving Certificate examination performance of pupils in a stratified random sample of 17 post-primary schools in Limerick city and county was analysed. A total valid sample of 1242 pupils completed questionnaires which measured social background characteristics, previous examination performance, as well as a variety of personal, peer, familial, school and teacher behaviours and attitudes. School Principals provided data on school factors including selectivity, frequency of discipline problems, streaming and attrition. When social background effects and school effects were controlled for, co-education was found to have no effect on boys’ Leaving Certificate examination performance and to have a negative effect on girls’ Leaving Certificate examination performance. Further analysis suggested that co-education influences girls’ academic outcomes through its mediating effects on certain social psychological factors, particularly through its mediating effects on girls’ educational expectations. Other co-education effects were also investigated. Pupils were significantly more likely to favour mixed rather than single-sex schooling. No statistically significant differences were found between mixed and single-sex school pupils in their perceptions of teacher-pupil relations, peer affiliation, or school happiness. Exploratory investigation indicated that sexual harassment of girls by boys is a feature of life in co-educational schools. It is suggested that co-education, in the absence of effective intervention, is unlikely to result in gender equity.

Bullying has been a source of disquiet, if not moral panic, in recent years. Yet pupil experience outside the classroom has rarely been given the attention it deserves in educational research devoted to the problem. This study examines the social relations between pupils in the lower years of a mixed, multicultural, inner city school. It is based upon long term participant observation as a teacher researcher and aims to develop a sociological appreciation of aggression and bullying during school-day free-time. Part One explains the origins of the research. Recent studies of ‘cussing’ (verbal abuse), fighting (a topic which has hitherto received very little attention), and bullying are then examined in detail. The research seeks to identify the links, if any, between hostile social relations in school and broader social inequalities at a societal level. Further, it aims to tease out ways in which micro level divisions of power within the pupils’ social world shape, and are used by children within interactions. Close attention is therefore given to the meaning, or meanings, of the term ‘power’. Models of relative power which inform research focusing upon pupil experience are also identified. In Part Two, both the research site, City School, and the research techniques used are described. Cussing, fighting and bullying, forms of aggressive interaction which distress pupils and obstruct the achievement of curricular goals, are then examined closely. Consideration of gender, ‘race’ and age grading provides a sharper awareness of underlying power divisions and of how these constrain opportunities for the relatively weak. In Part Three, ways of improving the quality of experience available for pupils during school-day free-time are identified. Whilst the complexity of this task is acknowledged, the study concludes with a renewed sense of optimism about what may be achieved when teachers are more effectively equipped with the skills to understand and, where necessary, make sensitive interventions.