Peer victimisation: Strategies to decrease bullying in schools

In recent years, school nurses have become increasingly aware of the adverse effects of bullying in the primary and secondary school setting. Victims of bullying exhibit a wide range of both physical and psychological symptoms and report significantly more unexplained psychosomatic symptoms than those who are not bullied. It has been suggested that children who perceive a school climate as negative report a higher incidence of bullying than children in those schools with a positive school climate. Therefore, nurses in schools with a negative school climate may be significantly more likely to encounter students with unexplained psychosomatic symptoms than nurses in schools with a positive school climate. School nurses are in a unique position to help identify the victims and perpetrators. School nurses can play a major role in identifying, counseling and protecting the victims of bullying.