Graduate Program

Family and Consumer Studies

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Semester of Degree Completion

2008

Thesis Director

Lisa Taylor

Thesis Committee Member

Melissa Meadows

Thesis Committee Member

Kathleen O'Rourke

Thesis Committee Member

David Bartz

Abstract

Bullying and victimization increased tremendously over the past 2 decades and are presently one of the most enduring and underrated problems in U.S. schools. Much of the research available on bullying has focused primarily on males; however, recently, research has shown that females are just as likely as males to engage in bullying behaviors. Unfortunately, female bullying occurs quite frequently, yet remains unrecognized because it is often overlooked. Females tend to prefer more indirect forms of bullying behaviors in order to keep it anonymous. The focus of the current research was to examine the nature and frequency of female bullying behaviors, the characteristics of victims that are targeted by females, and coping mechanisms of females that have been bullied. A self-report questionnaire was designed by the researcher and was distributed to 374 female Midwestern University students. Results indicated that 70.3% of the participants had been aggressive toward a peer and 92% had been a victim of a peer's aggression. Verbal aggression was the most common form used by participants, followed closely by relational aggression. The characteristics most often seen in victims of participants' aggression were sarcasm, difference from peers, cynicism, low self-esteem and displaying too much emotion. Findings indicated that victims of aggression in this study coped with their experiences by holding in their emotions, keeping issues to themselves, or changing their peer group. Results from this research have implications for school administrators and policymakers alike.

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