Session 10: Schools (2) International Reflections
1st Global Conference
Friday 6th November – Sunday 8th November 2009
Salzburg, Austria
Bullying: Japanese Style’
Jerry Cusumano
Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan
This paper will examine bullying in Japanese schools. After introductory remarks about the phenomenon of bullying in schools and a brief review of the statistical analysis of bullying incidents in Japan, I will examine the following three points: cultural factors, psychological factors, government policy. First, I will attempt to show cultural differences apparent in Japanese bullying. This will include especially parental attitudes toward child-rearing, the Japanese education system, and the current economic climate in Japan. Included in parenting attitudes will be comparisons with parenting attitudes of other groups of problem children in Japan, e.g. school refusers. Second, I will look at several psychological factors which are either peculiar to Japanese people, such as “amae” (dependence) or are more prevalent in Japan than in other countries, such as social phobia. “Amae” is a concept made popular by the late Doi Takeo, a world-famous psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, whose book on the subject was a best-seller in Japan and was widely translated into other languages. Social phobia is not a phenomenon peculiar to Japan, but the rate of incidence is much greater than in other countries. In its extreme form it is manifest in “hikikomori” (shut-ins) a social phenomenon that makes an interesting comparsion in some ways with the bullying mentality in Japan. In this section I will also outline the psychotherapeutic measures that have been used to deal with bullying. School counselors especially have been trying to deal with this problem in various ways. Several cases which received wide media attention will also be introduced. Third, I will explain the measures that the Japanese Ministry of Education and other government agencies have taken concerning this problem. This includes setting up regional trauma centers designed to aid schools in the event of bullying-related suicides as well as providing for third party investigation into school suicides to determine if they were caused by bullying or not. The Ministry has also established a nationwide hotline for consultation on this problem. It has continued to give directives to school administrators and teachers about how to prevent bullying and deal with it after it has occurred.
Download Draft Conference Paper (pdf)
Relationship between Attachment Styles and Tendency of Aggression Among School Bullies in Jakarta
Eunike S. T. Suci and Hilda Kusnadi
Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
School bullying is a serious problem in Indonesia and need attention of scholars from different knowledge background to find the solution. School bullying involves aggressive behavior which is considered as normal among young people. A study reported that 67% students in major cities of Indonesia claimed that bullying occurred in their schools.
Many reported that bullying affects the victims negatively, including prolong trauma, injuries, and death. Unfortunately, the law enforcement in Indonesia is limited. Only when school bullying leads the victim to death, the government pays attention to it. The Law on child protection merely for those below 18 years old, and perpetrators who abuse to their peers are hardly arrested.
One factor of those who commit bullying is the negative relationship with parents during childhood. The types of attachment with parents may result in a certain child behavior, as children learn from what their parents do at home. There are three types of attachment styles. i.e. secure, avoidance, and ambivalence attachment styles.
This research attempts to examine the relationship between childhood attachment style and the tendency of aggression from the bully’s perspective. Using quantitative approach, the population of the study was students who were considered as bullies at two selected schools that have been known as having problems with bullying in Jakarta. The sample was taken randomly. The study used the adapted Attachment Styles Questioner to measure the attachment style of students, and The Tendency of Aggression for School Aged Children Questioner to measure the tendency of aggression.
The total respondents were 53 students ranged between 15 to 18 years old. Out of these, 43 had secure attachment style. Three and six others had Avoidance and Ambivalence attachment styles subsequently. The result showed that there was no relationship between Secure Attachment Style and the Tendency of Aggression (r = 0,151; p > 0,01). The measurement on aggressive tendency needs to be evaluated because it examines individual tendency, while school bullying in Indonesia commonly occurs in groups. Scholars from sociology and law need to better formulate the problem and recommend appropriate solutions to the government and school.
Greek Students’ Perceptions of School Bullying: The Profile of Victims and Perpetrators
Vassiliki Kalati
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
During the last decade there has been a growing interest in the social phenomenon of school bullying in Greece. This presentation is part of a large-scale research project which aimed at the study of school violence in Greek schools in relation to the formation of gender and cultural identity. The objective of the present study was to explore: 1) the frequency and types of bullying, 2) certain characteristics such as duration and place of bullying episodes, 3) the profile of victims and perpetrators in relation to gender, ethnicity, age, behaviour and academic performance and 4) victims’ reactions. Two hundred and fourteen male and female students from primary and secondary schools participated in the study. The data analysis was based on statistical methods. Results indicated that bullying is a widespread phenomenon in Greek schools. Significant age, gender and ethnic differences were noted in terms of types and frequency of bullying behaviours, characteristics of victims and perpetrators and reactions to bullying episodes. According to a significant number of students, bullying appears to be related to the male identity, low academic performance and provocative behaviour, while victimization is connected to the female identity, high academic performance and different ethnicity. A major implication of the present study is the significance of raising awareness about bullying among parents and teachers through bullying intervention programmes.
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