The parallel culture of bullying in Polish secondary schools: A grounded theory study

Bullying is a universal phenomenon observed in all schools worldwide, with as many as 35% of students being involved in bullying. Group context is crucial for understanding and preventing bullying, as peers are often present in bullying situations and have key roles in maintaining, preventing, or stopping it. The aims of this study were to investigate school bullying as a social phenomenon in Poland and to understand how Polish adolescents perceive, discuss, and make sense of bullying in their communities.

I carried out fieldwork at three public secondary schools in a city in southern Poland, and conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 26 students aged 16/17 (16 girls, 10 boys). I used the grounded theory approach to analyze the data, as it offered an opportunity for deeper understanding of adolescents' social context and culture, with intragroup interactions playing a central role.

The results suggest that a parallel culture of bullying at the micro level is created at these schools, which includes norms; a multi-stage process of victim creation; and rituals confirming the victim's status, group coherence, and other students' attitudes and roles in the bullying. In terms of policy implications, the findings suggest that it could prove beneficial to plan anti-bullying programs with adolescents themselves, as they could clarify the contexts, situations, or triggers that might lead to bullying.