Taking Action Against Victimisation: Australian Middle School Students' Experiences

Abstract

Victimisation among students has been identified as a serious problem in Australian schools. This study investigated approaches taken by South Australian middle school students for dealing with victimisation. Over 170 students (aged 11-16) described how they coped with bullying and situations where they needed to take action against bullying. A content analysis of their responses found that students used coping strategies, including: (a) seeking social support, (b) standing up for peers/friends, (c) externalising, (d) nonchalance, (e) sticking up for oneself, (f) problem-solving, (g) submission, (h) reducing tense emotions/assertiveness, and (i) escape. One of the significant findings was that students did not identify school counsellors as a source of coping support, which has implications for their role in addressing incidents of victimisation. Copyright © The Author(s) 2016.