Bully popular in high school
In high school, students who bully are popular. Behavioral scientist Loes Pouwels concludes this in her doctoral research into bullying.
Image: Over the line (Challenge Day)
Pouwels' research shows that bullying is common in secondary school. 10 to 15 percent of the students indicate that they are victims of bullying. According to classmates, more than 30 percent are a bully, an 'assistant' or a bullying encouragement.
Status
In the newspaper de Gelderlander Pouwels explains that bullying gives students status. 'By behaving aggressively you show that you set your own rules. Then you feel great. You decide what happens in the group and who belongs and who doesn't. Bullies often know exactly who to take from the group.'
Calling bullies to order actually makes students less popular, according to her analysis. 'Students justify it by pointing out negative characteristics of the victim. The bullies also disapprove of them less, precisely because they are popular.'
Questionnaires
Pouwels distributed questionnaires to more than 2000 secondary school students and 500 primary school students. She examined the social status and popularity of students and the different roles they played in the bullying. She will defend her PhD at Radboud University on 18 January. read here more about the research.
