Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Older Teenagers’ Explanations of Bullying

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Child & Youth Care Forum Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

In accordance with the social information processing model, how adolescents attribute cause to a particular social situation (e.g., bullying) they witness or participate in, influences their online social information processing, and hence, how they will act in the situation.

Objective

The aim of the present study was to explore how older teenagers explain why bullying takes place at school, and whether there were any differences in explaining bullying due to gender.

Methods

Two hundred and fifteen Swedish students in upper secondary school responded to a questionnaire. Mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative methods) were used to analyze data.

Results

The qualitative analysis resulted in three main categories and nine subcategories regarding accounts of bullying causes. According to the findings, the youth explained bullying much more often with individualistic explanations (bully attributing and victim attributing) than non-individualistic explanations (social context attributing). Furthermore, girls tended to provide a greater number of bullying explanations and were more likely to attribute bullying causes to the bully and the victim, as compared to boys.

Conclusions

The findings provide insights into older teenagers’ understanding of why bullying occurs in school. The study also identified some gender differences but also some mixed findings regarding gender differences in comparison with previous research with younger participants. The authors concluded that more research has to be done to investigate age and gender differences.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Almedia, A., Correia, I., & Marinho, S. (2010). Moral disengagement, normative beliefs or peer group, and attitudes regarding roles in bullying. Journal of School Violence, 9, 23–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1999). Moral disengagement in the perpetration of inhumanities. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3, 193–209.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A., Barbaranelli, C., Caprara, G. V., & Pastorelli, C. (1996). Mechanisms of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 364–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A., Caprara, G. V., Barbaranelli, C., & Pastorelli, C. (2001). Sociocognitive self-regulatory mechanisms governing transgressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 125–135.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bandyopadhyay, S., Cornell, D., & Konold, T. (2009). Internal and external validity of three school climate scales from the school climate survey. School Psychology Review, 38, 338–355.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barchia, K., & Bussey, K. (2010). Individual and collective social cognitive influences on peer ag-gression: Exploring the contribution of aggression efficacy, moral disengagement, and collective efficacy. Aggressive Behavior, 35, 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Battistich, V. A. (2008). The child development project: Creating caring school communities. In L. P. Nucci & D. Narvaez (Eds.), Handbook of moral and character education (pp. 328–351). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borntrager, C., Davis, J. L., Bernstein, A., & Gorman, H. (2009). A cross-national perspective on bullying. Child and Youth Care Forum, 38, 121–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bosacki, S. L., Marini, Z. A., & Dane, A. V. (2006). Voices from the classroom: Pictorial and narrative representations of children’s bullying experiences. Journal of Moral Education, 35, 231–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buchanan, P., & Winzer, M. (2001). Bullying in schools: Children’s voices. International Journal of Special Education, 16, 67–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burns, S., Maycock, B., Cross, D., & Brown, G. (2008). The power of peers: Why some students bully others to conform? Qualitative Health Research, 18, 1704–1716.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cadigan, R. J. (2002). Scrubs: An ethnographic study of peer culture and harassment among sixth graders in an urban middle school. Los Angeles: University of California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crick, N. R., & Dodge, K. A. (1994). A review and reformulation of social information-processing mechanisms in children’s social adjustment. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 74–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodge, K. A., Coie, J. D., & Lynam, D. (2006). Aggression and antisocial behavior in youth. In N. Eisenberg, D. William, & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Social, emotional, and personality development (6th ed., Vol. 3, pp. 719–788). New Jersey: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duffy, A. L., & Nesdale, D. (2009). Peer groups, social identity, and children’s bullying behavior. Social Development, 18, 122–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eder, D., Evans, C. C., & Parker, S. (1995). School talk: Gender and adolescent culture. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eliot, M., Cornell, D., Gregory, A., & Fan, X. (2010). Supportive school climate and student willing-ness to seek help for bullying and threats of violence. Journal of School Psychology, 48, 533–553.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Erling, A., & Hwang, C. P. (2004). Swedish 10-year-old children’s perceptions and experiences of bullying. Journal of School Violence, 3, 33–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eslea, M., Menesini, E., Morita, Y., O’Moore, M., Mora-Merchán, J. A., Pereira, B., et al. (2003). Friendship and loneliness among bullies and victims: Data from seven countries. Aggressive Behavior, 30, 71–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fiske, S. T., & Taylor, S. E. (2008). Social cognition: From brains to culture. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frisén, A., Jonsson, A.-K., & Persson, C. (2007). Adolescents’ perception of bullying: Who is the victim? Who is the bully? What can be done to stop bullying? Adolescence, 42, 749–761.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Frisén, A., Holmqvist, K., & Oscarsson, D. (2008). 13-year-olds’ perception of bullying: Definitions, reasons for victimisation and experience of adults’ response. Educational Studies, 34, 105–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gifford-Smith, M., & Rabiner, D. L. (2004). Social information processing and children’s social competence: A review of the literature. In J. Kupersmidt & K. A. Dodge (Eds.), Children’s peer relations: From development to intervention to policy (pp. 61–79). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Gini, G. (2006). Social cognition and moral cognition in bullying: What’s wrong? Aggressive Behavior, 32, 528–539.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gini, G. (2008). Italian elementary and middle school students’ blaming the victim of bullying and perception of school moral atmosphere. The Elementary School Journal, 108, 335–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gini, G., Pozzoli, T., & Hauser, M. (2011). Bullies have enhanced moral competence to judge relative to victims, but lack moral compassion. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 603–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glaser, B. G. (1978). Theoretical sensitivity. San Francisco: The Sociology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Golombok, S., & Fivush, R. (1994). Gender development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamarus, P., & Kaikkonen, P. (2008). School bullying as a creator of pupil pressure. Educational Research, 50, 333–345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hara, H. (2002). Justifications for bullying among Japanese schoolchildren. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 5, 197–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hargreaves, D. H. (2007). Teaching as a research-based profession: Possibilities and prospects. In M. Hammersley (Ed.), Educational research and evidence-based practice (pp. 3–17). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hazler, R. J., & Hoover, J. H. (1993). What do kids say about bullying? Education Digest, 58, 16–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, M. L. (2000). Empathy and moral development: Implications for caring and justice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hoover, J. H., Oliver, R., & Hazler, R. J. (1992). Bullying: Perceptions of adolescent victims in the midwestern USA. School Psychology International, 13, 5–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • HSFR. (2009). Forskningsetiska principer inom humanisk-samhällsvetenskap forskning [code of conduct for humanities and social sciences research]. Retrieved from Swedish Research Council website: http://www.codex.vr.se/texts/HSFR.pdf.

  • Hyde, L. W., Shaw, D. S., & Moilanen, K. L. (2010). Developmental precursors of moral disengagement and the role of moral disengagement in the development of antisocial behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38, 197–209.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hymel, S., Rocke-Henderson, N., & Bonanno, R. A. (2005). Moral disengagement: A framework for understanding bullying among adolescents. Journal of Social Sciences, 8, 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jimerson, S. R., Swearer, S. M., & Espelage, D. L. (2010). International scholarship advances science and practice addressing bullying in schools. In S. R. Jimerson, S. M. Swearer, & D. L. Espelage (Eds.), Handbook of bullying in schools: An international perspective (pp. 1–6). New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelle, U. (2007). The development of categories: Different approaches in grounded theory. In A. Bryant & K. Charmaz (Eds.), The Sage handbook of grounded theory (pp. 191–213). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinney, D. A. (1993). From nerds to normals: The recovery of identity among adolescents from middle to high school. Sociology of Education, 66, 21–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kless, S. J. (1992). The attainment of peer status: Gender and power relationships in the elementary school. Sociological Studies of Child Development, 5, 115–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuperminc, G. P., Leadbeater, B. J., Emmons, C., & Blatt, S. J. (1997). Perceived school climate and difficulties in the social adjustment of middle school students. Applied Developmental Science, 1, 76–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lahelma, E. (2004). Tolerance and understanding? Students and teachers reflect on differences at school. Educational Research and Evaluation, 10, 3–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maccoby, E. E., & Jacklin, C. N. (1987). Gender segregation in childhood. In E. H. Reese (Ed.), Advances in child development and behavior (Vol. 20, pp. 239–287). New York: Academic Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Menesini, E., Sanchez, V., Fonzi, A., Ortega, R., Costabile, A., & Feudo, G. L. (2003). Moral emotions and bullying: A cross-national comparison of differences between bullies, victims and outsiders. Aggressive Behavior, 29, 515–530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neal, J. W. (2007). Why social networks matter: A structural approach to the study of relational aggression in middle childhood and adolescence. Child and Youth Care Forum, 36, 195–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Obermann, M.-L. (2011). Moral disengagement in self-reported and peer-nominated school bully-ing. Aggressive Behavior, 37, 133–144.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Owens, L., Shute, R., & Slee, P. (2000). “Guess what I just heard!” Indirect aggression among teenage girls in Australia. Aggressive Behavior, 26, 67–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paciello, M., Fida, R., Tramontano, C., Lupinetti, C., & Caprara, G. V. (2008). Stability and change in moral disengagement and its impact on aggression and violence in late adolescence. Child Development, 79, 1288–1309.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pelton, J., Gound, M., Forehand, R., & Brody, G. (2004). The moral disengagement scale: Extension with an American minority sample. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 26, 31–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, C. (2003). Who’s who in the pecking order? British Journal of Criminology, 43, 710–728.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phoenix, A., Frosh, S., & Pattman, R. (2003). Producing contradictory masculine subject positions: Narratives of threat, homophobia and bullying in 11–14 year old boys. Journal of Social Issues, 59, 179–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pornari, C. D., & Wood, J. (2010). Peer and cyber aggression in secondary school students: The role of moral disengagement, hostile attribution bias, and outcome expectancies. Aggressive Behavior, 36, 81–94.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rudduck, J. (2006). The past, the papers and the project. Educational Review, 58, 131–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rudduck, J., & Fielding, M. (2006). Student voice and the perils of popularity. Educational Review, 58, 219–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rudduck, J., & Flutter, J. (2004). How to improve your school?. London: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salmivalli, C., & Voeten, M. (2004). Connections between attitudes, group norms, and behaviour in bullying situations. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28, 246–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salmivalli, C., Lagerspetz, K., Björkqvist, K., Östermalm, K., & Kaukiainen, A. (1996). Bullying as a group process: Participant roles and their relations to social status within the group. Aggressive Behavior, 22, 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solomon, D., Watson, M. S., & Battistich, V. A. (2001). Teaching and schooling effects on moral/prosocial development. In V. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (4th ed., pp. 566–603). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swart, E., & Bredekamp, J. (2009). Non-physical bullying: Exploring the perspectives of grade 5 girls. South African Journal of Education, 29, 405–425.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (Eds.). (2010). Sage handbook of mixed methods in social and behavioral research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teräsahjo, T., & Salmivalli, C. (2003). “She is not actually bullied”: The discourse of harassment in student groups. Aggressive Behavior, 29, 134–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terranova, A. M. (2009). Factors that influence children’s responses to peer victimization. Child and Youth Care Forum, 38, 253–271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terranova, A. M., Harris, J., Kavetski, M., & Oates, R. (2011). Responding to peer victimization: A sense of control matters. Child and Youth Care Forum, 40, 419–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, G., & Gunter, H. (2008). Researching bullying with students: A lens on everyday life in an ‘innovative school’. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 12, 185–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornberg, R. (2010a). A student in distress: Moral frames and bystander behavior in school. Elementary School Journal, 110, 585–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornberg, R. (2010b). Schoolchildren’s social representations on bullying causes. Psychology in the Schools, 47, 311–327.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thornberg, R. (2011). “She’s weird!”—The social construction of bullying in school: A review of qualitative research. Children & Society, 25, 258–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornberg, R., & Knutsen, S. (2011). Teenagers’ explanations of bullying. Child and Youth Care Forum, 40, 177–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorne, B. (1993). Gender play. Buckingham: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tracey, T. J. G., Robbins, S. B., & Hofsess, C. D. (2005). Stability and change in interests: A longitudinal study of adolescents from grades 8 through 12. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 66, 1–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trach, J., Hymel, S., Waterhouse, T., & Neale, K. (2010). Bystander responses to school bullying: A cross-sectional investigation of grade and sex differences. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 25, 114–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Varjas, K., Meyers, J., Bellmoff, L., Lopp, E., Birckbichler, L., & Marshall, M. (2008). Missing voices: Fourth through eight grade urban students’ perceptions of bullying. Journal of School Violence, 7, 97–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was a part of a Swedish research project, “School bullying as a social process”, supported in part by grants from the Swedish Research Council.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, 581 83, Linköping, Sweden

    Robert Thornberg, Robert Rosenqvist & Per Johansson

Authors
  1. Robert Thornberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert Rosenqvist
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Per Johansson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert Thornberg.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Thornberg, R., Rosenqvist, R. & Johansson, P. Older Teenagers’ Explanations of Bullying. Child Youth Care Forum 41, 327–342 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-012-9171-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-012-9171-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation