The following article explores the phenomenon of bullying among peers,
here defined as situations in which a student or a group of students
abuses another student by engaging in inappropriate name-calling,
denigration, mistreatment, physical violence, damaging his/her clothing
or school utensils, spreading rumours and excluding him/her from
the group of his/her peers, locking that student in a school locker or
classroom or by engaging in other activities which cause the victim
to experience torment and helplessness. The survey conducted by
the authors focuses on how often fifth-grade students from different
primary schools have experienced one of a set of different roles (the
role of the victim, the role of the bully and the role of the witness).
In accordance with the topic, the article also looks into any possible
differences evident between the sexes and between rural schools and
urban schools. The results obtained reveal various forms of bullying
(physical, verbal, psychological and economic aggression) and show
that the majority of students have found themselves in the roles of
the victim and the witness, as well as in the role of the bully. No clear
differences have been found between students with regard to gender,
nor between urban and rural schools.
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