Rejection, Exclusion, and Harassment at Work and in Schools

Thanks are extended to Friedrich Försterling and Dieter Frey for helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript, Stefan Gall and Stefan Werner, supported by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Schu 903/1-1, for their assistance in the literature search, and Jonathan Harrow for his advice on the English translation.Table .Appendix 1-1. Operationalization and source of data.Author/sOperationalization of Mobbing/BullyingData sourceBoulton & Underwood (1992)Instruction per definition (Olweus bullying inventory): “A child is being bullied, or picked on, when another child, or group of children, say nasty or unpleasant things to him or her. It is also bullying when a child is hit, kicked, threatened, locked inside a room, sent nasty notes, ‘sent to Coventry,’ and things like that. These things may happen frequently and it is difficult for the child being bullied to defend himself or herself. It is also bullying when a child is teased repeatedly in a nasty way. It is not bullying when two children of about the same strength have the odd quarrel or fight.” (p. 75)SelfHoover, Oliver, & Hazler (1992)Instruction per definition: “You can think of bullying as any activity from teasing to physical attacks where one group of youngsters pesters a victim (or ‘whipping boy’) over a long period of time. Bullying here refers to behavior occurring at school but can include episodes on the playground or going to and from school.” (S. 8).SelfHoover, Oliver, & Thompson (1993)no information (s. Hoover, Oliver, & Hazler, 1992 )SelfKnorz & Zapf (1996)see Leymann (1993 a; below); modified in that the item “attack on attitudes” is differentiated with respect to political and religious onesSelfLagerspetz et al. (1982)specific behaviors: “Other pupils harass or torment him/her” or “he/she harasses and torments other pupils in the class,” respectivelyPeerLeymann (1993 a)1. Attacks on communication opportunitiesSelf- The boss limits opportunities to speak up.- Repeated interruptions.- Colleagues limit opportunities to speak up.- Yelling or loud scolding.- Permanent critique of work.- Permanent critique of private life.- Telephone terror.- Oral threats.- Written threats.- Denial of contact by means of degrading looks or gestures.- Denial of contact by means of allusions without directly addressing anything.2. Attacks on social relationships- To stop talking to the person.- To not allow being addressed.- To relocate somebody far away from colleagues.- To forbid colleagues to address the person.- To treat somebody as if not there.3. Implications on social reputation- Bad talk behind somebody's back.- Spreading rumors.- Ridicule.- To suspect somebody being psychologically ill.- To try to force somebody to psychiatric examination.- Making fun of a handicap.- Imitating movements, voice, or gestures in order to ridicule.- To attack political or religious attitudes.- To make fun of the person's private life.- To make fun of the person's nationality.- To enforce carrying out work damaging to self-esteem.— To judge work in an improper or hurtful way.— To doubt the decisions of the person.— To call him/her names or degrading expressions.— Sexual approaches or verbal sexual offers.4. Attacks on the quality of the professional and life-situation— The person is not assigned any tasks.— The person is denied activity at the workplace, so that the person cannot even think of any task by him- or herself.— One assigns tasks that do not make any sense.— One assigns tasks far below the actual capabilities.— One permanently assigns new tasks.— One assigns tasks offending somebody's pride.— One assigns tasks far beyond the person's qualification in order to discredit him/her.5. Attacks on health— Health-threatening tasks enforced.— Physical aggression threatened.— Mild forms of violence used.— Physical abuse.— To cause costs for the person in order to harm him/her.— To cause physical damage at the home or workplace of the person.— Sexual violence.(p. 33/34)Moran et al. (1993)Instruction per definition (see below at Whitney & Smith)SelfNeary & Joseph (1994)6 Single-Items: Some children are often: teased/bullied/called horrible names/picked on/hit and pushed about/laughed at by other children (really true for me, sort of true for me) but other children are not teased by other children (sort of true for me, really true for me).Self; PeerNiedl (1995)LIPT (Leymann Inventory of Psychological Terrorization); see LeymannSelfOlweus (1978)Instruction per definition: “A pronounced whipping boy is a boy who for a fairly long time has been and still is exposed to aggression from others; that is, boys or possibly girls from his own class often pick fights and are rough with him or tease and ridicule him” / “A bully is a boy who fairly often oppresses or harasses somebody else; the target may be boys or girls, the harassment physical or mental.” (p. 34)TeacherOlweus (1991 / 93 )Instruction per definition (Olweus bullying inventory; no phrasings given in the text but see Boulton & Underwood above).SelfO'Moore & Hillery (1989)Instruction per definition: “bullying is long-standing violence, mental or physical, conducted by an individual or a group and directed against an individual who is not able to defend himself/herself, in the actual situation.” (p. 431)SelfPerry, Kusel, & Perry (1988)Specific behaviors: seven relating to victimization: Kids make fun of him, he gets beat up, he gets called names by other kids, kids do mean thing to him, he gets picked on by other kids, he gets hit and pushed by other kids, kids try to hurt his feelings.PeerSelfTeacherPerry, Williard, & Perry (1990)Specific behaviors, see Perry, Kusel, & Perry, 1988 .PeerRigby & Slee (1991)Specific behaviors; only examples provided: I get picked on by other kids. I like to make other kids scared of me.SelfSiann et al. (1993)Specific behaviors: “these included physical acts such as being pushed, hit, kicked and having possessions stolen and ‘mental’ bullying — for example being cut out of groups, being laughed at or called names” (p. 310).TeacherSiann et al. (1994)Specific behaviors. No phrasing in the text; see Siann et al., 1993 .SelfSlee (1993)Specific behaviors. Only examples provided. For “tendency to get victimized”: I get picked on by other kids. For “tendency to bully”: I enjoy upsetting wimps.SelfSlee & Rigby (1993)Specific behaviors. For “tendency to get victimized” (provided only in short form in Table 2, p. 278): Get picked on by other kids. Get made fun of. Get called names by other kids. Get hit and pushed. For “tendency to bully”: Enjoy upsetting wimps. Like to make other kids scared. In a group tease others. Fight kids you can easily beat.SelfStephenson & Smith (1989)No informationTeacher; PeerTroy & Sroufe (1987)Attachment according to Ainsworth. Victimization on the basis of Olweus's description.Exp.Vieira da Fonseca, Garcia, & Perez (1989)Instruction per definition: “repetitive violence, both physical and mental, executed by an individual or group towards a subject who is not capable of defending himself in such a situation and who hence becomes a victim.” (p. 44).SelfWhitney & Smith (1993)Instruction per definition (modified Olweus bullying inventory; changes are indicated): “ We say a child is being bullied, or picked on when another child or young person , or a group of children or young people, say nasty or unpleasant things to him or her. It is also bullying when a child or young person is hit, kicked, threatened, locked inside a room, sent nasty notes, when no one ever talks to them and things like that. These things can happen frequently and it is difficult for the child or the young person being bullied to defend himself or herself. It is also bullying when a child or the young person is teased repeatedly in a nasty way. But it is not bullying when two children or young people of about the same strength have the odd fight or quarrel.” (p. 7).SelfYates & Smith (1989)Instruction per definition (Olweus bullying inventory); see Boulton & Underwood.SelfTable .Appendix 1-2. Prevalence: victims and perpetrators.Author(s)VictimBullyBoulton & Underwood (1992)once or twice: 28%once or twice: 25.2%sometimes: 14%sometimes: 13.3%several times a week: 6.1%several times a week: 3.8%i.e., “sometimes or more often”: 20.6%i.e., “sometimes or more often”: 17.1%Hoover, Oliver, & Hazler (1992)76.85% (weighted with severity [> 2.5 on a four-point-scale]: 14.29%)not assessedHoover, Oliver, & Thompson (1993)89.3%not assessedKnorz & Zapf (1996)only victims included as subjects-Lagerspetz et al. (1982)5.6% (weighted by frequency: 25% of the peers are required to judge the victimization as “often” or 50% as “sometimes”)5.5% (weighted by frequency; see left)Leymann (1993 a)3.5%not assessedMoran et al. (1993)11 out of 33 Asian (5 at least 1×/week)5 out of 33 Asian (1 1×/week)14 out of 33 white (9 at least 1×/week)6 out of 33 white (2 1×/week)Neary & Joseph (1994)12 out of 60 given self-reportnot assessed30 out of 60 by at least one peerNiedl (1995)Research institute: 4.4%not assessedHospital: 7.8%Olweus (1978)1. Solnapronounced victims: 4.3%pronounced bullies: 6.0%in follow-up: 3.7%in follow-up: 3.7%less pronounced: 4.3%less pronounced: 6.4%in follow-up: 6.8%in follow-up: 6.4%in special class: pronounced: 18%in special class: pronounced: 18%2. Solnapronounced victims: 7.4%pronounced bullies: 4.6%less pronounced: 7.8%less pronounced: 5.5%3. Solnapronounced victims: 7.4%pronounced bullies: 5.6%less pronounced: 6.1%less pronounced: 1.9%Olweus (1991)9% “now and then or more frequently,” i.e., from about once a week to several times a day 3% “seriously” (not defined) “about once a week or more frequently”7% “now and then or more frequently,” i.e., from about once a week to several times a day; 2% “seriously” (not defined) “about once a week or more frequently”; 9,000 out of 586,000 bothO'Moore & Hillery (1989)once or twice or sometimes: 54.9%sometimes: 55.8%, thereof occasionally: 43.3%; seriously, i.e., once a week or more: 2.5%once a week or more often: 8.0%limit to “this term”:limited to “this term”:occasionally: 34.4%, frequently: 7.7%occasionally: 27.4%, seriously: 1.8% of 14 “frequent bullies” 9 (64%) had been “occasionally” and 3 (21.4%)“seriously” victims of attacksPerry, Kusel, & Perry (1988)10% (by peer-assessment)not assessedPerry, Williard, & Perry (1990)no informationno informationRigby & Slee (1991)no informationno informationSiann et al. (1993)no differentiation in bully/victim: “How often bullying is seen/reported”no differentiation in bully/victim (see left)“deprived” schoolmiddle classdaily:50%7%3-4/week:27%10%1x/month:18%24%2-3/month:5%24%seldom:0%28%never:0%0%Siann et al. (1994)“at some stage in their school career”: 49.15%.not assessedSlee (1993)never: 45.46%not assessedless than once/week: 27.5%once/wk: 10.13%1-2 days/week: 6.3%most days: 6.46%every day: 4.5%i.e., more than “once a week”: 27.29% of the “victimized”: 16% longer than half a yearSlee & Rigby (1993)8% once a week or more,not assessed8% longer than half a yearStephenson & Smith (1989)no differentiation in bully/victim: 23% “involved as bully or victim”; thereof: 55% “less than once a week” and only 20% “at least 2 or 3 times a week”no differentiation in bully/victimTroy & Sroufe (1987)in 5 of 19 dyads victimizationdyads; see leftVieira da Fonseca et al. (1989)17.2% “were bullied this term”17.3% “bully others”Whitney & Smith (1993)Junior:Juniorsometimes in term: 27%sometimes in term: 12%1 x/week or more: 10%1 x/week or more: 4%secondary:secondary:sometimes in term: 10%sometimes in term: 6%1 x/week or more: 4%1 x/week or more: 1%Yates & Smith (1989)it hasn't happened: 57.3%58.5%only once or twice: 20.9%29.1%now and then: 12.0%8.1%about once a week: 2.1%1.3%about 2 or 3 times a week: 3.4%1.3%about 4 or 5 times a week: 2.1%0%several time a day: 2.1%1.7%i.e., 9.7% more than 1 x/weeki.e., 4.3% more than 1 x/weekTable .Appendix 1-3. Prevalence: victims and perpetrators.Author(s)Gender effectsAge effectsVictimBullyBoulton & Underwood (1992)“sometimes or more often”:younger:younger:victims:16.2% sometimes10.9% sometimesm: 24.6%; f: 16.2%10.1% often6.8% oftenbullies:m: 25.5%;f:8.1%older:older:f ?f:24.1%12.8% sometimes15.8% sometimesf/m ?f:37.9%2.0% often< 1% oftenm ?f:37.9%m ?m:82.1%m/f ?m:8.4%f ?m:9.5%Hoover, Oliver, & Hazler (1992)n.s.no effectnot assessedvictims:m: 81.13%; f: 72.16%weighed by severity:m: 14.15%; f: 14.43%Hoover et al. (1993)n.s. (m: 92.2%, f: 89.8%)no effectnot assessedf ?f:9%f/m ?f:46%m ?f:45%m ?m:66%m/f ?m:8%f ?m:1%Knorz & Zapf (1996)f/m ?f:77%not assessednot assessedf/m ?m:47%Lagerspetz et al. (1982)13.7% boys, 5.4% girls involved as bullies or victimsnot assessednot assessedLeymann (1993 a)f ?f:40%21-30 and 31-40not assessedf/m ?f:30%slightly more, nsm ?f:30%m ?m:76%m/f ?m:21%f ?m:3%Moran et al. (1993)n.sno effectno effectNeary & Joseph (1994)not assessednot assessednot assessedNiedl (1995)research institute:research institute:not assessedf ?f:11.1%most in the age of 31-40f/m ?f:22.2%hospital:m ?f:66.7%most in the age of 21-30m ?m:100%m/f ?m:0%f ?m:0%hospital:f ?f:19.6%f/m ?f:62.7%m ?f:17.6%m ?m:13.3%m/f ?m:56.7%f ?m:30.0%Olweus (1978)boys only as subjectsno difference between Solna 2 (grade 6) and Solna 3 (grade 8) reported, see aboveno difference between Solna 2 (grade 6) and Solna 3 (grade 8) reported, see aboveOlweus (1991 / 1993 )direct (physical bullying):grade 2-6: 11.6%grade 2-6: 6.6%victim:grade 7-9: 5.4%grade 7-9: 7.65%m: 9.95%; f: 6.95%bully:m: 11%; f: 3.25%in grade 5-7:f ?f:no info.f/m ?f:15-20%m ?f:60%m ?m:80%m/f ?m:k.A.f ?m:k.A.O'Moore & Hillery (1989)sign. more boys experience bullying than girls:decrease from grade 3 to 5, increase from grade 7 onnot reportedfrequently: 12.5% m, 5.6% fsign. more boys than girls are bullies (when occasional and frequent bullying are combined: 38.5% m, 23.6% f)Perry et al. (1988)10 boys, 7 girlsno effectnot assessed(no means provided, one-sided tests reveal slightly higher scores in boys than girls)Perry et al. (1990)no informationno informationno informationRigby & Slee (1991)no informationno informationno informationSiann et al. (1993)not assessednot assessednot assessedSiann et al. (1994)said that they “had been bullied at some stage in their school career”: m: 54.7%; f: 43.6%not assessednot assessedSlee (1993)no effectno effectnot assessedSlee & Rigby (1993)once a week or more:“once a week ornot assessedm: 10%; f: 6%more”: 5th grade: 6.5%6th grade: 7.55%7th grade: 9.75%Stephenson & Smith (1989)68% of the bullies are male, 63% of the victims are malenot assessednot assessedTroy & Sroufe (1987)not assessednot assessednot assessedVieira da Fonseca et al. (1989)victims:bullied this term:m: 16%; f: 19.6%grade 3: 21%grade 3: 16%grade 5: 18.4%grade 5: 23.9%grade 7: 12.4%grade 7: 12.2%Whitney & Smith (1993)been bullied:junior:junior:boys: sometimes: 20%sometimes:sometimes:once a week or more: 7.5%grade 3: 3.5%grade 3: 8%girls: sometimes: 18%grade 7: 17%grade 7: 9%once a week or more: 7%once a week:once a week:bullied others:grade 3: 19%grade 3: 4%boys: sometimes: 12%grade 7: 6%grade 7: 3%once a week or more: 4%secondary:secondary:girls: sometimes: 5.5%sometimes:sometimes:once a week or more: 1%grade 7: 14%grade 7: 5%grade 12/13: 0%grade 12/13: 3%junior:once a week:once a week:1 f ?f:23%grade 7: 6%grade 7: 1%several f ?f:15%grade 12/13: 0%grade 12/13: 1%f/m ?f:22%1 m ?f:27%several m ?f:13%1 m ?m:55%several m ?m:30%m/f ?m:12%1 f ?m:1%several f ?m:2%secondary:1 f ?f:25%several f ?f:16%f/m ?f:21%1 m ?f:21%several m ?f:15%1 m ?m:47%several m ?m:43%m/f ?m:8%1 f ?m:1%several f ?m:1%Yates & Smith (1989)victim: no effectno effectno effectbully:now and then or more often:m: 20%; f: 5%f ?f:24%f/m ?f:28%m ?f:48%m ?m:88%m/f ?m:no informationf ?m:no information