School Bullying Research Group at the University of Nyíregyháza
Due to the information deriving from the most various sources, we are confronted with the fact that regarding all walks of life, aggression, terror, violence, harassment, animosity, hostility, and all forms of social deviancy show increasing tendencies. Individual and communal reactions evoked by different events, presumed or actual realizations, wounds, fears, and several versions of tragedies manifest themselves. All these are getting more closely interwoven into the society, setting problems in more and more countries.
The anxious searches for solutions are full of helplessness, uncertainty, fear, anxiety, which leads to the deterioration of social, community morale and to indisposition. It is particularly true when the indicated, negative behavior patterns infiltrate into human behavior and personality without being understood.
Nowadays, in more and more countries, the analysis of the cause and effect background of the phenomenon, the subject-matter knowledge, the expansion of knowledge, encouraging purposeful action against aggression are becoming political and social aim. Taking notice of social solidarity and responsibility better, the need of the development of national programs, which encourages action, have become an urgent task. It seems to be that this subject matter covertly or overtly addresses the whole society.
Our research group established by the Department of Psychology at the University of Nyíregyháza investigates the phenomena of school bullying and harassment. The term ‘school bullying covers the behaviour where the aggressive act has no obvious cause (non-reactive aggression).
We set as an objective to elaborate a measuring tool that renders assistance for the experts in identifying the different types of violent behaviour and conduct patterns in school praxis, as well as in differentiating within these types.
Our research focuses on the question that among upper school primary school students and high school students what kind of background factors may stand in the background of aggressive attitude and behavior patterns of school bullying (bully, victim, bystander, intervener participant and helper participant). During our research, we charted those background factors, which help to understand the process of the development of bully, victim, participant and bystander behavior patterns, as well as they allow the development of the options of efficient mental hygiene.
The Questionnaire on School Bullying
The Questionnaire on School Bullying, with its 70 ‘Hardly ever, Sometimes, Often, Almost always’ options, reveals the phenomena of violence and harassment between pupils in everyday school life in terms of five dimensions.
These dimensions are as follows:
- Victim
- Bully
- Bystander
- Intervener participant
- Helper participant
Fields of Application of the Questionnaire
Primarily, the questionnaire can be applied effectively within the frame of school psychological and educational advisory work.
Scientific research can be assigned as the other important field of application.
International Cooperation
We would like to contact with different international universities/colleges partners to cooperation with our school bullying research.