Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Bullying in Italian schools: the role of perceived teacher unfairness

  • Published:
European Journal of Psychology of Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The principal aim of the study is to examine the role of perceived teacher unfairness in predicting bullying behaviour. Data were taken from the “Health Behaviour in School Aged Children” project, a cross-sectional survey investigating health behaviours among early adolescents in selected European countries. Bullying behaviour (bully, victim, and bully/victim), perceived teacher unfairness and others confounding factors were measured through a self-administered questionnaire filled out by a representative sample of 4,386 (48.4% males) Italian students (11, 13, and 15 years old). Covariates included demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, school performance and other psychological factors. After adjusting for age and gender, teacher unfairness showed a significant association with being a bully (OR = 1.59; CI = 1.40–1.80) and a bully or victim (OR = 1.47; CI = 1.21–1.78). This relationship remained significant after additional adjustment for several potential confounding factors. Results show that characteristics of the school setting such as teacher unfairness can be significant predictors of involvement in bullying behaviour among early adolescents.

Resume

Cette étude examine le rôle de l’injustice des enseignants dans la prédiction du comportement de bullying. Les données ont été tirées du projet “Health Behaviour in School Aged Children”, une enquête transversale qui explore les comportements de la santé parmi les jeunes adolescents dans pays sélectionnés de l’Union Européenne. Le comportement de bullying (bully, victime, et bully/victime), l’injustice perçue des enseignants et autres variable ont été mesurés par un questionnaire auto-administré rempli par un échantillon représentatif de 4,386 (48,4% hommes) étudiants italiens (11, 13, et 15 ans). Les covariates comprenaient les caractéristiques démographiques, le statut socioéconomique, le rendement scolaire et autres facteurs psychologiques. Après ajustements pour l’âge et le sexe, l’injustice des enseignants a montré une association significative entre l’être un bully (OR = 1.59; CI = 1.40–1.80) et un bully–victime (OR = 1.47; CI = 1.21–1.78). Cette relation reste significative après un ajustement supplémentaire pour plusieurs facteurs potentiels de confusion. Les résultats montrent que les caractéristiques du milieu scolaire, comme l’injustice des enseignants, peuvent être des indices importants de la participation à un comportement d’intimidation (bullying) parmi les jeunes adolescents.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aarø, L. E., Wold, B., Kannas, L., & Rimpelä, M. (1986). Health behaviour in schoolchildren. A WHO cross-national survey. Health Promotion, 1, 17–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In: L. Berkowitz (Eds.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 267–299). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aslund, C., Starrin, B., Leppert, J., & Nilsson, K. W. (2009). Social status and shaming experiences related to adolescent overt aggression at school. Aggressive Behavior, 35, 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baldry, A. C., & Farrington, D. P. (1999). Types of bullying among Italian school children. Journal of Adolescence, 22, 423–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bru, E., Stephens, P., & Torsheim, T. (2002). Students’ perceptions of class management and reports of their own misbehavior. Journal of School Psychology, 40, 287–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Camodeca, M., & Goossens, F. A. (2005). Aggression, social cognitions, anger and sadness in bullies and victims. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46, 186–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chory-Assad, R. M., & Paulsel, M. L. (2004). Antisocial classroom communication: Instructor influence and interactional justice as predictors of student aggression. Communication Quarterly, 52, 98–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craig W, Harel-Fisch Y, Fogel-Grinvald H, Dostaler S, Hetland J, Simons-Morton B, Molcho M, Gaspar de Matos M, Overpeck M, Due P, Pickett W, the HBSC Violence & Injuries Prevention Focus Group and the HBSC Bullying Writing Group (2009). A cross-national profile of bullying and victimization among adolescents in 40 countries. International Journal of Public Health, 54, 209–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Currie, C., Samdal, O., Boyce, W., & Smith B. (2001). Health behavior in school-aged children: A W.H.O. cross-national study. Research protocol for the 2001/2002 survey. University of Edinburg, Scotland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dornbusch, S. M., Carlsmith, J., Bushwall, S., Ritter, P., Leiderman, P., Hastorf, A., & Gross, R. (1985). Single parents, extended households, and the control of adolescents. Child Development, 56, 326–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Due, P., Lynch, J., Holstein, B.E., & Modvig, J. (2003) Socioeconomic health inequalities among a nationally representative sample of Danish adolescents: the role of different types of social relations. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 57, 692–698.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eslea, M., Menesini, E., Morita, Y., O’Moore, M., Mora-Merchan, J. A., Pereira, B., Smith, P., & Wenxin, Z. (2004). Friendship and Loneliness among bullies and victims: Data from seven countries. Aggressive Behavior, 30, 71–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gottfredson, G. D., Gottfredson, D. C., Payne, A. A., & Gottfredson, N. C. (2005). School climate predictors of school disorder: Results from a National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 42, 412–444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Homas, G. C. (1961). Social behavior. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kivimäki, M., Ferrie, J. E., Brunner, E., Head, J., Shipley, M. J., Vahtera, J., & Marmot, M.G. (2005). Justice at Work and Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease Among Employees: The Whitehall II Study. Archives of International Medicine, 165, 2245–2251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kouvonen, A., Kivimaki, M., Elovainio, M., Vaananen, A., De Vogli, R., Heponiemi, T., Linna, A., Pentti, J., & Vahtera, J. (2008). Low organisational justice and heavy drinking: a prospective cohort study. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 65, 44–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R.S. (1966). Psychological stress and the coping process. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leventhal, G. S. (1980). What should be done with equity theory? In K. J. Gergen, M. S. Greenberg & R. H. Willis (Eds.), Social exchange: Advances in theory and research (pp. 27–55). New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagelkerke, N. J. D. (1991). A note on a general definition of the coefficient of determination. Biometrika, 78, 691–692.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nansel, T. R., Overpeck, M., Pilla, R. S., Ruan, W. J., Simons-Morton, B., & Scheidt, P. (2001). Bullying behaviors among US youth: Prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment. Journal of the American Medical Association, 285, 2094–2100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nation, M., Vieno, A., Perkins, D.D., & Santinello, M. (2008). Bullying in School and Adolescent Sense of Empowerment: An Analysis of Relationships with Parents, Friends, and Teachers. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 18, 211–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school: What we know, what we can do. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rudatsikira, E., Muula, A. S., Siziya, S. (2008). Variables associated with physical fighting among US high-school students. Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, 4, 1–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santinello, M., Vieno, A., & De Vogli, R. (2009). Primary Headache in Italian Early Adolescents: The Role of Perceived Teacher Unfairness. Headache, 49, 366–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skarlicki, D. P., & Folger, R. (1997). Retaliation in the workplace: The roles of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice. Journal of Applied Psychology, 821, 434–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, P. K. (2003). Violence in schools: the response in Europe. London: Routledge–Falmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2001). Using multivariate statistics (fourth ed.). Needham Heights: Allyn and Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, S. K. (1999). Sampling. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torsheim, T., & Wold, B. (2001). School-related stress, school support, and somatic complaints: a general population study. Journal of Adolescent Research, 16, 293–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torsheim, T., Wold, B., & Samdal, O. (2000). The Teacher and Classmate Support scale: Factor structure, test-retest reliability and validity in samples of 13- and 15-year-old adolescents. School Psychology International, 21, 195–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tyler, T. R., & Lind, E. A. (1992). A relational model of authority in groups. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 115–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ursin, H. (1997). Sensitization, somatization, and subjective health complaints. Interanational Journal of Behavavioral Medicine, 4, 105–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vieno, A., Perkins, D.D., Smith, T.M., & Santinello, M. (2005). Democratic school climate and sense of community in school: a multilevel analysis. American Journal of Community Psychology, 36, 327–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vieno, A., Santinello, M., Pastore, M., & Perkins, D. D. (2007). Social support, sense of community in school, and self-efficacy as resources during early adolescence: An integrative, developmentally oriented model. American Journal of Community Psychology, 39, 177–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson R. (2005). The impact of inequality: how to make sick societies healthier. New York: New Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

Data are part of the World Health Organization “Health Behavior of School-Aged Children” survey in Italy. International co-ordinator for the 2001/2002 study, Candace Currie, Edinburg University; Data Bank Manager, Bente Wold, Bergen University; and National co-ordinator, Franco Cavallo, University of Turin.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, via Belzoni 80, 35121, Padova, Italy

    Massimo Santinello & Alessio Vieno

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK

    Roberto De Vogli

Authors
  1. Massimo Santinello
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alessio Vieno
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Roberto De Vogli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alessio Vieno.

Additional information

Massimo Santinello. (Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova), via Belzoni, 80 35131 Padova, Italy. E-mail: massimo.santinello@unipd.it; Web site: http://dpss.psy.unipd.it/

Current themes of research:

His interests include health behaviours, social justice, and the development of prevention and health promotion programs.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Facci, S., Formentin, S., Santinello, M., & Vieno, A. (2010). La Teoria Dinamica dei Sistemi applicata al mondo della scuola. La scuola come sistema. Orientamenti Pedagogici, 57 (4), 609–617.

Santinello, M., Vieno, A., & De Vogli, R. (2009). Primary Headache in Italian Early Adolescents: The Role of Perceived Teacher Unfairness. Headache, 49, 366–374.

Cristini, F., Forcella, M.C., Santinello, M., Vieno, A., & Zuccaio, P. (2005). Evaluation of a peer education project: Alcohol use and alcohol related driving risk during adolescence. European Journal of School Psychology, 3, 271–291.

Santinello, M., & Vieno, A. (2003). Contributo all’adattamento italiano della Teacher-Child Rating Scale. Bollettino di Psicologia Applicata, 241, 37–43.

Alessio Vieno. (Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova), via Belzoni, 80 35131 Padova, Italy. E-mail: alessio.vieno@unipd.it; Web site: http://dpss.psy.unipd.it/

Current themes of research:

His research interests include social inequalities and social capital among adolescents, social justice, and research methodology (multilevel analyses).

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Vieno, A., Gini, G., & Santinello, M. (in press) Different forms of bullying and their association to smoking and drinking behavior in Italian adolescents. Journal of School Health

Nation, M., Vieno, A., Perkins, D.D., & Santinello, M. (2008). Bullying in School and Adolescent Sense of Empowerment: An Analysis of Relationships with Parents, Friends, and Teachers. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 18, 211–232.

Vieno, A., Perkins, D.D., Smith, T.M., & Santinello, M. (2005). Democratic School Climate and Sense of Community in School: A Multilevel Analysis. American Journal of Community Psychology, 36, 327–341.

Vieno, A. (2005). Creare comunità scolastica. Teorie e pratiche per migliorare il benessere psicosociale degli studenti. Milano: Unicopli.

Roberto De Vogli, Senior Lecturer. (Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London), 1–19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK. E-mail: r.devogli@ucl.ac.uk; Web site: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/slms/

Current themes of research:

The application of social epidemiological methods to study psychosocial factors and socioeconomic inequalities in health as well as the health effects of globalization and economic inequality in developed and developing countries. Recent interests regard the investigation of the multiple psychosocial pathways connecting globalization, inequality, and health using longitudinal cross-national data.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Santinello, M., Vieno, A. & De Vogli, R. Bullying in Italian schools: the role of perceived teacher unfairness. Eur J Psychol Educ 26, 235–246 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-010-0050-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-010-0050-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation