Publication year: 2011
Source: Children and Youth Services Review, In Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available online 7 April 2011
Isabel Cuadrado, Gordillo
The study of children’ and adolescents’ perceptions of bullying has become a topic of particular interest in the scientific community as it enables one to better understand the processes of aggression and victimization, and consequently the emergence of new perspectives that will allow anti-bullying programs to be better matched to their targets. This paper analyzes adolescents’ perceptions of bullying and the forms in which it is manifest, finding a difference between the perceptions held by aggressors and victims. It also examines the influence of the factor “frequency of aggression” on those perceptions. The data acquisition instrument was a questionnaire applied…
Research highlights: ►Although there has been a growth in research on adolescents’ perceptions of bullying, there still remain many questions unanswered. One such question has to do with the similarities and differences found in the perceptions that young aggressors and victims have of bullying. ►The results of the present study contribute to understanding the perceptions of the young aggressors and victims of bullying so as to be able to intervene more effectively in anti-bullying programs. In light of their results, our proposal focuses on the importance of targeting anti-bullying programs to modifying maladjusted perceptions in the process of interpersonal relationships, intervening in attributional styles, and treating the lack of moral equilibrium of the aggressors.