THE PREVALENCE OF BULLYING AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/subbeag.70.sp.iss.2.52Keywords:
bullying perpetration, victimization, primary school, prevalence, gender differencesAbstract
Introduction: Bullying is a widespread phenomenon among school populations, including in Romania. Objective: We aimed to determine the prevalence of bullying among primary school students, with a focus on the distribution of roles (victim, aggressor, victim-aggressor, uninvolved) and possible gender differences. Material and Methods: The study employed a cross-sectional design. The research sample consisted of 352 fourth-grade students from 7 schools. Data were collected by one of the researchers during physical education classes, using the Adolescent Peer Relations Instrument Bully/Target. The Adolescent Peer Relations Instrument Bully/Target is composed of 36 items that assess the two dimensions of bullying (perpetration and victimization) through a 6-point Likert scale, where 1 = never, 2 = sometimes, 3 = once or twice a month, 4 = once a week, 5 = several times a week, and 6 = daily. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 20. Results: The findings showed that 48.3% of students were not involved in bullying, 28.7% were victims, 6.5% were aggressors, and 16.5% were victim-aggressors. The prevalence of bullying by gender was comparable. Conclusions: The study highlighted the magnitude of bullying from primary school age, as well as the need for early prevention programs. Interventions should adopt an integrative perspective, addressing all roles involved in the bullying cycle.
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