Psychological Study or Intervention Program Among School Children - Research Paper Example

Greif, Furlong, and Morrison (2003) define bullying as the systematic abuse of power. Greif and co-workers deal with the topic by operationally defining bullying, and according to them, there will always be power relationships in social groups, by virtue of strength or size or ability, the force of personality, and/or by sheer numbers or recognised hierarchy (Greif, Furlong, and Morrison, 2003). Power can be abused; the exact definition of what constitutes abuse will depend on the social and cultural context, but if the abuse is systematic—repeated and deliberate—bullying seems a good name to describe it.

There have been many definitions in the literature (Bauer et al, 2007, 266-274); however, one that is most persuasive is that by Farrington (1993), an English criminologist. He defined it as: ‘Repeated oppression, psychological or physical, of a less powerful person by a more powerful person' (Farrington, 1993, 17). This perhaps refers to the "willful, conscious desire to hurt or threaten or frighten someone else" (Johnson, Munn, and Edwards, 1991) of a single person, but most often bullying is done in groups so it can better be defined as "Bullying is repeated oppression, psychological or physical, of a less powerful person by a more powerful person or group of persons" which is "more of an attitude than an act" (Besag, 1989, 7).

Bullying can occur in many contexts, including the workplace and the home; it is particularly likely to be a problem in social groups with clear power relationships and low supervision, such as the armed forces, prisons and also schools.