Browsing by Subject "http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p11867"

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to examine what and in which ways the former victims of bullying write in their blogs about bullying and about bullying in respect of change. The aim was to focus on what issues the former victims of bullying bring forward, how they interpret and explain their experiences and how they have coped with bullying. By studying the experiences of the victims of bullying, it is possible to obtain new information on bullying and on how to help the victims of bullying. Methods. The material of this study consisted of four blogs written by victims of school bullying. In their blogs they wrote stories of their experiences of being bullied. I studied the stories from a narrative perspective. The study was based on the idea that with narratives or stories people make their lives and experiences comprehensible and give them meaning. Results and conclusions. The victims of bullying wrote how they had been bullied and reflected on the causes of bullying. They felt that they had not obtained sufficient social support, especially from the teachers and the school staff. According to the stories, bullying had changed their lives mostly for the worse and had had negative consequences for a long time after the bullying had stopped. The bullying experiences were also associated with the experience of a lack of change; bullying had not stopped, no one had intervened and the means to stop bullying had failed. The victims of bullying wrote that they hoped that their situation would change. They hoped that they could let go of the past and recover from the consequences of the bullying. The results of the study were consistent with previous research on school bullying and bullying experiences. On the basis of this study, it is important to note that the attempts to intervene with bullying are often ineffective and they do not completely stop bullying. It is also necessary to ensure that the victims of bullying receive the social support they need both in and outside of the school, as well as during and after the time they have been bullied.