A Psychosocial View of Mental Illness: An Introduction

Abstract

Bullying presents a significant social distress for students, families and schools. Concerned practitioners and researchers are invested in developing interventions to decrease the frequency and negative impact of bullying. To do so, however, understanding the cast of characters in the bullying drama is critical. This paper reviews selected research on characteristics of bullies, victims and bystanders from a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches. The implications of these characteristics for effective interventions is considered. The role of socio-economic factors is presented, and their relevance for communities and policy makers discussed.