O bullying é um problema comum entre jovens em idade escolar, nos diferentes países, culturas e níveis socioeconômicos. Trata-se de um comportamento agressivo, ofensivo, repetitivo e frequente, perpetrado por uma pessoa contra outra ou por um grupo contra outros, com a intenção de ferir e humilhar, estabelecendo-se uma relação desigual de poder. O envolvimento com bullying está associado a pior ajustamento psicossocial, problemas de aprendizagem, evasão escolar ou de trocas frequentes de escolas, entre outros. Embora o comportamento de bullying seja multicausal, ainda são escassos estudos que avaliem a relação entre habilidades sociais de adolescentes e bullying. Um dos aspectos que dificultam a realização de pesquisas nessa área está relacionado à falta de instrumentos validados. Os objetivos do presente estudo são verificar a validade de constructo do Questionário de Bullying de Olweus (QBO) versão agressor e versão vítima e verificar a associação entre habilidades sociais e bullying em adolescentes. Trata-se de um estudo com alunos de ambos os sexos, oriundos de escolas da rede pública de Porto Alegre, do 5º ao 9º ano do ensino fundamental, com idade entre 10 e 17 anos. Para verificar o envolvimento com bullying, utilizou-se o QBO, com 23 questões para versão vítima e 23 para versão agressor com quatro opções de resposta (1=nenhuma vez a 4=várias vezes por semana). A validade de constructo foi verificada com a Teoria de Resposta ao Item (TRI), utilizando-se o modelo de resposta gradual e o crédito parcial generalizado. As habilidades sociais foram avaliadas com o Inventário de Habilidades Sociais para Adolescentes (IHSA), que é validado no Brasil. Para verificar a associação entre bullying e habilidades sociais, o critério de idade foi de 12 a 17 anos, conforme a recomendação do IHSA. O estudo foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul e da Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Porto Alegre (CAAE 19651113.5.0000.5338). Os instrumentos, ambos de autorrelato, foram respondidos pelos adolescentes no horário de aula e após a autorização dos pais. Os resultados estão apresentados em dois artigos. No primeiro, foi incluído um total de 703 adolescentes, sendo 380(54%) meninas, com média de idade de 13(DP=1,58) anos. Após a análise para a construção dos escores finais do QBO pelo modelo da TRI, observou-se que a probabilidade de um adolescente responder à opção 3 (uma vez por semana) é zero para ambas as versões. De acordo com as curvas característica do item (CCI), optou-se pela unificação das alternativas 3 e 4 para mensuração mais fidedigna a realidade do comportamento de bullying. Os itens com maior discriminação para classificar como vítima foram, respectivamente, 20 (Disseram coisas maldosas sobre mim ou sobre a minha família); 15 (Fui perseguido[a] dentro ou fora da escola) e 3 (Me ameaçaram). Na versão agressor, os itens com maior discriminação foram, respectivamente, 22 (Forcei a agredir outro[a] colega); 15 (Persegui dentro ou fora da escola) e 3 (Fiz ameaças). No segundo artigo, foram incluídos 467 alunos, sendo 245(52,5%) do sexo feminino, com média de idade de 13,3(DP=1,18) anos. Considerando-se a interação habilidades sociais e sexo, as meninas apresentaram associação significativa com menor frequência do autocontrole (p=0,010) e da civilidade (p=0,031) e maior dificuldade das habilidades de autocontrole (p=0,033) e desenvoltura social (p=0,009). Em relação aos tipos de envolvimento com bullying, 59(12,6%) dos adolescentes classificaram-se como vítima, 60(12,8%) como agressores e 175(37,5%) como agressores vítimas. Observou-se associação significativa entre as meninas vítimas de bullying e maior dificuldade na habilidade de empatia comparada aos meninos (p=0,012) e aos demais tipos de bullying (p=0,022). Também foram as vítimas, independentemente do sexo, que apresentaram maior dificuldade em termos de autocontrole, assertividade, abordagem afetiva e o total das habilidades sociais em comparação aos não envolvidos (p<0,05). Os resultados sugerem que a utilização da TRI permite a construção de uma medida de avaliação mais objetiva e precisa do comportamento de bullying. Por meio da validação de constructo do QBO e da associação com habilidades sociais, o estudo demonstrou que existe um importante déficit de determinadas habilidades sociais nos diferentes tipos de envolvimentos com bullying, principalmente entre as vítimas, quando comparadas aos não envolvidos. Portanto, intervenções que incluam técnicas para melhorar as habilidades sociais podem desempenhar um relevante papel preventivo no envolvimento com bullying no ambiente escolar. / Bullying is a common problem among school-age children and adolescents across different countries, cultures and socioeconomic levels. Bullying consists of the repeated infliction of aggressive and offensive behaviors by one person against another or one group against others, with the intent of hurting or humiliating the victim, resulting in an imbalance of power. Involvement in bullying is associated with issues such as poor social adjustment, learning difficulties, truancy and frequent changes of schools. Although bullying is known to be a multicausal phenomenon, few studies have evaluated the relationship between social skills and bullying in adolescents. A major challenge to research in the area is the lack of validated instruments which can be used to assess either of these variables. The goals of the present study were therefore to evaluate the construct validity of the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ) and investigate the association between social skills and bullying in adolescents. This study involved participants of both genders aged between 10 and 17 years recruited from grades five through nine of public schools in the city of Porto Alegre. Involvement in bullying was evaluated using the OBVQ, which consists of 23 victim questions and 23 bully questions, scored on a scale of 1 (never) to 4 (several times a week). Construct validity was investigated using item response theory (ITR), by means of graduated response and generalized partial credit models. Social skills were evaluated using the Adolescent Social Skills Inventory (ASSI), which has been validated for use in Brazilian adolescents. The association between bullying and social skills was investigated in a sample of 12- to 17-year olds, which corresponds to the age group for which the ASSI was validated. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and the Municipal Health Service of Porto Alegre (CAAE 19651113.5.0000.5338). The OBVQ and ASSI, both of which are self-report instruments, were administered to adolescents during school hours following parental consent. The results of this procedure are presented in two articles. The first involved a sample of 703 adolescents, of whom 380 (45%) were girls, with a mean age of 12 (SD=1.58) years. The analysis of the IRT model for OBVQ scores revealed that the probability of an adolescent responding to any of the items with option 3 (once a week) was zero in both versions of the questionnaire. Therefore, based on item characteristic curves (ICC), alternatives 3 and 4 were combined to ensure a more reliable measure of bullying behaviors. The most discriminating items in the victim questionnaire were items 20 (One or more classmates said bad things about me or my family); 15 (I was persecuted inside or outside the school) and 3 (I was threatened). The most discriminating items in the bully version were items 22 (Forced someone to hit a classmate); 15 (Persecuted a classmate inside or outside the school) and 3 (Made threats). The second article involved 467 students, of whom 245(52.5%) were female. The mean age of the sample was 13.3 (SD=1.18) years. An interaction between social skills and gender was identified, whereby girls were found to engage less frequently in the behaviors described in the selfcontrol (p=0.010) and civility scales (p=0.031), and found it more difficult to perform the behaviors listed in the self-control (p=0.033) and social ease scales (p=0.009). An analysis of student involvement in bullying revealed that 59 (12.6%) participants were considered victims, 60(12.8%) were classified as bullies and 175(37.5%) were categorized as bullyvictims. Female victims of bullying had more difficulty expressing empathy than boys (p=0.012) and participants with different types of involvement in bullying (p=0.022). Bullying victims of both genders also had more difficulty engaging in the behaviors listed in the self-control, assertiveness, and affective approach subscales, and obtained higher total scores on the difficulty engaging in ASSI behaviors than adolescents not involved in bullying (p<0.05). The results suggested that IRT can be used to develop a more objective and precise measure of bullying. By construct validating the OBVQ and verifying its association with social skills, the present study showed that the latter are significantly impaired in adolescents involved in bullying, especially the victims, as compared to those not involved. Therefore, interventions involving the improvement of social skills may play an important role in preventing bullying in schools.

O bullying é um problema comum entre jovens em idade escolar, nos diferentes países, culturas e níveis socioeconômicos. Trata-se de um comportamento agressivo, ofensivo, repetitivo e frequente, perpetrado por uma pessoa contra outra ou por um grupo contra outros, com a intenção de ferir e humilhar, estabelecendo-se uma relação desigual de poder. O envolvimento com bullying está associado a pior ajustamento psicossocial, problemas de aprendizagem, evasão escolar ou de trocas frequentes de escolas, entre outros. Embora o comportamento de bullying seja multicausal, ainda são escassos estudos que avaliem a relação entre habilidades sociais de adolescentes e bullying. Um dos aspectos que dificultam a realização de pesquisas nessa área está relacionado à falta de instrumentos validados. Os objetivos do presente estudo são verificar a validade de constructo do Questionário de Bullying de Olweus (QBO) versão agressor e versão vítima e verificar a associação entre habilidades sociais e bullying em adolescentes. Trata-se de um estudo com alunos de ambos os sexos, oriundos de escolas da rede pública de Porto Alegre, do 5º ao 9º ano do ensino fundamental, com idade entre 10 e 17 anos. Para verificar o envolvimento com bullying, utilizou-se o QBO, com 23 questões para versão vítima e 23 para versão agressor com quatro opções de resposta (1=nenhuma vez a 4=várias vezes por semana). A validade de constructo foi verificada com a Teoria de Resposta ao Item (TRI), utilizando-se o modelo de resposta gradual e o crédito parcial generalizado. As habilidades sociais foram avaliadas com o Inventário de Habilidades Sociais para Adolescentes (IHSA), que é validado no Brasil. Para verificar a associação entre bullying e habilidades sociais, o critério de idade foi de 12 a 17 anos, conforme a recomendação do IHSA. O estudo foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul e da Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Porto Alegre (CAAE 19651113.5.0000.5338). Os instrumentos, ambos de autorrelato, foram respondidos pelos adolescentes no horário de aula e após a autorização dos pais. Os resultados estão apresentados em dois artigos. No primeiro, foi incluído um total de 703 adolescentes, sendo 380(54%) meninas, com média de idade de 13(DP=1,58) anos. Após a análise para a construção dos escores finais do QBO pelo modelo da TRI, observou-se que a probabilidade de um adolescente responder à opção 3 (uma vez por semana) é zero para ambas as versões. De acordo com as curvas característica do item (CCI), optou-se pela unificação das alternativas 3 e 4 para mensuração mais fidedigna a realidade do comportamento de bullying. Os itens com maior discriminação para classificar como vítima foram, respectivamente, 20 (Disseram coisas maldosas sobre mim ou sobre a minha família); 15 (Fui perseguido[a] dentro ou fora da escola) e 3 (Me ameaçaram). Na versão agressor, os itens com maior discriminação foram, respectivamente, 22 (Forcei a agredir outro[a] colega); 15 (Persegui dentro ou fora da escola) e 3 (Fiz ameaças). No segundo artigo, foram incluídos 467 alunos, sendo 245(52,5%) do sexo feminino, com média de idade de 13,3(DP=1,18) anos. Considerando-se a interação habilidades sociais e sexo, as meninas apresentaram associação significativa com menor frequência do autocontrole (p=0,010) e da civilidade (p=0,031) e maior dificuldade das habilidades de autocontrole (p=0,033) e desenvoltura social (p=0,009). Em relação aos tipos de envolvimento com bullying, 59(12,6%) dos adolescentes classificaram-se como vítima, 60(12,8%) como agressores e 175(37,5%) como agressores vítimas. Observou-se associação significativa entre as meninas vítimas de bullying e maior dificuldade na habilidade de empatia comparada aos meninos (p=0,012) e aos demais tipos de bullying (p=0,022). Também foram as vítimas, independentemente do sexo, que apresentaram maior dificuldade em termos de autocontrole, assertividade, abordagem afetiva e o total das habilidades sociais em comparação aos não envolvidos (p<0,05). Os resultados sugerem que a utilização da TRI permite a construção de uma medida de avaliação mais objetiva e precisa do comportamento de bullying. Por meio da validação de constructo do QBO e da associação com habilidades sociais, o estudo demonstrou que existe um importante déficit de determinadas habilidades sociais nos diferentes tipos de envolvimentos com bullying, principalmente entre as vítimas, quando comparadas aos não envolvidos. Portanto, intervenções que incluam técnicas para melhorar as habilidades sociais podem desempenhar um relevante papel preventivo no envolvimento com bullying no ambiente escolar. / Bullying is a common problem among school-age children and adolescents across different countries, cultures and socioeconomic levels. Bullying consists of the repeated infliction of aggressive and offensive behaviors by one person against another or one group against others, with the intent of hurting or humiliating the victim, resulting in an imbalance of power. Involvement in bullying is associated with issues such as poor social adjustment, learning difficulties, truancy and frequent changes of schools. Although bullying is known to be a multicausal phenomenon, few studies have evaluated the relationship between social skills and bullying in adolescents. A major challenge to research in the area is the lack of validated instruments which can be used to assess either of these variables. The goals of the present study were therefore to evaluate the construct validity of the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ) and investigate the association between social skills and bullying in adolescents. This study involved participants of both genders aged between 10 and 17 years recruited from grades five through nine of public schools in the city of Porto Alegre. Involvement in bullying was evaluated using the OBVQ, which consists of 23 victim questions and 23 bully questions, scored on a scale of 1 (never) to 4 (several times a week). Construct validity was investigated using item response theory (ITR), by means of graduated response and generalized partial credit models. Social skills were evaluated using the Adolescent Social Skills Inventory (ASSI), which has been validated for use in Brazilian adolescents. The association between bullying and social skills was investigated in a sample of 12- to 17-year olds, which corresponds to the age group for which the ASSI was validated. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and the Municipal Health Service of Porto Alegre (CAAE 19651113.5.0000.5338). The OBVQ and ASSI, both of which are self-report instruments, were administered to adolescents during school hours following parental consent. The results of this procedure are presented in two articles. The first involved a sample of 703 adolescents, of whom 380 (45%) were girls, with a mean age of 12 (SD=1.58) years. The analysis of the IRT model for OBVQ scores revealed that the probability of an adolescent responding to any of the items with option 3 (once a week) was zero in both versions of the questionnaire. Therefore, based on item characteristic curves (ICC), alternatives 3 and 4 were combined to ensure a more reliable measure of bullying behaviors. The most discriminating items in the victim questionnaire were items 20 (One or more classmates said bad things about me or my family); 15 (I was persecuted inside or outside the school) and 3 (I was threatened). The most discriminating items in the bully version were items 22 (Forced someone to hit a classmate); 15 (Persecuted a classmate inside or outside the school) and 3 (Made threats). The second article involved 467 students, of whom 245(52.5%) were female. The mean age of the sample was 13.3 (SD=1.18) years. An interaction between social skills and gender was identified, whereby girls were found to engage less frequently in the behaviors described in the selfcontrol (p=0.010) and civility scales (p=0.031), and found it more difficult to perform the behaviors listed in the self-control (p=0.033) and social ease scales (p=0.009). An analysis of student involvement in bullying revealed that 59 (12.6%) participants were considered victims, 60(12.8%) were classified as bullies and 175(37.5%) were categorized as bullyvictims. Female victims of bullying had more difficulty expressing empathy than boys (p=0.012) and participants with different types of involvement in bullying (p=0.022). Bullying victims of both genders also had more difficulty engaging in the behaviors listed in the self-control, assertiveness, and affective approach subscales, and obtained higher total scores on the difficulty engaging in ASSI behaviors than adolescents not involved in bullying (p<0.05). The results suggested that IRT can be used to develop a more objective and precise measure of bullying. By construct validating the OBVQ and verifying its association with social skills, the present study showed that the latter are significantly impaired in adolescents involved in bullying, especially the victims, as compared to those not involved. Therefore, interventions involving the improvement of social skills may play an important role in preventing bullying in schools.

This project study addressed the problem of bullying, victimization, and the awareness of these activities at a public suburban middle school in Northwest Georgia. The study school implemented the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) in 2009, yet had not evaluated the program to identify whether or not it met its goals after 1 year of implementation. Using a quasiexperimental, goal-free program evaluation, the research questions explored whether or not the OBPP succeeded in reducing the student reported rates of bullying and victimization while also increasing awareness of such activities. A Mann Whitney U test was utilized for analysis due to violations of normality and homoscedasticity in the data. The quantitative sequence consisted of descriptive analyses of archived student data from the pre- and postimplementation (N = 346 and 137, respectively) Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ) administration. Results indicated an increase, though not statistically significant, in student reporting of victimization and awareness and a statistically significant increase in rates of bullying. Results in the evaluation report supported continued OBPP implementation with anticipation that implementing more than 1 year should yield a decrease in student reported rates of bullying and victimization and increase in awareness of what constitutes these activities. The project study could lead to positive social change by increasing awareness of bullying in the learning community and reducing the number of reported incidents of bullying and victimization.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Bullying is a persistent problem that in recent years has increased by 7 percent between theages of 11, 13 and 15 years. In order to work against bullying, the Education Act regulates thatschools must produce a new equal treatment plan every year. Another way to prevent bullyingis through two well-known models called Olweus' model and Ljungström's Farsta method. Thedifference between the two models is that Ljungström’s Farsta method focuses more on theindividual and reprimanding talk with the bully, while Olweus’ model has its focus on a moregeneral level with different types of interventions such as role play. The equal treatment plansand the two models can be considered to be characterized by underlying ideological ideas thatcan be made visible with the help of the curriculum theory's codes. The purpose of the study istherefore to highlight the underlying ideological ideas in equal treatment plans and to examinein what way dominant models against bullying can be related to these. The study’s data wascollected by qualitative content analysis of seven equal treatment plans and the twoaforementioned models. The collected data has been analyzed in a three-step analysis where ithas appeared that there are similar principles in both the equal treatment plans and in the actionmodels. Another conclusion is that they are dominated by the relativistic, civic and moralcurriculum codes.

The aim of this study was to examine how the school counselors experience their role in the school when it comes to working against bullying. We also wanted to examine how the cooperation works between school counselors and the rest of the school personnel. To obtain useful data for our analysis we used a qualitative method which includes six interviews with six school counselors from municipal and independent primary schools in Helsingborg. To deepen our knowledge even further we have included three theories which are the theory of profession, role theory and Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory.Since this study is based on interviews with school counselors that works in both municipal and independent primary schools, their experience of the preventive work has also been different. The school counselors that works in the municipal schools focus their preventive work through the anti-bullying program Olweus were they for example use surveys to measure the students wellbeing. The independent schools does not work after a specific program and thus has a larger action space to work with. The result of this study shows that the work against bullying varies from the different schools.The school counselors experience of their role in the work against bullying also varies where some of them felt that they have a significant role in the preventive work where others meant that the responsibility lays on the students mentors and teachers. Through this study cooperation has been a consistent theme where the informants believe that the cooperation between them, teachers and the students families is necessary to be able to do a good preventive work in the schools. The cooperation seems to work well in the school but there is parts of the work against bullying that needs clarification when it comes to accountability.

This study aimed to gain insight into the nature and extent of traditional and cyberbullying among Grade Six and Seven learners in four public primary schools in Benoni. Using the Social Learning Theory as a basis for understanding bullying as a learned behaviour (socially learned through the observation of authoritarian parents), a quantitative research method was applied which utilised an online self-report questionnaire to examine the relationship between bullying and the Authoritarian parenting style. Results indicate that 50.4% of learners had been victimised, while 31.6% and 8.8% had engaged in perpetrating traditional and cyberbullying, respectively at least once (N = 279). Further results revealed that the Authoritarian parenting style is significantly related to the perpetration of both types of bullying. These results bring to the fore the reciprocal relationship between both types of bullying, and indicate a need for systemic intervention at the primary school level (involving parents/caregivers). Interventions should therefore not seek to separate types of bullying into discreet problems, but rather focus on their common underlying aspects, including parenting behaviours / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

This study aimed to gain insight into the nature and extent of traditional and cyberbullying among Grade Six and Seven learners in four public primary schools in Benoni. Using the Social Learning Theory as a basis for understanding bullying as a learned behaviour (socially learned through the observation of authoritarian parents), a quantitative research method was applied which utilised an online self-report questionnaire to examine the relationship between bullying and the Authoritarian parenting style. Results indicate that 50.4% of learners had been victimised, while 31.6% and 8.8% had engaged in perpetrating traditional and cyberbullying, respectively at least once (N = 279). Further results revealed that the Authoritarian parenting style is significantly related to the perpetration of both types of bullying. These results bring to the fore the reciprocal relationship between both types of bullying, and indicate a need for systemic intervention at the primary school level (involving parents/caregivers). Interventions should therefore not seek to separate types of bullying into discreet problems, but rather focus on their common underlying aspects, including parenting behaviours / Psychology / M. A. (Psychology)