Abstract

The Center for Disease Control has defined bullying as “any unwanted aggressive behavior(s) by another youth or group of youths who are not siblings or current dating partners that involves an observed or perceived power imbalance and is repeated multiple times or is highly likely to be repeated” (Gladden, Vivolo-Kantor, Hamburger, & Lumpkin, 2013). Two broad types of bullying can be discerned – traditional bullying and cyberbullying (Scott, Moore, Sly, & Norman, 2013). Traditional bullying can be either direct or indirect. The direct variant is more prevalent among males and involves overt displays of physical and/or verbal aggression directed at another person (e.g. pushing, punching, kicking, shoving, throwing things, verbal insults, taunts, name calling). This type of bullying is more commonly reported since it is easily observable (Wang, Ianotti, & Nansel, 2009). The indirect variant can be considered as “relational-aggression”; verbal methods are used to threaten relationships or undermine the social standing of victims. The victims are excluded from important social activities through spreading rumors, ostracizing and backstabbing. This form of bullying is more common among females and being less observable is not as likely to be reported.