Bullying in Secondary Education: Social Position, School Context, and Intervention Development

Bullying is the repeated and intentional hurting of someone who cannot (or can no
longer) properly defend themselves. Bullying can be relational, physical, verbal,
material, or digital in nature. Bullying is often strategic behavior related to students’
status. In secondary schools, bullying is a persistent problem (3.5–10% of students
are bullied) with major consequences for young people’s well-being.

This dissertation aims to gain more insight into how bullying in secondary education
can be addressed effectively. The first part examines how bullying behavior
develops within secondary education and how this relates to students’ social
position. The second part focuses on the context in which anti-bullying programs are
implemented. For this purpose, the staff culture of primary and secondary schools is
compared. The third part explores the theoretical foundation of GRIPP (GRoup
Forming, Identity, and bullying Prevention Program) and evaluates this new anti-
bullying program. Together, these three components provide a broader and more in-depth
understanding of bullying processes, school context, and interventions, with the aim
of developing better substantiated and more effective strategies to combat bullying
in secondary education.