Students’ Perceptions of Characteristics of Victims and Perpetrators of Bullying in Public Schools in Jordan

Nahla Mansour Al Ali ▼ Muntaha Gharaibeh ▼ Mohammad Jaser Masadeh

Background: School bullying is the most common school violence among adolescents and has become a global concern. Little is known about the characteristics associated with bullies and victims among Jordanian students.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to examine student perceptions of school bullying—specifically, the characteristics of perpetrators and victims and how to stop bullying—and assess differences in perceptions between boys and girls.

Methods: Cross-sectional study, using self-reported questionnaires, was employed to collect data from eighth-grade students (N = 913; 51% male) from a mixed rural and suburban area in northern of Jordan during the 2013–2014 school year. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize item responses. Chi-squared tests were performed to compare responses between the male and female students.

Results: Most of the students described a bully as one who is a coward underneath (78.9%), lacks respect for other people (70%), wants to show power (67.5%), wants to impress others (60.8%), and wants to feel superior (59.6%). Students perceived victims of bullying as having low self-esteem (68.2%), talking or sounding different than others (50.9%), shy (35%), and having no friends (27.1%). Students suggested that, to stop bullying, the victim should stand up for himself (75.4%), should become psychologically stronger (75.1%), and should involve adults (teachers, family, or others; 45.9%). There was a significant gender difference, in which boys and girls were describing victims and bullies differently.

Discussion: A significant percentage of students relate bullying and victimization characteristics to psychosocial characteristics and less to physical characteristics. The results offer valuable information necessary to design and implement school bullying prevention and intervention programs.

Key Words: adolescents � bullying � Jordan � school nursing � schools � violence Nursing Research, January/February 2017, Vol 66, No 1, 40–48

S chool bullying is the most common school violence among adolescents, is recognized as a serious concern for students, and has become a global concern (Karell,

2011). According to the Centers for Disease Control and De- partment of Education, bullying in children and adolescents isbroadlydefinedas“unwantedaggressivebehavior;observed or perceived power imbalance” and “repetition of behaviors or high likelihood of repetition” (Gladden, Vivolo-Kantor, Hamburger, & Lumpkin, 2014). School bullying can be either direct or indirect and can take physical, verbal, social, and sex- ual forms (Craig & Pepler, 2007; Olweus, 1994).

In general, school bullying starts inelementaryschool, and the prevalence of bullying behavior drops after the middle school years (Pontzer, 2010). In the United States, 37% of

Nahla Mansour Al Ali, MSN, PhD, is Associate Professor, Community and Mental Health Department, Faculty of Nursing, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid. Muntaha Gharaibeh, RN, PhD, is Professor, Maternal and Child Health Depart- ment, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid. Mohammad Jaser Masadeh, RN, MSN, is Senior Community Health Officer, In- ternational Rescue Committee, Al Mafraq, Jordan.

Copyright © 2017 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

DOI: 10.1097/NNR.0000000000000190

40 www.nursingresearchonline.com

Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer

students are experiencing bullying, 17% bully others often, 20% were made fun of by a bully, 10% of the students suffered from having rumors or gossip spread about them, and 20% of students reported being physically bullied. Also, students indi- cated that 85% of the bullying occurred inside the school (National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2013).

School bullying has short- and long-term consequences on the developmental, social, emotional, and mental health of both the victim and the perpetrator (Borowsky, Taliaferro, & McMorris, 2013; Kowalski, & Limber, 2013; Rigby, 2003). Bul- lied children are often socially anxious and have feelings of loneliness, depression, and low self-esteem (Espelage & Holt, 2013; Weston, 2010). In addition to the poor academic out- come, students who experienced bullying have two to three times more negative school perception than those who are not involved in bullying activities (Toblin, Schwartz, Gorman, & Abou-ezzeddine, 2005).

Several studies investigated the characteristics of those who are involved in bullying and found that certain risk factors increase the likelihood of being a victim, a perpetrator, or both

Nursing Research • January/February 2017 • Volume 66 • No. 1

Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Nursing Research • January/February 2017 • Volume 66 • No. 1 Student Perceptions of Bullying in Jordan 41

(Jansen, Veenstra, Ormel, Verhulst, & Reijneveld, 2011; Swearer & Espelage, 2011). The results showed that preschool aggressive- ness, motor functioning at the individual level, low socioeco- nomic status, and poor relationships between family members increase the probability of involvement in bullying at later stages (Jansen et al., 2011). The results of a meta-analysis study found that a student who has a negative attitude toward others, has trouble with academic and social cognition, and has low- income family has the typical characteristics of a bully. Victims were more likely to possess the characteristics of bad self- recognition, lack of social skills, isolation, and passed up by peers (Cook, Williams, Guerra, Kim, & Sadek, 2010).

Although bullying in schools has gained the attention of many surveys over the last three decades (Dussich & Maekoya, 2007; Gini, 2006), there are some inconsistencies of how stu- dents perceive bullying (Nesdale & Pickering, 2006; Newman & Murray, 2005). A study found that students perceive the bully as someone who feels superior, seeking the attention of others, the way the victim behaves, looks, or acts in a manner that makes others irritable (Espelage & Asidao, 2001). Moreover, students perceived the way the victim looks, talks, or dresses as important leading factors for bullying (Kartal & Bilgin, 2012). Being odd, such as wearing different clothes, eating dif- ferent food, listening to different music, and having strange behaviors, is perceived as an exclusive characteristic associated with the victim of bullying (Varjas et al., 2008).

To end bullying, results of previous studies showed the agreement of the students to adult intervention by telling the adults when such behaviors occur (Bradshaw, Sawyer, & O’Brennan, 2007; Espelage & Asidao, 2001). In a qualitative study, studentssuggestedmaking newfriendsand having adult interventions as ways for them to help the victims and reduce bullying (Espelage & Asidao, 2001).

International studies investigated correlates of school bully- ing with students’ ages and gender (Craig & Pepler, 2007; Olweus, 1994; Smith, 2004). Across all age groups, male ado- lescents report higher rates of direct and indirect types of bul- lying (physical and verbal) than their female counterparts. Obviously, in these studies, there is an interaction between age, gender, and country of study. Among Arab adolescents, Fleming and Jacobson (2010) examined the correlates of gen- der and age (12–16 years) and reported higher prevalence rates of bullying for male than female adolescents in Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates, but not Oman.

Many theoretical perspectives explained the bullying among school children, such as personality perspective, socio- cultural perspective, school, and peer pressure. Among Arab children and youth, school bullying is described by personality and sociocultural perspectives (Kazarian & Ammar, 2013). Specifically, the personality perspective to school bullying is focused on explaining the minds of the perpetrator and victim of bullying and identifying environmental factors that shape their minds. In the Western culture, the personality perspective

Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer H

describes the mind of the bully as externalized and that of the bullied as internalized (Dake, Price, & Telljohann, 2003). The externalized bully’s mind is prone to high self-esteem, aggres- sion, power and control, authority, and little empathy for others. In contrast, the internalized mind of the victim pre- disposed to low self-esteem, insecurity, social isolation, anxiety, introversion, inferiority, and passivity. In the Arab culture, the home environment and parenting style shape the bully’s and victim’s minds. The family environment of the bully is likely to be punitive and authoritarian, whereas the family of victims is liable to be overprotective (Baldry, 2003). The authoritarian style and use of punishment lead the bully to feel unwanted and displace the hostility and aggression to the school environ- ment (Dake et al., 2003). Similarly, the overprotective family style of the victims leads to their feelings of inferiority and social incompetence. In the Arab world, some opinions considered family problems such as family neglect, divorce, domestic abuse, and use of punitive discipline as causal factors in peer victimization (Aloud, 2012).

Another explanation is the sociocultural perspective, which suggests that school bullying is a result of the adherents to a culture of war and other political conflicts. Accordingly, students are being raised in an environment in which using vi- olence is the only way to resolve conflicts (Cappadocia, Weiss, & Pepler, 2012). Along with the sociocultural perspective, me- dia portrayal and glorification of violence contribute to the vi- olence among Arab youth in the Arab world (Aloud, 2012). Aloud claimed that Western and Turkish movies and dramatic showsgiveArabchildren and youth theillusionthat violenceis a powerful weapon and that violence is the ideal approach in resolving problems.

To our knowledge, there is little research published about the magnitude of bullying within the Arab region—especially in Jordan. The results of the Global School Health Survey of 2,197 Jordanian students (13–15years) foundthat46.7% of stu- dents experienced a physical fight once or more times during the past 12 months. Moreover, 13.3% were bullied most often by being hit, kicked, forced, shoved around, or locked indoors (Al Qaseer, Asa’ad, & Batarseh, 2007). The overall prevalence of peer victimization in middle school students in 19 low- and middle-income countries, including Jordan, was 34.2%. More specifically, the prevalence rates are 44.2% in Jordan, 33.6% in Lebanon, 31.9% in Morocco, 39.1% in Oman, and 20.9% in the United Arab Emirates. Regarding the impact of bullying,the results revealedthat bullied students experienced significantly higher rates of unhappiness and hopelessness, loneliness, insomnia, and suicide than those who were not bul- lied (Fleming & Jacobsen, 2010). A recent study investigated the experience of bullying in a sample of sixth-grade students (11–12 years of age) in Amman (the capital city, with a popula- tion of about 4 million), its effect on school performance, and the contribution of general physical and dentofacial features to this phenomenon (Al-Bitar, Al-Omari, Sonbol, Al-Ahmad,

ealth, Inc. All rights reserved.

42 Student Perceptions of Bullying in Jordan www.nursingresearchonline.com

& Cunningham, 2013). This study showed a high prevalence of bullying in Jordanian schools (47%, n = 433); significantly more boys reported being bullied than girls, with many children experiencing bullying because of their dental or facial appearance.

To our knowledge, there is little research published about the magnitude of

bullying within the Arab region—especially in Jordan

Several studies suggest that certain sociocultural traditions— such as those found in the collectivist cultures—perceive bully- ing as an acceptable means to pattern idealized social norms (Khoury-Kassabri, 2011). Jordan has undergone socioeconomic transformation because of modernization, which resulted in an increased standard of living and led to a weakening of the traditional bonds that are recognized in the collectivist so- cieties. However, the current economic and social tensions, compounded by a tense domestic and external situation, could intensify the problem. Violence in the educational insti- tutions is an expression of familial, tribal, and political con- flicts where there is lack of space for students to learn how to interact constructively and resolve problems without using violence (Berghof Foundation, n.d.).

In demographic terms, the Jordanian society is very youth- ful in nature. Young people (ages 12–30) represent 40% of the population, approximately 2.2 million in numbers. This means that most of the population is children and adolescents; this is the age group most widely acknowledged to be vulnerable to bullying. Safety issues in schools have become a current academic concern in Jordan. Jordan’s educational enroll- ment rate is very impressive (65.8% of 10- to 24-year-olds) when compared to other countries in the region. Jordan is the first country to produce a national strategy that outlines a comprehensive and long-term plan for the development of its young men and women. The National Youth Strategy is directed toward Jordanian male and female adolescents who are 12–30 years old, because this group requires spe- cial interventions to ensure a positive transition and enable them to reach their full potential (The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Higher Council for Youth, 2004). However, the Na- tional Youth Strategy did not recognize the bullying problem and the importance of implementing antibullying programs in the Jordanian schools.

Problem Statement

As reported in many studies, school bullying has become a pri- mary concern of educational practitioners and researchers around the world. There are limited data regarding the stu- dents’ perception of and attitudes toward bullying in the Middle East, and no studies have addressed this issue in

Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer

Jordan. This study aims to examine students’ perceptions of school bullying, specifically investigate the profile of victims and perpetrators in public schools in Jordan and the gender differences. Although bullying may have existed in Jordanian schools, many Jordanian educational practitioners and policy makers do not realize the difference between bullying and school violence. Though, this study has addressed perception about bullying from the students’ perspectives, which could provide educational practitioners, including school nurses and policy makers, with the knowledge concerning the phe- nomenon of school bullying. School nurses are in a unique position to identify and help reduce bullying in schools, and they need to be aware of the most effective means for pre- venting and treating bullying, as well as increasing students’ awareness of how to deal with bullying situations.

The research questions that guided this study were as follows:

1. What are the perceptions of eighth-grade students regarding characteristics of bullies and victims?

2. What suggestions do students have about how to stop future bullying and peer victimization?

3. Are there perceptual differences between male and female ad- olescents regarding characteristics of bullies and victims, and how to stop bullying?

METHODS

Study Design

A cross-sectional study design was used to assess the attitudes of students regarding school bullying; a self-administered survey collected data during the 2013–2014 school year. The protocol for the study was approved by the Committee on Human Subjects Research at the Jordan University of Sci- ence and Technology.

Participants

The sample for this study consisted of eighth-grade students attending 16 public schools (girls and boys) affiliated in Irbid educational directorates in a mixed rural and suburban area in northern of Jordan. Eighth-grade students (ages 13–14 years) were selected because previous studies have reported that most children who were bullied were between 12 and 14 years or younger, and this will make it easy to compare our results with previous studies.

Instrumentation

Student perceptions of bullying were measured using the Bul- lying Perception Questionnaire (BPQ). The BPQ consists of 34 statements: 8 items related to perceived characteristics of vic- tims, 14 items related to perceived characteristics of a bully, and 12 items were about how to stop bullying. Items were based directly on the findings of Frisén, Jonsson, and Persson (2007), who identified common themes about these items

Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Nursing Research • January/February 2017 • Volume 66 • No. 1 Student Perceptions of Bullying in Jordan 43

from open-ended questions asked of high school students. Par- ticipants asked to rate perceived characteristics and ways to stop bullying using Likert-type scales with three response op- tions: 1 = agree, 2 = neither agree nor disagree, and 3 = dis- agree. Cronbach’s alpha for 34 items was .72.

The translation process from English language into Arabic was conducted systematically by applying forward translation, back translation, and a pilot test. Forward translation was eval- uated by a committee of bilingual (in English and the target lan- guage for a translation) professionals in the field of study of the research. The expert panel was familiar with the terminology of the area covered by the instrument and included a translator who is a specialist in health and scale construction. The expert panel questioned some words that might not be known by the target population and suggested alternatives. The instrument then translated back to English by an independent translator, whose mother tongue is English and who has no knowledge of the questionnaire. The translation process emphasized con- ceptualand cultural equivalenceandnotlinguisticequivalence (i.e., not a literal translation).

A pilot study was run with a sample of 50 eighth-grade stu- dents, selected randomly from two schools (one for male stu- dents and the other for female students). Participants were asked to read the information sheet and complete the consent form (both students and their parents). Time to complete the questionnaire ranged from 10 to 15 minutes. Almost all stu- dents agreed on the cultural sensitivity of the questionnaire. Suggested changes were modified, and the wording of the questionnaire was revised to enhance readability and content validity; these modifications were mainly grammatical and lan- guage errors. The responses of the participants involved in the pilot test phase were not included in the final analysis of data from this study.

A demographic sheet was prepared by the researcher. It included questions on gender, living status, and grade point average.

Data Collection Procedure

The Ministry of Education was approached to obtain permis- sion for data collection. The participants were selected using stratified random selection. Schools in the Irbid educational di- rectorates were randomly selected, with an equal number of schools for boys and girls. One of the eighth-grade classes in the school was selected randomly, and all of the students in that class were invited to participate in the study. Consent let- ters were sent home with students to their parents explaining the purpose of the research. Students whose families gave permission for their participation returned the signed con- sent form to the researcher. In addition to receiving paren- tal consent, the students also completed an assent form on the day of the survey. The researchers administered a survey questionnaire over a 3-week period. Students were approached at school in the classrooms during school hours. Only the

Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer H

principal investigator was available in the classroom at the time of data collection—to respond to any question and pro- vide more confidentiality for the data disclosed. All students had their seats apart to ensure security and privacy. The prin- cipal investigator read aloud the bullying definition, which was also written at the top of the survey, and students were instructed to read the explanation before starting the study. The survey required approximately 10 minutes for students to complete. All survey questionnaires were collected on the same day by researchers.

Data Analysis

Descriptive statistics, including frequency and percentages, were computed for all variables. Chi-squared tests were per- formed to compare responses between male and female stu- dents regarding perceived characteristics of victims, perceived characteristics of bullies, and how to stop bullying. Nominal p-values of .05 were used.

RESULTS

The study group comprised 913 students, split about equally between boys (n = 467; 51%) and girls (n = 446; 49%). Most of the students reported living with their parents (n = 842; 92.2%). Student grade point average ranged from 50% to 99% (M = 84. 9, SD = 10.04).

Perception of Characteristics of Bullies

Student perceptions of the characteristics of bullies are pre- sented in Table 1. Most of the students described a bully as one who is a coward underneath (78.9%), lacks respect for other people (70%), wants to show that he has power (67.6%), wants to impress others (60.8%), wants to feel supe- rior (59.6%), is jealous of the victim (54.2%), and bullies others to feel better (51.3%). Less frequently endorsed items were that bullies think they are cool (33%), are annoyed by appear- ance of the victim (37.8%), and have family problems (40.2%).

Boys and girls differed in their perceptions of characteris- tics of bullies. Girls more than boys describe bullies as having a psychologicalproblem (50.7%vs.43.0%,respectively;p= .02). However, boys more than girls perceived bullies as having low self-esteem (50.5% vs. 39.5%, respectively; p = .002). Boys per- ceived that bullies want to impress others more than the girls did (67.2% vs. 54.0%,respectively;p < .001). Boysalso saw that bullies are annoyed by victim behaviors more than girls did (49.7 % vs. 39.5%, respectively; p = .008).

Perceptions of Characteristics of Victims

Table 1 also displays perceptions of characteristics of victims in descending order for the overall sample and by gender of re- spondent. Overall,students showed agreement for some items concerning the characteristics of the victims. Forexample,stu- dents perceived victims of bullying as students who talk or sound differently than others (50.9%), have low self-esteem

ealth, Inc. All rights reserved.

T A B L E 1 . P e rc e p ti o n s o f C h a ra c te ri s ti c s o f B u ll ie s a n d V ic ti m s a n d S tr a te g ie s to

P re v e n t o r S to p B u ll y in g

A ll

B o y s

G ir ls

R a ti n g

C h a ra c te ri s ti c

A A /D

D A

A /D

D A

A /D

D p a

B u lli es

R ea lly

co w ar d u n d er n ea th

7 8 .9

1 4 .1

7 .0

8 0 .9

1 3 .1

6 .0

7 6 .7

1 5 .2

8 .1

.2 5

La ck

re sp ec t fo r ot h er

p eo p le

7 0 .0

1 6 .9

1 3 .1

7 0 .0

1 5 .8

1 4 .1

7 0 .0

1 7 .9

1 2 .1

.5 2

W an

t to

sh ow

th ey

h av e p ow

er 6 7 .6

1 7 .0

1 5 .4

6 8 .1

1 6 .3

1 5 .6

6 7 .0

1 7 .7

1 5 .2

.8 4

W an

t to

im p re ss

ot h er s

6 0 .8

2 8 .5

1 0 .7

6 7 .2

2 3 .3

9 .4

5 4 .0

3 3 .9

1 2 .1

.0 0 1

W an

t to

fe el su p er io r

5 9 .6

2 4 .9

1 5 .6

6 2 .7

2 2 .7

1 4 .6

5 6 .3

2 7 .1

1 6 .6

.1 3

A re

je al ou

s of

th e vi ct im

5 4 .2

3 3 .2

1 2 .6

5 3 .1

3 5 .3

1 1 .6

5 5 .4

3 0 .9

1 3 .7

.3 0

B u lly

ot h er s to

fe el b et te r

5 1 .3

3 0 .9

1 7 .9

5 4 .6

3 0 .0

1 5 .4

4 7 .8

3 1 .8

2 0 .4

.0 6

H av e p sy ch

ol og ic al p ro b le m s

4 6 .8

3 9 .3

1 3 .9

4 3 .0

4 0 .5

1 6 .5

5 0 .7

3 8 .1

1 1 .2

.0 2

A re

al so

vi ct im

s 4 5 .7

3 1 .9

2 2 .5

4 6 .9

3 1 .9

2 1 .2

4 4 .4

3 1 .8

2 3 .8

.6 1

H av e lo w se lf- es te em

4 5 .1

3 6 .9

1 8 .0

5 0 .5

3 1 .9

1 7 .6

3 9 .5

4 2 .2

1 8 .4

.0 0 2

A n n oy ed

b y vi ct im

’s b eh

av io r

4 4 .7

3 8 .3

1 7 .0

4 9 .7

3 4 .5

1 5 .8

3 9 .5

4 2 .4

1 8 .2

.0 0 8

H av e fa m ily

p ro b le m s

4 0 .2

4 6 .4

1 3 .4

4 3 .3

4 2 .6

1 4 .1

3 7 .0

5 0 .4

1 2 .6

.0 5

A n n oy ed

b y vi ct im

’s ap

p ea ra n ce

3 7 .8

4 1 .2

2 1 .0

4 0 .3

3 9 .8

1 9 .9

3 5 .2

4 2 .6

2 2 .2

.2 8

T h in k th ey

ar e co ol

3 3 .0

2 7 .4

3 9 .6

3 6 .0

2 5 .3

3 8 .8

2 9 .8

2 9 .6

4 0 .6

.1 1

V ic tim

s H av e lo w se lf- es te em

4 2 .2

3 2 .0

2 5 .8

4 0 .3

3 0 .4

2 9 .3

4 4 .2

3 3 .6

2 2 .2

.0 4

O fte

n ta lk or

so u n d d iff er en

t 5 0 .9

3 1 .7

1 7 .4

5 3 .7

3 0 .0

1 6 .3

4 8 .0

3 3 .4

1 8 .6

.2 1

A re

sh y

3 5 .0

3 3 .3

3 1 .7

3 2 .3

3 0 .4

3 7 .3

3 7 .9

3 6 .3

2 5 .8

.0 0 1

H av e n o fr ie n d s

2 7 .2

3 4 .8

3 8 .0

2 8 .1

3 0 .4

4 1 .5

2 6 .2

3 9 .5

3 4 .3

.0 1

A re

u su al ly th in

2 4 .8

5 1 .0

2 4 .2

3 0 .6

4 7 .8

2 1 .6

1 8 .6

5 4 .5

2 6 .9

.0 0 1

A re

of te n co n si d er ed

u gl y

2 4 .8

3 5 .5

3 9 .8

2 8 .3

3 6 .6

3 5 .1

2 1 .1

3 4 .3

4 4 .6

.0 0 6

C om

e fr om

p oo r fa m ili es

1 7 .0

4 6 .8

3 6 .3

1 9 .5

4 5 .6

3 4 .9

1 4 .3

4 8 .0

3 7 .7

.1 1

A re

u su al ly fa t

1 6 .4

4 7 .4

3 6 .1

1 9 .5

4 6 .9

3 3 .6

1 3 .2

4 8 .0

3 8 .8

.0 2

S tr at eg ie s

V ic tim

s: st an

d u p fo r h im

se lf/ h er se lf

7 5 .4

1 5 .8

8 .9

7 1 .7

1 6 .7

1 1 .6

7 9 .1

1 4 .8

6 .1

.0 0 7

V ic tim

s: b ec om

e p sy ch

ol og ic al ly st ro n ge r

7 5 .0

1 6 .9

8 .1

7 5 .6

1 5 .4

9 .0 %

7 4 .4

1 8 .4

7 .2

.3 3

B u lli es : ca n fin

d ot h er

vi ct im

s 6 1 .8

2 5 .4

1 2 .8

6 5 .1

2 4 .4

1 0 .5

5 8 .3

2 6 .5

1 5 .2

.0 4

V ic tim

s: m ak e n ew

fr ie n d s

4 9 .8

3 5 .3

1 4 .9

5 0 .3

3 2 .5

1 7 .1

4 9 .8

3 5 .3

1 4 .9

.0 7

A d u lts

in te rv en

e (e .g ., sc h oo l, te ac h er s)

4 5 .9

3 8 .0

1 6 .1

5 1 .6

3 2 .5

1 5 .8

3 9 .9

4 3 .7

1 6 .4

.0 0 1

V ic tim

s: d on

’t ca re

if th ey

ar e b u lli ed

3 5 3

3 8 .7

3 8 .7

3 9 .0

3 6 .0

2 5 .1

3 7 .7

4 1 .5

2 0 .9

.1 6

B u lli es : b ec om

e tir ed

of b u lly in g

3 6 .8

4 5 .0

1 8 .2

3 7 .7

4 2 .4

1 9 .9

3 5 .9

4 7 .8

1 6 .4

.1 9

V ic tim

s: ch

an ge

cl as se s to

es ca p e b u lli es

3 5 .0

2 6 .4

3 8 .6

4 6 .5

2 1 .8

3 1 .7

2 3 .1

3 1 .2

4 5 .7

.0 0 1

B u lli es : fe el gu

ilt /r ea liz e it’ s w ro n g to

b u lly

ot h er s

3 4 .2

4 0 .7

2 5 .1

3 3 .4

3 6 .4

3 0 .2

3 5 .0

4 5 .3

1 9 .7

.0 0 1

V ic tim

s: st op

b ei n g d iff er en

t (e .g ., w ei gh

t, cl ot h in g)

3 0 .6

3 7 .9

3 1 .5

3 4 .5

3 7 .5

2 8 .1

2 6 .5

3 8 .3

3 5 .2

.0 1

B u lli es : m at u re

(g et

ol d er )

2 9 .2

4 7 .5

2 3 .2

3 2 .5

4 2 .8

2 4 .6

2 5 .8

5 2 .5

2 1 .7

.0 1

V ic tim

s: ch

an ge

sc h oo ls

2 8 .1

2 3 .3

4 8 .5

3 6 .0

2 2 .7

4 1 .3

2 0 .0

2 4 .0

5 6 .1

.0 0 1

N o te .N

= 9 1 3 (b o ys :n

= 4 6 7 ;g

irl s: n = 4 4 6 ). C el le n tr ie s fo r A ll ar e p er ce n ta g es

fo r al lr es p o n d en

ts ;c el le n tr ie s fo r B o ys

an d G irl s ar e p er ce n ta g es

fo r ea ch

g en

d er .

A = ag

re e;

A /D

= n ei th er

ag re e n o r d is ag

re e;

D = d is ag

re e.

a χ 2 te st fo r in d ep

en d en

ce .

44 Student Perceptions of Bullying in Jordan www.nursingresearchonline.com

Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Nursing Research • January/February 2017 • Volume 66 • No. 1 Student Perceptions of Bullying in Jordan 45

(42.2%), are shy (35%), have no friends (27.2%), are usually thin (24.8%), are often considered ugly (24.8%), come from low-income families (17%), and are usually fat (16.4%).

Students perceived the victims of bullying differently. Boys more than girls describe the victims as thin (30.6% vs. 18.6%, respectively; p < .001). Boys perceived victims as fat more than the girls did (19.5% vs. 13.2%, respectively; p = .02). Boys also perceived victims as ugly more than girls (28.3% vs. 21.1%, respectively; p = .006). Boys also described the victims as having no friends than the girls did (28.1% vs. 26.2%, respectively; p = .01). However, girls described victims as shy more often than boys did (37.9 % vs. 32.3%, respectively; p = .001).

Strategies for Stopping Bullying

Table 1 also displays students’ suggestions about how to stop bullying and peer victimization. Overall, most of the students suggested that the victim should stand up for himself (75.4%) and should become psychologically stronger (75%)to stop bul- lying. Although a high percentage of students (61.8%) felt that it is unlikely to stop bullying because bullies can find other victims, 49.8% of students still felt that bullying would stop if victims can make new friends. Some others felt that bully- ing would more likely stop when adults intervene (teachers, family, or others; 45.9%).

Boys and girls differed in their perceptions on how to stop bullying. To escapebullying, boys morethangirlsbelievedthat victims should change classes (46.5% vs. 23.1%, respectively; p < .001) and change schools (36% vs. 20%, respectively; p < .001). Girls more than boys felt that the victim should stand up for himself/herself (79.1% vs. 71.7%, respectively; p = .007). However, boys more than girls felt that bullying will stop when victims stop being different (34.5% vs.26.5%, re- spectively; p = .01) and when bullies get older (32.5% vs. 25.8%, respectively; p = .01). Girls endorsed adult interven- tions to stop bullying less often than boys (39.9% vs. 51.6%, respectively; p = .001). Boys disagreed more often than girls that bullying will stop when bullies feel a sense of guilt (30.2% vs. 19.7%, respectively; p = .001).

DISCUSSION

The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics of perpetrators and victims of school bullying as perceived by students and how to stop bullying. In Jordan, this is the first study that assessed students’ perception of bullying. As indicated in the Results section, most of the students de- scribe victims and bullies with their physical, psychological, and social characteristics. The results of this study are con- sistent with many of the existing literature in this field re- garding bullies’ and victims’ characteristics. Although the measure used in this study did not include all physical, psy- chological, or social characteristics of bullying and victimi- zation, our results supported the common characteristics

Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer H

of victims and bullies revealed in other literature (Dake et al., 2003; Kalati, Psalti, & Deliyianni-Kouimtzi, 2010).

Specifically, students described bullies as those who lack respect for other people, want to show that they have power, want to impress others, want to feel superior, are jealous of the victim, and bully others to feel better. The same pattern was found in previous studies, in which they defined the bully as having a bad manner and always making trouble in the class- rooms (Kalati et al., 2010; Varjas et al., 2008). Most bullies are aggressive, and they use their physical strength to gain superi- ority by bullying other children (Smith, 2004). Simmons (2002) suggests that aggression is a form of masculinity; it al- lows bullies to control their surroundings and to obtain peers’ respect for resisting authority and acting tough, troublesome, dominating, cool, and confident.

In this study, students perceived victims of bullying as having low self-esteem, talking or sounding differently than others, shy, having no friends, usually thin, often

considered ugly, and usually fat.

Previous studies indicate associations between personal characteristics (i.e., physical and psychological) and being bul- lied and victimized. Frisén et al. (2007) found that 40% of bully- ing is reportedly due to physical appearance (being different from peers, such as being thin, fat, ugly, or speaking/acting dif- ferently) and 36% are due to behavior such as being anxious. For children who have been bullied, 28% are due to low self- esteem, 26% are due to feeling cool and in control, and 15% are due to problems. It seems that participants in our study be- lieve that this is an important characteristic in this context. Similar results by Sweeting and West (2001) found that victims being rated as less attractive and fat children were two times more likely to be victimized. Thus, some physical and psycho- logical characteristics that make students differ from their peers can put them at risk of being bullied and should not be dismissed (Rigby, 2003).

Students thought that victims play a vital role to stop being bullied.

Students suggested that the victim should stand for himself/herself, should become psychologically stronger, and should find new friends to stop bullying. Also, students are agreed on adult interventions (family and teachers) to stop bul- lying. These results are consistent with the findings of Kalati et al. (2010), who found that 56.5% of the participating stu- dents agreed to ignore the bully, 48.4% agreed to make new friends, and 11.3% agreed to adult intervention (teachers) as best strategies to stop bullying. In contrast, Frisén et al. (2007)

ealth, Inc. All rights reserved.

46 Student Perceptions of Bullying in Jordan www.nursingresearchonline.com

found that only 14% of the students’ answers were related to adults having to intervene.

These findings supported the fact that adolescents have little faith in adults’

ability to stop bullying.

Less agreement among students was regarding items that reflect the bullies’ role in reducing bullying activities, such as bullies stop when they get older or become mature, feel tired from bullying, and feel a sense of guilt. This result is inconsis- tent with Frisén et al. (2007), who found that the most com- mon response adolescents gave to the question “What do you think makes bullying stop?” was that the bully matures. It isworth mentioningthatthe previousstudies elicitedstudents’ experiences of bullying during their school years, which had an impact on their beliefs about who is a victim or a bully. However, in the current study, bullies and victims were not identified.

In Jordan, schools have no ongoing program to deal with bullying or other aggressive behaviors in students. The principal and the teachers handled students’ problems with regular supervision whenever found or identified. Each school has a psychological counselor whose main respon- sibility is to resolve the conflicts between students. The main treatment used mainly end with a warning given to the differ- ent parties, and the reasons for the conflicts remained uniden- tified or resolved. In Jordan, bullying as a topic has received considerable attention. However, no national policies or legis- lation support the schoolwide implementation of an antibully- ing program to help those who are bullied or to prevent it. Thus, implementation of school-based antibullying programs in the Arab world to reduce the harmful effects of bullying is needed.

In this study, gender differences were identified regarding the characteristics of victims and bullies and how to stop bully- ing. Boysweremorelikely thangirls to describe bullies and vic- tims with physical and psychological characteristics. This is consistent with Kalati et al. (2010), who found significant gen- der differences among Greek students in perceptions of bully- ing. Specifically, 45.2% of primary students believe that they are victimized because they are girls. Similarly, 40% of second- ary students reported that the reason they have been victim- ized is that they are girls. More girls of secondary schools (67.7%) compared to 37.7% of boys believe that they are vic- timized because of their gender.

In most schools in Jordan, particularly in the primary stage (first to sixth grades), gender socialization is equality-oriented, in that boys and girls share the same classroom, playground, and study group. In Jordan, with some exceptions, still boys and girls are treated differently because of common norms, be- liefs, and roles applied to boys and girls. Gender differences in

Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer

bullying involvement activities could be related to the role of gender socialization; that is, the female students always display the role of less aggressive, more kind, and passive, compared to the male students, who seem to be more aggressive and more encouraging of fighting (Khurana & Romer, 2012). Fur- thermore, female students may engage in a psychological form of aggression than male students, who engage in a physical form (Carlyle & Steinman, 2007).

Gender role differences exist in all societies and cultures. The Arab culture is no exception, but with different expecta- tions. In every society and culture, a set of learned norms, values, ideas, and guidelines affect women’s and men’s attitudes, behaviors, roles, and expectations. Gender roles identity is de- veloped in early age and is influenced by the parents who are the role models of their children (Al-Sabt, 2006). The family is considered the foundation of the Arab community, and there is a strong emphasis on traditional gender roles (Al-Sabt, 2006). Although some traditions are now changing, because of indus- trialization, urbanization, war/conflict, and Westernization, the family remains the main system of support throughout the Arab world and Arabs living elsewhere (Abudabbeh, 2005). In Jordan, social relations and values between men and women, along with other aspects of Jordanian society, had begun to change as people adopted values, attitudes, and customs different from traditional values. Increased social and physical mobility has undermined the familial ties and the values that subordinated the individual to the kin group. Growing individualism has ap- peared, and new perceptions and practices have been adopted by the young generation—especially the educated young.

Implications for School Health

A major implication of this study involves implementation of bullying prevention and intervention programs in the primary schools. A main aim of intervention programs is to raise aware- ness of bullying among students, parents, teachers, and other school personnel.Student views about school bullying and vic- timization could add a significant feature and contribute to full understanding of the phenomenon. It is also important to in- crease student awareness of the appropriate skills to raise their self-confidence and cope effectively with bullying situ- ations, taking into consideration gender differences. The re- sults of this study inform school health nurses about the importance of conducting school- and community-based educa- tion programs to disseminate a unified message against bullying. Furthermore, findings can inform integration of bullying preven- tion material into the curriculum and school activities to establish a school safety culture (e.g., stopbullying.gov).

Limitations

There are some limitations to the current study that suggest im- provements for future research in this area. Although the sam- ple size was adequate to detect significant associations among study variables and included students from 16 schools, the

Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Nursing Research • January/February 2017 • Volume 66 • No. 1 Student Perceptions of Bullying in Jordan 47

sample was only eighth-grade students from public schools and in northern Jordan, and thus, generalization is limited to similar groups. This study reported student perceptions of bul- lying, not experiences of being bullied or being a victim. More research is needed to link perceptions with the experience of bullying or being a victim of bullying. This was the first use of the Arabic language version of the BPQ; instrumentation could be improved to enhance reliability and further assess cultural sensitivity for use among Arab children and adolescents.

Conclusion

The aim of the study was to investigate student perceptions of school bullying and, specifically, examine the characteristics of victims and perpetrators. Students attributed bullying and victimization characteristics to psychosocial characteristics rather than physical characteristics. Boys and girls described victims and bullies differently. Findings can be used to design interventions to support student learning in a secure, safe, and health-promoting environment.

Accepted for publication September 12, 2016.

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Corresponding author: Nahla Mansour Al Ali, MSN, PhD, Community and Mental Health Department, Faculty of Nursing, Jordan University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 3030, Irbid 22110, Jordan (e-mail: [email protected]).

REFERENCES

Abudabbeh, N. (2005). Arab families: An overview. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & N. Garcia-Preto (Eds.), Ethnicity & family therapy (3rd ed. pp. 423–436). New York, NY: Guilford.

Al-Bitar, Z. B., Al-Omari, I. K., Sonbol, H. N., Al-Ahmad, H. T., & Cunningham, S. J. (2013). Bullying among Jordanian schoolchildren, its effects on school performance, and the contribution of general physical and dentofacial features. American Journal of Orthodon- tics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, 144, 872–878. doi:10.1016/j. ajodo.2013.08.016

Aloud, S. (2012, October). Al ‘ounf almadrasi: Ma asbaboh (School bul- lying: What are its causes?). Koul al Ousrah [Television program].

Al Qaseer, B. M., Asa’ad, A., & Batarseh, S. (2007). Global school- based student health survey. Amman, Jordan: MoH Jordan, CDC and WHO. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/chp/gshs/ GSHS_Country_Report_Jordan_2007.pdf?ua=1

Al-Sabt, M. D. (2006). Arabian business and cultural guide. Berlin, Germany: International Export Connections Retrieved from http://www.traderscity.com/abcg/culture.htm.

Baldry, A. C. (2003). Bullying in schools and exposure to domestic violence. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27, 713–732. doi:10.1016/S0145- 2134(03)00114-5

Berghof Foundation. (n.d.). Nonviolent education in Jordan. Re- trieved from http://www.berghof-foundation.org/programmes/ peace-education-global-learning/nonviolent-education-in-jordan/

Borowsky, I. W., Taliaferro, L. A., & McMorris, B. J. (2013). Suicidal thinking and behavior among youth involved in verbal and social bullying: Risk and protective factors. Journal of Adolescent Health, 53, S4–S12. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.10.280

Bradshaw, C. P., Sawyer, A. L., & O’Brennan, L. M. (2007). Bullying and peer victimization at school: Perceptual differences between students and school staff. School Psychology Review, 36, 361–382.

Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer H

Cappadocia, M. C., Weiss, J. A., & Pepler, D. (2012). Bullying experi- ences among children and youth with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism Developmental Disorders, 42, 266–277. doi:10.1007/s10803-011-1241-x

Carlyle, K. E., & Steinman, K. J. (2007). Demographic differences in the prevalence, co-occurrence, and correlates of adolescent bully- ing school. Journal of School Health, 77, 623–629. doi:10.1111/ j.1746-1561.2007.00242.x

Cook, C. R., Williams, K. R., Guerra, N. G., Kim, T. E., & Sadek, S. (2010). Predictors of bullying and victimization in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analytic investigation. School Psychology Quarterly, 25, 65–83. doi:10.1037/a0020149

Craig, W. M., & Pepler, D. J. (2007). Understanding bullying: From re- search to practice. Canadian Psychology, 48, 86–93. doi:10.1037/ cp2007010

Dake, J. A., Price, J. H., & Telljohann, S. K. (2003). The nature and extent of bullying at school. Journal of School Health, 73, 173–180. doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2003.tb03599.x

Dussich, J. P., & Maekoya, C. (2007). Physical child harm and bullying-related behaviors: A comparative study in Japan, South Africa, and the United States. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 51, 495–509. doi:10. 1177/ 0306624X06298463

Espelage, D. L., & Asidao, C. S. (2001). Conversations with middle school students about bullying and victimization: Should we be concerned? Journal of Emotional Abuse, 2, 49–62. doi:10.1300/ J135v02n02_04

Espelage, D. L., & Holt, M. K. (2013). Suicidal ideation and school bul- lying experiences after controlling for depression and delin- quency. Journal of Adolescent Health, 53, S27–S31. doi:10. 1016/j.jadohealth.2012.09.017

Fleming, L. C., & Jacobsen, K. H. (2010). Bullying among middle- school students in low and middle income countries. Health Pro- motion International, 25, 73–84. doi:10.1093/heapro/dap046

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

Gini, G. (2006). Bullying as a social process: The role of group mem- bership in students’ perception of inter-group aggression at school. Journal of School Psychology, 44, 51–65. doi:10.1016/j. jsp.2005.12.002

Gladden, R. M., Vivolo-Kantor, A. M., Hamburger, M. E., & Lumpkin, C. D. (2014). Bullying surveillance among youths: Uniform defi- nitions for public health and recommended data elements,

Version 1.0. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control.

Jansen, D. E., Veenstra, R., Ormel, J., Verhulst, F. C., & Reijneveld, S. A. (2011). Early risk factors for being a bully, victim, or bully/ victim in late elementary and early secondary education. The longitudinal TRAILS study. BMC Public Health, 11, 440–446. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-440

Kalati, V., Psalti, A., & Deliyianni-Kouimtzi, V. (2010). Greek students’ perception of school bullying: The profiles of victims and perpetra- tors. In K. K. P. Vanhoutte & M. Lang (Eds.), Bullying and the abuse of power (pp. 91–98). Oxford, UK: Inter-Disciplinary Press.

Karell, D. H. (2011). Bullying on the high school campus: Separating fact from fiction. National Social Science Journal, 36, 68–76.

Kartal, H., & Bilgin, A. (2012). İlköğretim Öğrencilerinin Zorbalığın Nedenleri ile İlgili Algıları [Perceptions of elementary school stu- dents related to causes of bullying]. University of Gaziantep Jour- nal of Social Sciences, 11, 25–48.

Kazarian, S. S., & Ammar, J. (2013). School bullying in the Arab world: A review. Arab Journal of Psychiatry, 24, 37–45. doi:10.12816/ 0000097

ealth, Inc. All rights reserved.

48 Student Perceptions of Bullying in Jordan www.nursingresearchonline.com

Khoury-Kassabri, M. (2011). Student victimization by peers in elementary schools: Individual, teacher-class, and school-level predictors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 35, 273–282. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2011.01.004

Khurana, A., & Romer, D. (2012). Modeling the distinct pathways of influence of coping strategies on youth suicidal ideation: A na- tional longitudinal study. Prevention Science, 13, 644–654. doi:10.1007/s11121-012-0292-3

Kowalski, R. M., & Limber, S. P. (2013). Psychological, physical, and aca- demic correlates of cyberbullying and traditional bullying. Journal ofAdolescentHealth,53,S13–S20.doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.09.018

National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statis- tics. (2013). Student reports of bullying and cyber-bullying: Re- sults from the 2011 school crime supplement to the National

Crime Victimization Survey 2013. Retrieved from http://nces. ed.gov/pubs2013/2013329.pdf

Nesdale, D., & Pickering, K. (2006). Teachers’ reactions to children’s aggression. Social Development, 15, 109–127. doi:10.1111/j.1467- 9507.2006.00332.x

Newman, R. S., & Murray, B. J. (2005). How students and teachers view the seriousness of peer harassment: When is it appropriate to seek help? Journal of Educational Psychology, 97, 347–365. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.97.3.347

Olweus, D. (1994). Bullying at school: Basic facts and effects of a school based intervention program. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 35, 1171–1190. doi:10.1111/ j.1469-7610.1994.tb01229.x

Pontzer, D. (2010). A theoretical test of bullying behavior: Parenting, personality, and the bully/victim relationship. Journal of Family Violence, 25, 259–273. doi:10.1007/s10896-009-9289-5

REGISTER Y

To be considered for peer review, randomized clinical tri the first participant. This requirement applies to pilot and full-s brief reports describing protocols for full-scale RCTs. Reports and will not be peer reviewed. Trials should be registered on

WHO http://www.who.int/ictrp/network/primary/en/index.htm

CLINICALTRIALS.GOV https://clinicaltrials.gov

For more information, see ICMJE/Clinical Trial Reg http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publish Include the registry and trial number on the title page of th

item about clinical trial registration. (Corresponding authors rec questions, please contact Dr. Susan J. Henly, Editor, at henly0

New! Updated Information for Authors: http://journals.lww.com

Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer

Rigby, K. (2003). Consequences of bullying in schools. Canadian Jour- nal of Psychiatry, 48, 583–590. doi:10.1177/070674370304800904

Simmons, R. (2002). Odd girl out: The hidden culture of aggression in girls. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Smith, P. K. (2004). Bullying: Recent developments. Child and Ad- olescent Mental Health, 9, 98–103. doi:10.1111/j.1475-3588. 2004.00089.x

Swearer, S. M., & Espelage, D. L. (Eds.). (2011). Expanding the social– ecological framework of bullying among youth: Lessons learned from the past and directions for the future. Bullying in North American schools (2nd ed., pp. 3–10). New York, NY: Routledge.

Sweeting, H., & West, P. (2001). Being different: Correlates of the ex- perience of teasing and bullying at age 11. Research Papers in Ed- ucation, 16, 225–246. doi:10.1080/02671520110058679

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Higher Council for Youth. (2004). National youth strategy for Jordan 2005–2009. Re- trieved from http://www.youthpolicy.org/national/Jordan_ 2005_National_Youth_Strategy.pdf

Toblin, R. L., Schwartz, D., Gorman, A. H., & Abou-ezzeddine, T. (2005). Social–cognitive and behavioral attributes of aggressive victims of bullying. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychol- ogy, 26, 329–346. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2005.02.004

Varjas, K., Meyers, J., Bellmoff, L., Lopp, E., Birckbichler, L., & Marshall, M. (2008). Missing voices: Fourth through eighth grade urban students’ perceptions of bullying. Journal of School Vio- lence, 7, 97–118. doi:10.1080/15388220801973912

Weston, F. (2010). Working with children who have been bullied. British Journal of School Nursing, 5, 172–176. doi:10.12968/ bjsn.2010.5.4.47999

OUR RCT

als (RCTs) must have been registered before enrollment of cale RCTs. Registration is also required for consideration of of findings from unregistered clinical trials will be returned acceptable databases listed at one of these sites:

l

istration at: ing-and-editorial-issues/clinical-trial-registration.html e manuscript and in response to the Author Questionnaire eive the questionnaire when uploading a submission.) For [email protected].

/nursingresearchonline/Pages/informationforauthors.aspx

Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

2016 Strategic Plan Update

1

In 2014, We Set Out the Perform, Grow, Lead Strategy

CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY. INTERNAL USE ONLY. DO NOT DISTRIBUTE.

2

T H E

Responses

Responses Consumer Expectations

Reducing Resources

Increasing Cost & Demand

Health Market