ERIC Number: EJ1255919
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0267-1522
EISSN: N/A
"A Freak That No One Can Love": Difficult Knowledge in Testimonials on School Bullying
Tholander, Michael; Lindberg, Anna; Svensson, Daniel
Research Papers in Education, v35 n3 p359-377 2020
This study adopts a testimonial approach to bullying victimisation, and aims to create a deeper understanding of the experiences and effects of being a bullying target. Four written narratives about being subjected to school bullying were analysed according to interpretative phenomenological analysis. From the analysis, four themes were constructed, which represented different elements of victimhood: (1) "Self-blame" in which victims view themselves as the cause of the bullying, (2) "Abandonment" in which victims describe feelings of standing alone in their exposed situation, (3) "Turning points" in which the victims recount a variety of restorative events, and (4) "Continued victimhood" in which the victims relate how the feeling of victimhood and vulnerability continues even though the bullying has ended. In conclusion, school bullying is something that continues to affect the individual adversely long after it has stopped, although stable friendship relations might have a mitigating influence. Through such relations, victimhood can be neutralised and a more positive self-image develop. Moreover, as numerous other kinds of victims emphasise, an essential part of the rehabilitation process is to finally be able to tell one's story, to lay bare one's difficult knowledge to a wider audience.
Descriptors: Bullying, Personal Narratives, Self Concept, Psychological Patterns, Foreign Countries, Change Agents, Victims
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A