Factors affecting coping with bullying in adolescence

• Main Author: Munro, C.
• Published: University of Edinburgh 2002
• Subjects: 370.15
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.659749

Bullying in schools has become an increasingly recognised problem. Since Olweus (1978) there has been an increase in research dedicated to this area, highlighting the ways bullying can be defined and its impact on the psychological well being of children and adolescents. As not all young people who are bullied experience psychological consequences, research has also examined differences in coping with the experience. This aims of this study are to investigate different types of bullying that occur and whether the psychological impact of bullying is affected by the ways in which young people cope and the social support they perceive to have available to them. A self-report questionnaire survey was conducted using two samples (school and clinical) of young people aged 12-16 years (N=82). Results suggest that those who report being bullied use cognitive restructuring coping strategies less often than those who report not experiencing bullying but overall psychological well being between the two groups was comparable. Type of bullying did not affect perceived levels of social support or the level of reporting bullying experiences to teachers. The implications of the findings are discussed.