• Prominent external appearance-based features; problems with reading/speech; illnesses; social background; being a newcomer, factors
• Implementing targeted interventions/prevention progs. at school level; strengthening counselling, access to psychosocial support services, among recommendations

Factors contributing to the bullying-based victimisation of students include prominent features of the external appearance, problems with reading and speech, suffering from illnesses, the social background, and being a newcomer. Therefore, targeted interventions and prevention programmes should be planned and implemented at the school level while strengthening counselling and access to services providing psychosocial support for adolescent victims at every level.

These findings and recommendations were made in an original research article on ‘Factors contributing to in-school bullying-based victimisation among early adolescents – Focus group discussions’, which was authored by D.S. Rupananda (attached to the Health Ministry’s Directorate of Mental Health) and D.S. Dissanayake (attached to the Peradeniya University’s Medical Faculty’s Community Medicine Department) and published in the Journal of the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka’s 29th volume’s fourth issue in December, 2023. 

Bullying is a common phenomenon among peers worldwide. D. Olweus’s ‘Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do’ defines it as a specific form of aggression which is intentional, repeated over time, to bring negative actions on a part of one or more persons, and involves a disparity of power between the perpetrators and victims. The imbalance of power can be derived from physical strength, social status in the group or from the group size (e.g., a group targeting a single person). Power may also be achieved, as observed in E. Menesini and C. Salmivalli’s ‘Bullying in schools: The state of knowledge and effective interventions’, through knowing a person’s vulnerabilities (e.g., appearance, learning problem, family situation, personal characteristics) and using this knowledge to harm him/her. Therefore, owning disparities which contribute to a power imbalance may predispose adolescents to bullying-based victimisation.

Cultural factors, social inequalities, and living in countries with wide socioeconomic disparities were found in a Kuwaiti study to place adolescents at a higher risk of being bullied. Being of a young age (per studies conducted in the US, Malaysia, Egypt, and Taiwan), being of the male sex (per M.D. Stasio’s ‘Exploring the relationship between classroom characteristics, student characteristics and bullying and victimisation in junior high school’, and a Chinese study), having an abnormal external physical appearance (a Brazilian study), and negative personal behaviours (a study in Thailand) are found to have positive associations with bullying-related victimisation. Positive peer relationships (per P.R. Smokowski, K.L. Cotter, C. Robertson, and S. Guo’s ‘Demographic, psychological and school environment correlates bully victimisation and school hassles in rural youth’), a supportive neighbourhood and a favourable school and home environment are negatively associated with bullying-based victimisation. 

Bullying-based victimisation is a traumatic event for a majority of students and they are reluctant to come out with their personal experiences. J.F. Sigurdson, A.M. Undheim, J.L. Wallander, S. Lydersen, and A.M. Sund’s ‘The long-term effects of being bullied or a bully in adolescence on externalising and internalising mental health problems in adulthood’ and D. Cornell, A. Gregory, and F. Huang’s ‘Perceived prevalence of teasing and bullying predicts high school dropout rates’ show the occurrence of undesirable consequences such as future psychological illnesses and school dropouts following in-school bullying-based victimisation. 

Rupananda et al. conducted six focus group discussions in six schools in one educational zone of the Kegalle District from January to March, 2019. Schools in Sri Lanka are classified into four main categories, namely Type 1AB schools which have all four subject streams in the General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level (A/L) classes (Science, Commerce, Arts, and Technology); Type 1C schools which have Commerce and Arts subject streams in A/L classes; and Type 2 schools which include classes up to the GCE Ordinary Level. Two schools from each type of school were randomly selected from the list of all schools in the educational zone using a random number table. One girls-only school, one boys-only school and four mixed schools were included. Students of Grade Eight classes (approximately 13-year-old children) of each selected school were invited to participate in the study. 

Results

A total of 62 students in Grade Eight classes participated. The majority was male students (34/54.8%). All the students were Sinhala Buddhists except two. The majority of their parents was involved in employment in the informal sector such as manual work, farming, driving, and other semi-skilled work (other occupations were managers; senior officials and legislators; professionals; technicians and associate professionals; clerks and clerical support workers; service and sales workers; skilled agriculture workers; craft and related trade workers; plant and machine operators and assemblers; elementary occupations; armed forces occupations and unidentified occupations). Five major themes were identified concerning the factors associated with bullying-based victimisation, namely the external appearance (the nature of the hair, skin and complexion, dentition, wearing spectacles, and extremes of the body mass index [BMI]), speech- and reading-related problems (stammering, problems with articulation, and difficulties in reading and writing), suffering from illnesses (chronic medical illnesses such as epilepsy and asthma, and behavioural problems), features in the social background (the occupation of the parents, the living environment, and having a single parent) and being a newcomer to school (admission after the Grade Five Scholarship Examination, and lateral entry).

External appearance

One of the main factors associated with bullying-based victimisation was the external appearance of the student. Students with inherited prominent external features become highlighted among the other students. Those students become victims of other students targeting the specific feature of the external appearance. Sometimes, the process of bullying starts with verbal victimisation and goes on continuously, involving other different types of bullying such as physical and relational victimisation. Some students make an effort to conceal the external features to minimise being targeted by others, but the majority fail to do so. Students who have specific characteristics in their hair reported their victimisation experiences. Male student: “My friends call me ‘iththewa (porcupine/hedgehog)’, because my hair is too straight and difficult to handle. Sometimes, they pull my hair from the back.” Female student: “My friends tease me by calling me ‘pokutu (curly)’, as my hair is too curly. Male students throw small paper balls, chewing gum towards my hair, because they easily remain inside my hair, and they laugh at me.” Students with various features related to the skin and complexion mentioned their unpleasant personal experiences of victimisation. Male student: “I have hairy skin, so my friends call me ‘walas (bear) mama (uncle)’. Sometimes, they laugh at me in the presence of girls at school. I can’t wear long trousers to school to cover my legs until Grade 10.” Male student: “My colleagues call me ‘kane mayil (hairy ears)’, because both of my ear lobes have excessive hair growth. So, I try to shave, but it is not practical. It hurts me a lot.” Female student: “Colleagues in the class call me ‘mahasoni (devil)’, because I have a very dark complexion. Sometimes, they leave me out of their clique, and some, in certain situations, don’t allow me to attend special events.” Some revealed their traumatic experiences related to abnormal dentition and maxillary (of or attached to a jaw or jawbone, especially the upper jaw) facial problems. Female student: “My mother, my elder sister, and all in our family including me have protruded teeth and upper jaw. Boys in our class call me ‘bollewi (protruded jaw)’. When I am walking in the corridor, they used to move to the side, saying that my teeth may hit them. It is really embarrassing to me.” Students wearing external aids for disabilities easily become the target for the verbal bullying of other students. Peers tend to remove the devices forcefully to make the victim more uncomfortable and helpless. Therefore, students with physical disabilities become a target of other students in several ways. One male student expressed his experience on wearing spectacles and the harassment faced in daily life: “I can’t see without my spectacles. So, I wear it all the time even during playtime. Some children call me ‘kannadi polanga (snake wearing glasses)’. When playing, they remove my spectacles and hit me from behind. They know that I can’t work without my spectacles. I have some friends who would help me to get my spectacles back.” Students who are overweight or obese are vulnerable to becoming victims of bullying. Such students have restricted physical activities and movements during daily life. Sometimes, they can’t perform in the optimum capability in sporting activities. Underweight students usually have a small body structure and are physically weaker than other children. It develops a power imbalance with other students which leads to becoming a victim. Two students reported their experiences of victimisation. Female student: “They call me ‘bathali (fat girl)’, and sometimes they keep me out from their play group. They say that they can’t win the game with me as I can’t move fast.” Male student: “Boys in our class call me ‘ginikoora (matchstick)’ as I am so thin. So, I try my best to eat a lot to become fatter.” 

Problems with reading and speech

Students having various forms of deficiencies in speech and reading face undesirable consequences which affect their academic work and social life. Due to the difficulty in reading and the articulation of words, they can’t express their ideas and communicate well with teachers and colleagues. Therefore, they become highlighted among the other students. Sometimes, they are ridiculed, which ends up as derogatory behaviour. Frequent teasing and victimisation affect academic performance, precipitating school withdrawal. One observer came out with his experience related to the victimisation of a colleague who stammered: “He stammers a lot when talking and reading. Because of this, he takes some time to complete a sentence and express his ideas. Many children laugh at him. Sometimes, they make unacceptable noises when he is reading or talking. Finally, he cries. Most of the time, he keeps quiet in classroom lessons.” One female student reported her experience on the victimisation of another female student who is having a problem in articulation: “Her reading is a little different from us. She articulates ‘n’ instead of ‘t’. It is highlighted when she is speaking or reading in the class. The boys tease her saying that she is having a nasal voice.” Another female student mentioned her experience related to a female student who is unable to read and write properly: “She is a senior student in our class and couldn’t perform well to be promoted to the next senior class. She can’t read and write properly and she doesn’t know common English words. But, she is very innocent and helpful. Most of the colleagues leave her out of their friend circles. She is always referred to as a stupid girl.”

Suffering from illnesses

Students suffering from chronic medical conditions, as noted in W.G. Mitchell, J.M. Chavez, H. Lee, and B.L. Guzman’s ‘Academic underachievement in children with epilepsy’, S. Moonie, D.A. Sterling, L.W. Figgs, and M. Castro’s ‘The relationship between school absence, academic performance, and asthma status’, C. Crump, D. Rivera, R. London, M. Landau, B. Erlendson, and E. Rodriguez’s ‘Chronic health conditions and school performance among children and youth’, and C.B. Forrest, K.B. Bevans, A.W. Riley, R. Crespo, and T.A. Louis’s ‘Health and school outcomes during children’s transition into adolescence’, have a diminished capacity to perform appropriately in academic work. Students with chronic health conditions such as epilepsy and asthma miss school sessions more than those without any such condition. School absenteeism is associated with lower academic achievements which precipitates a division with other students. Sometimes, the disease itself (such as asthma) restricts their physical performance, leading to being marginalised within play groups. One student revealed the story of a student with epilepsy: “He has been getting fits since a young age and is on treatment. His academic performance is below average. Usually, boys call him ‘walippuwa (epileptic)’. Sometimes, he cries when others tease him.” One female student reported her experience and views on her asthma status: “I am an asthmatic. I get exacerbations with exertion and with exercise. I can’t play for a long time as I get wheezing attacks. I like to play with others at least for a little while, but my friends leave me out of the play group.” One student expressed his views on a student with a behavioural problem and who is frequently victimised by peers: “He is a restless boy in our class. It is very difficult for him to stay in one place in the class. He used to hit others and pull the belongings of others. So, others usually pull from his hair and hit him back. Actually, his behaviour can’t be tolerated sometimes. So, he receives punishment from teachers as well.”

Features in the social background

Interactions among students coming from different socio-economic backgrounds precipitate a gap due to social inequalities which predispose them into bullying behaviour. The most common interaction is addressing the parental occupation. Specific occupations which have a direct contact with the community are more prone to be subjected to victimisation verbally and relationally, to some extent. Many students came out with their experiences of verbal victimisation by peer students. All of them were bullied with words or norms based on their fathers’ occupation. “My father is a fish monger, so my friends tease me with various names such as ‘kunu maalu (rotten fish)’ or ‘jaadi (salted fish)’. It hurts me a lot.” “My father is the owner of a village bakery, so, my friends call me ‘bakkare (baker)’.”“My father is a village development officer in a nearby town. My colleagues call me ‘Samurdhi’.” “My father is the village postman. So, they call me ‘piyum mama (postman)’.” Some students mentioned that they were bullied verbally, referring to their living place. “Our home is situated close to a river tank in the village. So, they call me by various names and statements related to it. Some of them are very hurtful.” “We live in a housing scheme which is donated by the Government following a landslide. So, people refer to it as the ‘colaniya (colony)’. As I am coming from that area, students make unnecessary jokes related to my living place. Actually, it is a headache for me.” One male student who lives with his mother expressed his experiences emotionally: “My father was an Army soldier and he passed away during the war. At that time, I was very small and can’t remember him very well. Some colleagues laugh at me sometimes, referring to that I don’t have my father. Then, I fight with them and sometimes I hit them as well.”

Being a newcomer

Students who enter a new school face many issues related to their relationships with the other students. It takes time to get used to their new environment and to develop new relationships. Until such time, they may become victims of bullying. Two female students revealed their experience of bullying based on their school entry: “I got high marks at the Grade Five Scholarship Examination and entered this school. With me, there are five new entrants. Students who have been in the school since Grade One marginalise us. They laugh at us saying ‘girls from the countryside’. They don’t share food with us and don’t allow us to interact with their friends.” “I entered this school at Grade Seven. I didn’t have friends in the classroom. Usually, they keep me out of group activities. I feel very sad about it.”

Discussion

The study reveals that many individual factors such as prominent features of the external appearance, problems with reading and speech, suffering from illnesses, family related factors and school related factors were contributing to bullying-based victimisation. These findings reflect some sensitive contributory factors among victims which need personal-level interventions and psychological support. Different features in the external appearance such as hairy skin, curled or straight hair and dark complexion make an adolescent more vulnerable for victimisation, creating an imbalance of power achieved through one’s vulnerabilities and using this knowledge to harm the victim. S.J. Senanayake, S. Gunawardena, S. Wickramasinghe, C. Wickramasinghe, N. Gunawardena, and A. Lokubalasooriya’s ‘Prevalence and correlates of interpersonal violence among in-school adolescents in Sri Lanka: Results from the 2016 Sri Lankan Global School Based Health Survey 2018’ and R.R. Rech, R. Halpern, A. Tedesco and D.F. Santos’s ‘Prevalence and characteristics of victims and perpetrators of bullying’ reported that students who were dissatisfied with their body image or were having physical disabilities have significant levels of bullying-based victimisation. This may lead to submissiveness, feeling insecure about themselves, being physically weak and being rejected by the peer group. Being overweight or obese is commonly identified as a significant factor associated with bullying-based victimisation. B. Lee, S. Jeong and M. Roh’s ‘Association between BMI and health outcomes among adolescents: The mediating role of traditional and cyber bullying-based victimisation’ has shown that it has direct effects on both physical and psychological victimisation among youth.

The victimisation of students who have chronic medical illnesses is consistent. Also, per a US study, frequent hospital admissions may interfere with routine academic activities of such students, leading to poor academic performances, which could further aggravate victimisation.

B. Jablonska and L. Lindberg’s ‘Risk behaviours, victimisation, and mental distress among adolescents in different family structures’ and a Saudi Arabian study revealed that adolescents with single parents were at higher risk of being victims of bullying than adolescents who had both parents.

The presence of a single parent may also coincide with a poor psychosocial environment, leading to psychological distress and further reduction in the coping skills of the victim. A wide variation in socio-economic disparities and social inequalities can be observed among Government school adolescents in Sri Lanka. The low social and financial status of the household, and the mental and physical ill-health of a parent are a few known correlates of children’s negative outcomes. Disparities in the living environment and parental occupation make them more vulnerable to become a target of other students. The fun-seeking tendency has been identified as an important predictor of bullying in Asian countries (per a Korean study), so that they bully others specifically in situations according to the social status of the victim’s family.

Adapting to a new school environment is based on social interactions, communication skills and the resilience of the students. According to D. Espelage and S. Swearer’s ‘Research on school bullying and victimisation: What have we learned and where do we go from here’, the dominance theory explains the bullying behaviour in early adolescence as a renegotiation of their dominance-related relationships, and bullying is viewed as a factor that helps adolescents attain dominance in newly formed peer groups. Children and adolescents tend to organise themselves in social hierarchies and compete for access to their peers with socially aggressive behaviours such as spreading rumours or social exclusion. Classroom hierarchy is also associated with bullying behaviour: there is more bullying in highly hierarchical classrooms, where peer status (such as popularity) or power (who typically decides about things) is centred upon a few individuals rather than being evenly distributed. Students who have been in the school for a longer time can be assumed to have more power and popularity compared to the students who enter late. Any vulnerability associated with the socio-economic background of new students also contributes to them becoming victims.

D. Rupananda, D. Dissanayake, and A. Lokubalasooriya’s ‘A school based intervention to reduce bullying among adolescents – Experience from a rural setting in Sri Lanka’ revealed the utilisation of a system for reporting victimisation incidents and seeking counselling and psychological support. The current School Health National Programme in Sri Lanka has introduced a school-based activity plan on psychosocial health promotion in which addressing bullying is a main concern.

If you feel that you or someone you know may be affected by this content or may require help, the following institutions would assist you: 

The National Institute of Mental Health: 1926 

Sri Lanka Sumithrayo: 0112 682 535 

Courage Compassion Commitment (CCC) Foundation: 1333