صدای از دست رفته: دیدگاه های والدین از زورگویی

Bullying is a complex phenomenon that is reported to be pervasive in many countries around the world (Harel-Fisch, et al., 2010; Hazler, Miller, Carney & Green, 2001; Mishna, Pepler, & Wiener, 2006). Although there is a considerable body of research on bullying, very little has been devoted to studying the perspectives of the parents of children involved. An ecological framework, whereby bullying dynamics are seen to extend beyond the children who are bullied, and include peers, teachers, the school, community, and parents (Atlas & Pepler, 1998; Mishna, Wiener, & Pepler, 2008), is essential to address the complexities involved in bullying. This study provides one of the first qualitative assessments of bullying based solely on the perceptions of parents of victimized children. In-depth interviews were conducted with parents whose children disclosed being victimized by their peers as identified by The Safe School Questionnaire (Pepler, Connolly, & Craig, 1993, adapted from Olweus, 1989). Interviews were conducted with 20 parents (2 fathers, 14 mothers, and 2 mother-father dyads). Themes that emerged included: 1) participants' definition of bullying and how they identify bullying behaviors; 2) parents' reactions to their child self-identifying as bullied; 3) parents' awareness of their child witnessing bullying incidents; 4) parents' descriptions of the effects being victimized has had on their child; 5) gender differences; 6) strategies parents suggested to respond to bullying; and 7) complexities regarding disclosure of bullying. The results of this exploratory research highlight that understanding parents' perceptions and conceptualizations is crucial to bullying research and intervention efforts, as parents' understanding of bullying undoubtedly impacts their recognition of bullying incidents and subsequent interventions.

1. Introduction A sad reality for many school-age children is victimization at the hands of their peers, since childhood bullying is a pervasive problem in many countries around the world (Harel-Fisch et al., 2010 and Hazler et al., 2001). Bullying can take many forms, including physical (e.g., hitting, spitting), verbal (e.g., threats, insults), social (e.g., social exclusion, gossip), and cyber-bullying (e.g., malicious messages spread through the Internet or cell phone) (Craig, Pepler, & Blais, 2007). Bullying can be direct (e.g., face-to-face) or indirect (e.g., malicious acts without confrontation such as social exclusion). All children must be protected from victimization, as the detrimental effects of bullying may pose a serious threat to children's healthy development (Nansel et al., 2001), and may have lasting effects that persist into adulthood (Olweus, 1993). Bullying is recognized as a relationship problem (Pepler et al., 2006), whereby power is asserted through aggression (Pepler & Craig, 2000). Power may be obtained by the child who bullies as a result of: individual characteristics such as size, strength, or age (Olweus, 1993); from knowledge of others' vulnerabilities (Sutton, Smith, & Swettenahm, 1999); or as a result of social advantages including strength in numbers or higher social status among peers (Craig et al., 2007). With repeated bullying, the power differential between the child who bullies and the child who is victimized becomes further entrenched (Craig & Pepler, 2003). As the power differential increases, children who are bullied are less able to defend themselves, and thus require the protection of adults. According to a systemic ecological framework, bullying dynamics extend beyond the children who bully or are bullied, and include peers, teachers, the school, parents/family, and community (Atlas and Pepler, 1998, Barboza et al., 2009, Cairns and Cairns, 1991, Germain and Bloom, 1999 and Mishna et al., 2008). There is a lack of research on the perceptions and understandings of parents of children who are bullied, with most research focusing on the children who are involved, including those who bully, are victimized, or who are bystanders. Of the little research that has centered on the adults involved in the child's life, much of the emphasis has been on the perspectives of teachers (Bernstein and Watson, 1997, Borg, 1998, Boulton, 1997, Flaspohler et al., 2009 and Mishna et al., 2005). The research that includes parents tends to focus on family characteristics such as attachment styles or parenting styles that may contribute to a child's victimization (Baldry and Farrington, 2000, Kaufmann et al., 2000, Ladd and Kochenderfer Ladd, 1998, Smith and Myron-Wilson, 1998 and Troy and Sroufe, 1987). Parents have also been included in research as informants, whereby they are asked to complete questionnaires about victimization on their child's behalf (Nordhagen, Nielsen, Stigum, & Kohler, 2005). Wang, Iannotti, and Nansel (2009) recently conducted a study examining four forms of school bullying (physical, verbal, relational, and cyber) and how each was associated with parental support. Findings revealed that positive parental behaviors protect adolescents from involvement in bullying others and in experiencing bullying victimization. Overall however, there is a considerable gap in bullying research with respect to understanding perspectives of parents regarding bullying. Thus, a qualitative design is necessary to create an opportunity for the voices of parents to be heard (Gilgun & Abrams, 2002). Qualitative methodology helps to capture the unique experiences and perspectives of the participants, and can provide information on the factors that influence how parents perceive bullying incidents (Mishna et al., 2008).

Parents are particularly important in helping children who experience bullying victimization. Although there is an abundance of bullying research focusing on children, there is a lack of research that includes parents to understand their perspectives. Adding to the knowledge base of parents' perspectives of bullying will increase our understanding of the factors that affect parents' ability to recognize and respond to bullying behaviors among school-aged children. Although identifying and responding to bullying are complex, it is crucial that the perceptions of parents be gathered in order to convey gaps or misconceptions. Bullying is by and large recognized as occurring within a broader social context. Since parents are highly influential in their child's lives, and are critical advocates in addressing their children's victimization experiences and protecting their children, it is crucial that research include them. All children have the right to feel safe at home, at school, and in the community (United Nations, 2008). It is thus essential that parents acknowledge the seriousness of childhood bullying, and learn how best to intervene in order to protect their child from victimization. Future research should include exploration of the perspectives of parents of children who bully.