Breaking the Silence

An analysis of pupils’ voices in relation to the nature, scope and extent of bullying across a

local authority.

Angela Eason (Worcestershire Children’s Safeguarding Board)Tim Coupe (Worcestershire NHS Trust)

Claire Richards, Scott Buckler, Richard Woolley (University of Worcester)

How safe are young people in Worcestershire?

Objectives

• To ascertain Children and Young People’s (CYP) experiences of bullying across a range of settings (home and school);

• To identify any specific groups of children who experience bullying;

• To establish whether CYP told anyone about being bullied and whether this has been useful;

• To clarify what CYP think should/could be done to address bullying.

Research• Sample (n=8429)

– Age 10-17+ (n=8429, M=12.35, SD=1.89)• Ethical issues

– Supportive framework – Support advice and literature available– Right to participate / right to withdraw

• Methodology– Grounded theory– Mixed methodological approach:

Concurrent nested design• Methods

– Online survey

QUANTITATIVE

qualitative

Analysis of findings

(Creswell and Plano-Clark, 2007)

Have you been bullied?

Yes61%

No23%

Prefer not to

say8%

No response8%

χ2 (1, n=8829) = 7733.25, p< .01, V=.54

Bullied:Females 40%Males 32%

Instigator:Females 7%Males 5%

I don’t know and I don’t understand why.

Because I wasn’t confident.

Because I am vulnerable.

Because I am different.

Because they thought it was funny and

clever.

Because I was quiet.Because of what I look like.

Why?

(n=2313)

Perception of bullying

Everyday39%

Most days a week30%

Once a week

8%

Once a month

2%

Now and then8%

Only once7%

Unspecified6%

χ2 (1, n=8429) = 24.43, p< .01, V=.06

Prevalence by age

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 180

5

10

15

20

25

30

χ2 (1, n=8829) = 185.07, p< .01, V=.08

Type of bullying

Verbal32%

Physical14%Excluded

13%

Cyber9%

Items Stolen

7%

Coerced7%

Other2%

No re-sponse

16%

Type of bullying related to age

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 180

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Physical

Excluded

Items stolenCyber

Coerced

Other

Verbal

Location of bullying

School59%

Technology13%

Local area (e.g. parks)

12%

Travelling7%

Home6%

Other3%

How did the bullying make you feel?

AnnoyedAbandoned

Cornered Psychotic Angry

UnwantedSuicidal

Worried

InvisibleIrritated

ParanoidShit

Impatient AnxiousSmall

MadVengeful

Violent

Strange

DamagedHurt

Sad

Pathetic

Shaking

StupidDifferent

Crap

Hopeless

Confused

Disappointed

Useless

UpsetUgly

Isolated

WorthlessLonely

Did you report the bullying?

Told someone

61%

Told nobody

23%

No re-sponse

16%

Because no one cares.

Because I was threatened.

Because they would hurt me more.

Because I was scared.

Because of what might happen.

Because nothing happens.

Because I didn’t want to be a problem.

no

(n=498)

Reported bullying to

Parent45%

Teacher

32%

Friend

23%

• Did telling someone help?– Yes (79.2%)– No (20.8%)

• How?– Action was taken to stop the bullying (53.1%)– I was able to talk about my feelings which made me feel

better (34.1%)– Bullying was talked about as a group (6.2%)– Something else happened (6.6%)

• What do you think should be done about bullying?

– More help for those being bullied (46%)

– Stricter punishments for bullies (54%)

Other

• Buddy bench• A safe place to go• A way of telling someone without anyone knowing• Counselling for both victim and bully• Worry box• Rewards for not bullying• Awareness about how they could make people feel• More campaigning in schools about the causes and effects• TV or internet adverts• (n=1130 comments)

For consideration (1)• Most common arena for bullying:– The school– Travelling to/from school– (Carr-Gregg & Manocha, 2011).

• Role of the school policy:– Progressing beyond what bullying is and what to

do…– To providing actual ‘meaning’ and ‘understanding’

of the impact of bullying and the consequences for both victim and bully.

For consideration (2)

• Develop a more open approach by adults (parents and teachers) about the experience of bullying.

• Develop a more collective vigilance and responsibility between the school and home community.

• Develop school policies which ‘talk to/with’ rather than ‘talk at’ young people (Side & Johnson, 2014:207).

For consideration (3)

• Continued promotion of tolerance for diversity in schools and wider community.

• A zero tolerance of bullying.

• Increased awareness of bullying among parents/ carers, responsible adults (e.g. GP screening) with an increased opportunity to disclose by CYP (Carr-Gregg & Manocha, 2011).

ReferencesCarr-Gregg, M. & Manocha, R. (2011). Bullying, effects, prevalence and strategies for detection. Australian Family Physician, 40(3), 98-102.

Creswell, J.W. & Plano Clark, V.L. (2007). Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.

Landstedt, E. & Persson, S. (2014). Bullying, cyberbullying, and mental health in young people. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 42, 393-399.

Side, J. & Johnson, K. (2014). Bullying in schools; why it happens, how it makes young people feel and what we can do about it. Educational Psychology in Practice, 30(3), 217-231.