About 2% of students in Cyprus have a delinquent personality, they are aggressive and bully both peers and teachers, according to the latest results of the government’s school violence survey.
Moreover, their violent behavior is not restricted to school only, the survey which was supervised by University of Cyprus psychology professor Kostas Fantis also shows.
Presented on Monday, the survey also indicated that teachers are also subjected to violence: from students (average overall rate = 26.8%) and from parents (average overall rate = 16.3%).
The most common form is teacher defamation, with 15% of parents saying they had been insulted or humiliated by teachers.
And three in 10 children said they had been insulted or humiliated by a teacher.
In addition, one in 10 children were marginalised by peers who either avoided, ignored, excluded and/or ridiculed them.
Children who were marginalized were more likely to experience victimization, reduced quality of life and aggression towards them.
Student groups were categorized as:
—Supporters (25%) – Co-phobia: They do not cause the aggressive behaviour but help the perpetrator to humiliate the victim, laugh at the victim and/or encourage the perpetrator to continue.
—Passive bystanders (57%): inactive / Pretend they did not notice anything and stay close to where the fight is taking place and just watch the incident.
—Defenders (18%): Comfort the victim and rush to help.
—A smaller percentage of perpetrators victimize a large percentage of students.
—Girls appear to be at greater risk of victimization, particularly in relationships.
—One in five adolescents is a victim of cyberbullying – a figure that corresponds closely to European data.
