Bullying in Greek Schools: Does Age Matter

1
Bullying in Greek Schools Does Age Matter?

• Anastasia Psalti,
• Department of Early Childhood Care Education.
• Alexander Technological Educational Institute of
  Thessaloniki, Greece

2
Literature Review

• Bullying a widespread phenomenon around the
  world
• A major question
• Does age matter?
• Studies show
• Olweus (1993) Victim - A declining curve mainly
  in primary school, which declines less steeply in
  secondary school, less use of physical means in
  the higher grades Bully tendency to abuse
  increases or at least is maintained with age
• Smith, Madsen Moody (1999) A fairly steady
  downward trend through ages 8 to 16 years
• Eslea Rees (2001) the largest number of
  victims between ages 11 13
• Eslea Smith (1994) the youngest children are
  those with the most sympathetic attitudes toward
  victims the lowest levels of sympathy at age 14
  after that, some evidence of improvement

3
Bullying in Greek Schools

• Growing interest in Greece over the past decade
• A few localized studies
• Participants elementary-school students
• Project PYTHAGORAS A large-scale research
  project funded by the Greek Ministry of Education
• Objectives
• To study the phenomenon of school violence in
  Greek schools (Pre-school through High School) in
  relation to the formation of gender and cultural
  identity
• To look into the process of the social
  construction of both perpetrators and victims

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Project PYTHAGORAS

• Objectives of current presentation
• To report on the results of this large-scale
  study focusing on the influence of age
• To discuss these results from a developmental
  point of view as well as their implications for
  interventions in schools

5
Methodology

• STUDY 1
• 2027 elementary-school students from state
  schools all over Greece
• Gender 49.7 girls 50.3 boys
• Grade 52.8 5th grade (age11) 47.2 6th grade
  (age 12)
• 1830 secondary-school students from state schools
  all over Greece
• Gender 52.4 girls 47.6 boys
• Grade 58 1st of Lyceum (age 16) 40 3rd of
  Gymnasium (age 15)

• STUDY 2
• 135 preschoolers from kindergartens and
  pre-schools in the greater Metropolitan Area of
  Thessaloniki
• Gender 54.8 girls 45.2 boys
• Age 4-6 years

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Methodology

• STUDY 1
• Elementary Secondary Education
• Questionnaire 'Life at School' (Elementary Form
  Secondary Form)
• developed by the research team
• based on The Revised Olweus Bully/Victim
  Questionnaire (1996) the Pro-Victim Scale (PVS)
  by Rigby Slee (1991)

• STUDY 2
• Pre-School Education
• Individual Interview Protocol
• developed by the research team
• bullying scenarios and matching cartoon cards,
  modified from the cartoon cards of the
  intervention program But is it Bullying? by
  Margaret Collins (2004).

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STUDY 1 - Results
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Bullying at school-Peer-reports
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Bullying at school-Peer-reports
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Bullying at school-Peer-reports
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Participants Roles
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Victimization-Self-reports
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Victimization-Self-reports
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Victimization-Self-reports
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Bullying-Self-reports
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Bullying-Self-reports
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Bullying-Self-reports
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Attitudes toward bullying
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Some more results

• Report of victimization
• All grades friends
• Elementary school parents, teachers, siblings,
  other person
• Report of Bullying
• All grades friends
• Elementary school parents, siblings, other
  person
• Coping mechanisms
• All grades ignore
• Elementary retaliate, avoid, report to teachers,
  protect oneself, ask help from friends, stop, run
  away
• Secondary ignore

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Some more results

• Usual reaction to bullying
• All grades help
• Elementary help
• Secondary negative or indifferent reactions
• Feelings toward victims
• All grades sympathy help
• Elementary sympathy help
• Secondary some sympathy, not much, s/he deserved
  it
• Future bullying
• All grades probably not
• Elementary probably not

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STUDY 2 - Results
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Bullying at preschool peer-reports
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Bullying at preschool self-reports
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Some more results

• Report of victimization
• Teachers 69.2 - 85
• Parents 49 - 66.7
• Coping strategies
• Report to an adult
• Ask help from a friend
• Retaliate
• Flee

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CONCLUSION
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Does age matter?

• Peer reports
• High incidence rates at preschool, peak at middle
  school a small decrease at High School
• Forms of bullying
• Physical peak at middle school
• Verbal main form at preschool, peak at middle
  school
• Social (a) social exclusion gradual decrease
  with age, (b) rumors minimal at preschool, peak
  at middle school
• Participants roles
• Victims highest rates at preschool, gradual
  decrease with age
• Bullies lowest rates at preschool, increase
  with age
• Bullies/Victims peak at middle school

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Does age matter?

• Victimization
• Peak at middle school except for mockery (gradual
  decrease with age)
• Physical Social Exclusion high rates at
  preschool
• Rumors lowest rates at preschool
• Bullying
• Peak at middle school
• Rumors lowest rates at preschool

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Does age matter?

• Report
• Victimization family teachers at younger ages
• Bullying family at younger ages
• Coping mechanisms more active at younger ages
• Attitudes
• Gradual decrease of help with age
• Gradual decrease of sympathy toward victims
  willingness to help them with age
• Gradual decrease of opposition to the use of
  violence at school with age
• Gradual increase of probability to engage in
  bullying behavior with age

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Interventions at school

• Prevention intervention programs at preschool
• Information sensitization
• Prevention intervention programs at elementary
  school
• Focus on social skill development conflict
  resolution
• Involvement of parents, teachers school
  community
• Prevention intervention programs at middle
  school
• Work at individual, class school level
• Focus on social skill development conflict
  resolution
• Peer networks
• Prevention intervention programs at high school
• Sensitization
• Skill development conflict resolution
• Peer networks

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Thank you!