ERIC Number: EJ866091
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1045-3830
EISSN: N/A
Observing Bullying at School: The Mental Health Implications of Witness Status
Rivers, Ian; Poteat, V. Paul; Noret, Nathalie; Ashurst, Nigel
School Psychology Quarterly, v24 n4 p211-223 2009
This study explores the impact of bullying on the mental health of students who witness it. A representative sample of 2,002 students aged 12 to 16 years attending 14 schools in the United Kingdom were surveyed using a questionnaire that included measures of bullying at school, substance abuse, and mental health risk. The results suggest that observing bullying at school predicted risks to mental health over and above that predicted for those students who were directly involved in bullying behavior as either a perpetrator or a victim. Observing others was also found to predict higher risk irrespective of whether students were or were not victims themselves. The results are discussed with reference to past research on bystander and witness behavior. (Contains 4 tables.)
Descriptors: Substance Abuse, Bullying, Mental Health, Foreign Countries, Early Adolescents, Adolescents, Questionnaires, Psychological Patterns, At Risk Persons, Predictor Variables, Victims of Crime, Student Characteristics, School Culture, Aggression, Antisocial Behavior, Symptoms (Individual Disorders)
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org/publications
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom; United Kingdom (England)
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Brief Symptom Inventory
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A