Το φαινόμενο ''bullying'' στο χώρο του σχολείου και η άσκηση σωματικής και ψυχολογικής βίας από συνομήλικους

Περίληψη

It is an undeniable fact, verified by many empirical studies, that there are children who are continuously harassed by their peers at school. When there is an imbalance of power and harassment (which can be direct or indirect physical or verbal) happens intentionally and repeatedly, it can be called bullying. Bullying not only causes considerable suffering to individual pupils but also has a damaging effect on school atmosphere. In the context of the European project on Nature and Prevention of Bullying, this paper reviews recent findings on bullying at school, with (he aim of enhancing awareness of the issue and fostering interventions on both national and European basis. Considerations on definition and assessment of bullying are presented, age and sex differences are examined and the distinctive characteristics of bullies, victims and bully/victims are summarized. Furthermore the power of the school environment that tolerates or facilitates victimization is discussed and the basic principles and effects of .school based intervention programmes are described, It is concluded that, since, bullying in schools is widespread and the consequences can be severe and long-lasting, intervention strategies targeting towards a broader social context should be developed. Moreover, given the knowledge that, with a suitable intervention programme, it is definitely possible to reduce dramatically bully/victim problrms in school, we have a moral obligation to act on it.