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“We were Sad and We were Angry”: A Systematic Review of Parents’ Perspectives on Bullying

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Abstract

Background

The social-ecological systems perspective describes bullying as a complex social phenomenon, influenced by numerous social variables within a child’s school, home, peer, and community environments. As such, it is important to gain the perspective of a wide range of stakeholders within these environments, in order to truly understand bullying and develop effective prevention and intervention programmes.

Objective

Parents’ experiences with bullying remain relatively unexplored. Accordingly, this systematic review aimed to summarise qualitative research examining parents’ experiences with and perceptions of bullying.

Methods

Electronic searches were conducted in the PsycINFO, Education Resources Information Center, ProQuest, A+ Education, and Academic Search Premier databases; reference lists and specific journals were also searched. Selected studies were read thoroughly, and the main findings were categorised into common themes.

Results

Thirteen studies were identified to be included in the review. Six themes emerged: (1) variation in parents’ definitions of bullying, (2) the perception of bullying as normal, and a tendency to blame victims, (3) parents’ strategies for coping with bullying, (4) the negative effects of bullying, (5) issues of disclosure, awareness and support, and (6) the question of responsibility for dealing with bullying.

Conclusions

Parents’ experiences with bullying are varied and diverse. However, parents consistently expressed the need for targeted information and guidelines on how to deal with bullying. Furthermore, greater awareness and understanding of bullying among parents is necessary, along with the acknowledgement of shared responsibility for bullying, and greater collaboration between schools and families.

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Acknowledgments

This review was partially funded through Victoria University of Wellington’s Summer Scholarship scheme, in the form of a grant awarded to the first author.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Victoria University of Wellington, Donald Street, Karori, Wellington, 6012, New Zealand

    Susan Harcourt & Vanessa A. Green

  2. University of Otago, 21 Mein Street, Newtown, Wellington, 6242, New Zealand

    Marieke Jasperse

  3. School of Educational Psychology and Pedagogy, Victoria University of Wellington, Karori Campus, P. O. Box 17-310, Wellington, New Zealand

    Vanessa A. Green

Authors
  1. Susan Harcourt
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  2. Marieke Jasperse
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  3. Vanessa A. Green
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vanessa A. Green.

Appendices

Appendix 1

Included Studies

  1. 1.

    Brown, J. R. (2010). Trajectories of parents’ experiences in discovering, reporting, and living with the aftermath of middle school bullying. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (UMI No. 3409133)

  2. 2.

    Cassidy, W., Brown, K., & Jackson, M. (2012). “Making kind cool”: Parents’ suggestions for preventing cyber bullying and fostering cyber kindness. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 46, 415–436. doi: 10.2190/EC.46.4.f

  3. 3.

    Clarke, V., Kitzinger, C., & Potter, J. (2004). ‘Kids are just cruel anyway’: Lesbian and gay parents’ talk about homophobic bullying. The British Journal of Social Psychology, 43(4), 531–550.

  4. 4.

    Harvey, K. L. (2009). A content analysis: Exploring parents’ discourse about bullying as posted on blogs. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (UMI No. 3367234)

  5. 5.

    Humphrey, G., & Crisp, B. R. (2008). Bullying affects us too: Parental responses to bullying at kindergarten. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 33(1), 45–49.

  6. 6.

    Kirves, L., & Sajaniemi, N. (2012). Bullying in early educational settings. Early Child Development and Care, 182, 383–400. doi: 10.1080/03004430.2011.646724

  7. 7.

    Mark, L. K. (2009). Student, educator and parent perceptions of cyberbullying in three Hawai’i middle schools. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (UMI No. 1468496)

  8. 8.

    Mishna, F. (2004). A qualitative study of bullying from multiple perspectives. Children & Schools, 26(4), 234–247.

  9. 9.

    Mishna, F., Pepler, D., & Wiener, J. (2006). Factors associated with perceptions and responses to bullying situations by children, parents, teachers, and principals. Victims and Offenders: An International Journal of Evidence-based Research, Policy, and Practice, 1, 255–288. doi: 10.1080/15564880600626163

  10. 10.

    Mishna, F., Wiener, J., & Pepler, D. (2008). Some of my best friends: Experiences of bullying within friendships. School Psychology International, 29, 549–573. doi: 10.1177/0143034308099201

  11. 11.

    Purcell, A. (2012). A qualitative study of perceptions of bullying in Irish primary schools. Educational Psychology in Practice: Theory, Research and Practice in Educational Psychology, 28, 273–285. doi: 10.1080/02667363.2012.684343

  12. 12.

    Sawyer, J-L., Mishna, F., Pepler, D., & Wiener, J. (2011). The missing voice: Parents’ perspectives of bullying. Children and Youth Services Review, 33, 1795–1803. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.05.010

  13. 13.

    Zaklama, C. (2003). The bullying spectrum in grade schools: Parents, teachers, child bullies and their victims. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (UMI No. MQ98846)

Appendix 2

Excluded Studies [and Reasons for Exclusion]

  1. 1.

    Rawana, J. S., Norwood, S. J., & Whitley, J. (2011). A mixed-method evaluation of a strength-based bullying prevention program. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 26, 283–300. doi: 10.1177/0829573511423741 [minimal data from parents; focus on programme evaluation]

  2. 2.

    Sciutto, M., Richwine, S., Mentrikoski, J., & Niedzwiecki, K. (2012). A qualitative analysis of the school experiences of students with Asperger syndrome. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 27, 177–188. doi: 10.1177/1088357612450511 [bullying not a primary focus]

  3. 3.

    Yildiz, M., Yildirim, K., Ates, S., & Rasinski, T. (2012). Perceptions of Turkish parents with children identified as dyslexic about the problems that they and their children experience. Reading Psychology, 33, 399–422. doi:10.1080/02702711.2010.515907 [bullying not a primary focus]

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Harcourt, S., Jasperse, M. & Green, V.A. “We were Sad and We were Angry”: A Systematic Review of Parents’ Perspectives on Bullying. Child Youth Care Forum 43, 373–391 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-014-9243-4

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