Bullying is a phenomenon that, while it has probably existed since antiquity, has not received much media attention until relatively recently. This is an act of continuous abuse and harassment over time that can have devastating effects on those who suffer it, both physically and psychologically.

Often the suffering of children and young people who suffer from bullying remains hidden either out of fear or embarrassment on their part, the law of silence that is usually frequent in classrooms on the subject, or even the lack of capacity, tools or knowledge on the part of the responsible adults to capture or deal with the acts of aggression (unfortunately, on some occasions without even being ignored and undervalued). This article raises a series of possible questions about bullying that could contribute to detecting the existence of cases in the school environment.

Bullying: the basic concept

We understand bullying or harassment to be any type of relationship between peers in which a relationship of inequality is established in which one or more subjects commit any type of voluntary act that seeks to harm, humiliate or injure in any way another or other individuals.

The victim(s) is/are subjected in some way by the aggressor(s) , who acts persistently over time. These abusive relationships occur either within the school context or between subjects who are related by virtue of living together in an educational institution.

The abusive acts that are carried out can be of very diverse nature and can be carried out both directly (attacking the attacked subject in an evident manner) and indirectly (promoting his exclusion, discrediting him or humiliating him through the networks). Bullying can include physical aggression, insults or humiliation, theft, active marginalization of the child, publishing and sending materials on the networks in which the child is criticized or directly attacked (including videos), coercion, impersonation or even inducement to suicide.

In this area, it is important to bear in mind that not only are there assailants and aggressors, but also witnesses of acts that may promote or prevent harassment or that simply do not get involved. Teachers and the educational institution, as well as families, also have an important role to play. Work can be done from many different perspectives (with priority given to prevention and treatment of existing cases) and with the different agents involved.

But to be able to work with bullying situations and stop them first you need to be able to detect the existence of cases. Many organisms use for this purpose different tests and questions that can be used to achieve such detection .

Questions about bullying

The following are a series of questions about bullying which can be used to identify cases of abuse at school, prevent it or to learn about attitudes and beliefs regarding bullying (some of which have been taken from tests proposed by organizations such as the Department of Education).

These questions can be asked to the whole class group, to individual students (whether they are witnesses, assailants or aggressors) or even to teachers and family members. They can be asked by means of a questionnaire (if possible anonymously) or by means of an individual interview.

1. Can you tell me what it’s like to be in your class?

This question can be used to visualize the general atmosphere in the classroom and whether or not the child in question feels comfortable in it.

2. How do you feel about your classmates?

Although similar to the previous one, on this occasion the emphasis is placed on the student’s relationship with the rest of his classmates . Depending on the answer, you can deduce whether or not there are concrete problems in this aspect.

3. Have you noticed any conflicts among some of the students in your class?

While it may be normal for small conflicts to exist between peers, this question allows the subject to assess whether they are frequent or have frequent protagonists.

4. Do you know of anyone who has ever been assaulted or insulted by a classmate or student?

This question allows the subject to indicate if they have ever visualized a case or if they have currently been able to witness it.

5. Do you know what bullying is? Could you explain to me what it is or give me an example?

Knowing what bullying is is fundamental in order to be able to detect a case , so knowledge of the concept is very important. Both in students and teachers.

6. What types of bullying do you know about and what do you think of them?

Although today bullying is often talked about, in many cases not everything that is involved is known or an act is not considered an aggression that is actually an aggression (for example, promoting the marginalization of a particular person or creating a WhatsApp group to make fun of a person), and only physical bullying is considered as such.

7. Do you think it is common for new technologies and social networks to be used to harm others?

Today, children and young people tend to be connected to networks earlier and earlier and can report instances of bullying arising from their use.

8. Do you know of any cases in which a student has been or is frequently assaulted or insulted, or attacked through the networks?

Entering the subject, the subject being questioned can answer and indicate his or her knowledge or lack of knowledge regarding current or past cases.

9. Do you think that aggression between students is a problem in this school?

Students are the ones who see and experience these situations first hand , so they can easily indicate if any kind of harassment is taking place. This question can also be asked of teachers or family members.

10. Has this ever happened to you?

A direct question, but one that will allow the child to express whether he or she has lived through a similar experience or is currently living through it.

11. Have you ever felt intimidated in class or been threatened?

Bullying is very common in cases of bullying. It also allows detecting the presence of dominance attitudes in some students.

12. Have you ever had things stolen or hidden? Do you know anyone to whom this has happened?

What may seem like a game to some students may conceal the intention to humiliate or generate deep suffering for a particular person. In the case of theft, moreover, property is stolen from the person, sometimes with violence.

13. Does anyone in the class have a nickname?

Demeaning nicknames are one of the most common and frequent types of harassment.

14. Can you tell me what has happened/occurred?

Assuming that the response to any of the above is positive, it is important to know what happened.

15. Is this something continuous in time?

It is necessary to identify whether the problem or aggression occurred at a particular time or is somewhat frequent, or whether it is still ongoing.

16. Can you tell me when and where the problem started?

Assuming that the response to any of the above is positive, contextualising the situation can help to work and to understand how the problem or the type of harassment suffered is established .

17. How do you think someone would feel in that situation?

This question seeks to get the person asked to try to put themselves in the place of someone who is being harassed. It can be preventative by making people think about the situation of those being harassed.

18. What consequences do you think bullying may have for the person who is bullied?

In this case the knowledge of the consequences of bullying for the principal affected is evaluated, which are often only partially known or ignored.

19. Have you ever seen someone record or take pictures of another without their permission? What do you think about that?

This question provides information regarding the use of audiovisual material against the will of the recorded or photographed subject.

20. Have you ever seen any publications or groups on the Internet that make fun of a fellow student?

Cyberbullying is a form of school bullying that is increasingly prevalent today, and questions like this can help detect cases.

21. How would you feel when/if this happened to you? What if you saw it happen to someone else?

The expression of emotions and thoughts in this regard allows for the reporting of possible experience of harassment or for empathizing with those who suffer from it. Besides the fact that it can encourage people to tell their own or visualized experiences and detect cases, it can serve as a preventive measure.

22. What do you think someone who harasses others thinks?

Getting under the skin of both the bully and the stalker can allow for better detection of phenomena and situations linked to the bullying. Also, knowing the motives of the bully can help to stop the bullying by the classmates themselves.

23. What do you do/would you do when/if this happens?

Whether the individual has suffered or seen someone else suffer from bullying, answering this question allows for discussion of ways to act in such a situation. Furthermore, in the case of a confirmed case , it allows us to see what the child has tried to do and whether it has had any effect or not .

24. What do you think would have to happen for the problem to be solved?

This question may allow the individual being asked to indicate possible ways to solve it and to put himself or herself in the place of others

25. Why do you think some students mistreat others? / Why do you think this has happened?

This question can make people think about what causes the abuse, which can be useful in order to prevent a case or an aggressor from expressing what they think is the reason for the bullying

26. In order to solve this type of case it is important to ask for help. Have you told / would you tell someone? What if it was something anonymous?

It is important to make people understand the importance of reporting or being informed of harassment in order to take action. Likewise, in some cases this is not done for fear of reprisals, for which reason it could be useful to establish some kind of anonymous complaint mechanism .

27. Would you be willing to do something to help the person being harassed?

This question allows us to reveal whether the subject being asked has done or would do something to prevent a situation of harassment or would report it if he or she witnessed such an act.

28. Do you have any questions about what we have worked on or is there anything you want to add?

Even if you don’t initially answer at the time the initial question is asked, it is possible that before the end of the conversation a witness or a subject who is being harassed decides to tell what he or she has seen or experienced, so creating a space for him or her to express themselves can be very helpful.

Bibliographic references:

  • Castillero, O. (2017). Ciberbullying: Harassment on the Net. Analysis and proposal for intervention. University of Barcelona.
  • Salmivalli, C.,Kaukiainen, A. & Lagerspetz, K. (2000).Aggression and sociometric status among peers: Do gender and type of aggression matter. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. 41, 17-24.
  • Síndic el Defensor de les Persones. (2006). Convivència I conflictes als Centres educatius. Extraordinary Report. Barcelona: Síndic de Greuges de Catalunya.