An Analysis of the Attitudes of Secondary School Students on Cyber Bullying Behaviors

The utilization of ICT in education has led to the widespread use of these technologies by students. Accordingly, traditional peer bullying has shifted from the school playgrounds to the virtual world and thus created an updated form of bullying called cyber bullying. The purpose of this study is to look into Cyber Bullying Behaviors of Secondary School Students in Northern Cyprus. The randomly selected sample consisted of a total 1206 students attending junior high school, high school and vocational high schools in the 2018-2019 academic year. A descriptive research method of the general survey model was applied in this research. The students were given a questionnaire form that included a ‘Cyber bullying Scale’ and a ‘Personal Information Form’ during the data collection process. The results determined that the students of secondary and vocational secondary education engaged in low level cyber bullying behaviors. It is believed that the results obtained will contribute to the prevention of cyber bullying behaviors and to future studies towards encouraging a boost in healthy internet usage.

The Impact of School-Based Mindfulness Intervention on Bullying Behaviors Among Teenagers: Mediating Effect of Self-Control

The current study aimed to explore the impact of a school-based mindfulness intervention on bullying behaviors among teenagers. A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted, in which the experimental group ( n = 92) received mindfulness intervention, and the control group ( n = 97) did not. The measured outcomes included: bullying behavior, self-control, and trait mindfulness. The results were as follows: (1) the post-test scores of trait mindfulness and self-control in the experimental group significantly increased ( p < 0.01) while the scores of bullying behavior significantly decreased ( p < 0.01); (2) trait mindfulness was positively associated with self-control (r = 0.13 to 0.63, p < 0.05), whereas trait mindfulness and self-control were both negatively associated with bullying behavior (r = −0.38 to −0.13, p < 0.05); and (3) the mediating effect of self-control accounted for 50% of the overall effect of trait mindfulness on bullying behavior. These findings demonstrated that the school-based mindfulness intervention distinctly improves trait mindfulness and self-control and reduces bullying behavior among teenagers. Moreover, self-control plays a mediating role between trait mindfulness and bullying behavior.

The Association between Externalizing and Internalizing Problems with Bullying Engagement in Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Social Skills

Bullying has severe public health consequences, due to its high prevalence worldwide and devastating effects on physical and mental health. Therefore, it is relevant to further understand the factors that contribute to the emergence and maintenance of bullying. This study aimed to examine the differential mediating role of social skills in the relationship between (i) externalizing problems and engagement in aggressive bullying behaviors, and (ii) internalizing problems and the engagement in victimization bullying behaviors. Participants were 669 Portuguese adolescents aged between 12 and 19 years. The Social Skills Improvement System-Rating Scales and the Scale of Interpersonal Behavior at School were used to assess social skills and the engagement in bullying behaviors, respectively. Boys scored higher on aggressive behaviors and externalizing problems. Girls reported higher scores on internalizing problems, communication, cooperation and empathy. Social skills differently mediated the association between behavior problems and engagement in bullying. While empathy negatively mediated the association between externalizing problems and aggressive bullying behaviors, assertiveness negatively mediated the relationship between internalizing problems and victimization bullying behaviors. The risk factors for engaging in bullying are discussed, and so are the protective ones, which may help to prevent bullying behaviors and reduce their negative impact.

Power

This chapter explores ambition for power in politics and the workplace. Control over others can be advantageous in its own right and also in the wealth and recognition that it often confers. Although most politicians link their need for power to the service of public interests, the evidence often suggests otherwise. Drawing on prominent examples, such as Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, John McCain, and Donald Trump, and those who served them, the chapter explores how prioritizing power can subvert principle and the institutional checks necessary to prevent abuse. By contrast, examples such as Nelson Mandela show how those who use power to empower others can serve the highest ideals of social justice. Power in the workplace can also serve stakeholder and societal interests, but it is too often sabotaged by egoistic interests, needs for control, and bullying behaviors. The chapter concludes with strategies to increase accountability for abusive conduct.

Examining Positive Youth Development Interventions With a Physical Activity Component to Address Bullying Among Pre- and Early Adolescents: A Critical Review of the Literature

This review aimed at identifying specific features of PYD interventions with a PA component that appear most promising at reducing bullying behaviors among pre- and early adolescents. We reviewed articles that included PYD interventions with a PA component among pre- and early adolescents aged 8–14 years from five databases and found seven studies representing 3892 participants. Studies collectively showed that PYD-PA interventions can promote an interactive and supportive relationship between participants and staff and foster adolescents’ psychosocial development. The review’s limitations include the variation of PA components and geographical contexts of interventions leading to a difficulty in synthesizing the results. PA-based PYD interventions provide a promising approach that can foster youth’s psychosocial development such as the use of an interactive approach and the use of several PYD components (e.g., empathy and caring ). This approach, consequently, may lower bullying behaviors. Given the nature of this review, further evaluation is warranted.

A cross-sectional study of COVID-19-related bullying in a sample of Lebanese adults: scale validation, correlates, and mediating effect of fear and anxiety

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has led to prolonged exposure to stress and anxiety, raising concerns about a large spectrum of psychological side effects. The primary objective of the study was to validate the COVID-19 Bullying Scale (CBS-11). The second objective was to explore factors associated with COVID-19-related bullying and evaluate the mediating effect of fear and anxiety between knowledge and COVID-19-related bullying. Methods A cross-sectional online survey conducted between December 20, 2020, and January 5, 2021, recruited 405 Lebanese adults using a snowball sampling technique. The CBS-11, an 11-item tool specifically created for this study, was used to measure bullying behaviors towards COVID-19 patients. Results All items of the CBS-11 converged over a 1-factor solution with an eigenvalue over 1, accounting for a variance of 75.16%. The scale has a high Cronbach’s alpha (.974), indicating excellent reliability. A positive correlation was found between the COVID-19 bullying scale and fear, anxiety, and stigma discrimination. The logistic regression showed that higher fear of COVID-19 (ORa = 1.04), a positive attitude toward COVID-19 preventive measures and hygiene recommendations (ORa = 1.18), higher stigma discrimination scores (ORa = 1.09), and having a health professional family member (ORa = 2.42) were significantly associated with bullying. Conclusion Our main findings showed that the CBS-11 could be an efficient tool to measure bullying behaviors toward COVID-19 patients. Stigma discrimination and fear from COVID-19 were associated with higher bullying attitudes. Future prospective studies are needed to understand better the factors related to bullying among adults during a pandemic, such as COVID-19.

Effects of the Action for Neutralization of Bullying Program on Bullying in Spanish Schoolchildren

Bullying can have serious physical and emotional consequences. In recent years, interest in this phenomenon has been growing, becoming a public health problem in the first world. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the Action for Neutralization of Bullying Program (ANA) in Spanish children. This study used a quasi-experimental design that included a pre-test evaluation, 2 months of intervention, a post-test, and 3 months of follow-up. A sample of 330 children aged 7–12 years (M = 9.27; SD = 1.09) from third to sixth grade participated in the study. One hundred and fifty-nine were girls (48.2%). The program consisted of eight group sessions in which empathy, assertiveness, communication skills, conflict resolution, and group cohesion were worked on. The results showed statistically significant reductions in verbal abuse behaviors (t = 4.76, p < 0.001), direct social exclusion (t = 3.53, p < 0.001), threats (t = 2.04, p = 0.042), aggression with objects (t = 3.21, p < 0.001), and physical abuse (t = 4.41, p < 0.001). The differences were not statistically significant for indirect social exclusion behaviors (t = 1.86, p = 0.065) or cyberbullying (t = 0.31, p = 0.756). The effects in the reduction of the bullying behaviors decreased after the implementation of the program, achieving even greater reduction in victimization behaviors after 3 months than immediately after the end of the program. These results indicate that the ANA program is effective in reducing bullying behaviors in a group of children. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Inconsistent Definitions of Bullying: A Need to Examine People’s Judgments and Reasoning about Bullying and Cyberbullying

Despite decades of research efforts, researchers have yet to reach a consensus on the definition of bullying. There are ambiguities around the conceptualization of bullying relating to the intent, harm, repetitions of an act, and power disparity in episodes of bullying. Practically, the lack of differentiation between bullying and playful teasing as well as between bullying and other types of aggression has made it difficult to accurately measure bullying and derive the prevalence rate. There has been scant attention to how people evaluate an intent, harm, repetitions of an act, and power disparity between bullies and targets. If bullying is a moral issue, it involves people’s moral judgments and cannot be understood solely by empirical descriptions of the behavior. In this paper, I considered how social domain theory can be applied to help understand people’s judgments about bullying behaviors, which, in turn, is helpful in improving our conceptualization of bullying.