The comparison of self-understanding developmental levels among adolescent bullies and normal peers

Abstract

In the scope of behavioral research, examining the role of developmental and cognitive factors on bullying behaviors has been emphasized. However, there is no comparative study to investigate self-understanding among adolescent bullies and normal peers. The present study aimed to compare the developmental levels of self-understanding (self-as-subject and self-as-object) in adolescent bullies and normal peers. In a causal-comparative design, 120 adolescents were chosen by multi-stage cluster random sampling and screening method. Olweus Bullying Scale (1996), self-understanding interview and teachers' nominations were used to gather the data. The results of Chi squares test showed that in self-as- object domain, referring to physical and active schemas were more in adolescent bullies (χ2 = 60.94, p0.01), distinctness (χ2 = 43.42 , P>0.01) and volition(χ2 = 9.08 , P>0.01) were higher in normal adolescents than bullies. Implications of this study regarding the developmental role of self-understanding in bullying behaviors on one hand and planning intervention programs based on adolescents’ developmental aspects on the other hand are considered..

Keywords

• developmental levels
• self-understanding
• bullying