Teachers’ perceptions of bullying among youth

A series of 48 vignettes of bullying was constructed by crossing (a) four kinds of social contact (physical aggression, verbal aggression, relational aggression, and non-aggression) with (b) male and female bullies, (c) male and female and victims, and (d) reaction of the victim (aggressive, passive, and no reaction). Teachers rated vignettes for seriousness. Physical aggression was perceived as more serious than any other kind of bullying, and vignettes that depicted female bullies and male victims were perceived as least serious across all kinds of bullying. Results are discussed in terms of applied implications for teachers in school settings and directions for future research.