Insights into Bullying and Verbal Aggressiveness through Social Network Analysis

Abstract

Aim of this research is to reveal social structures, typologies and determinants of verbal aggressiveness and bullying. Five students' networks from various Higher Education departments in Thessaly, Greece (Physical Education, Veterinary, Business Administration) (total nodes N = 245) have been examined by Social Network Analysis and conventional statistics in 2017. Main results: Rudeness relations are denser at the Physical Education department due to the intensity and pressure of corporal exercise. Social exclusion seems to be much more common practice. Hurting necessitates particularly intensive conditions while deriding, rudeness and threatening are compatible with any action of bullying. The offenders tend to practice simultaneously bullying and verbal aggressiveness but often against different targets. Various levels of victimization are diagnosed through selectiveness in strategies of offense. Obesity often constitutes a reason of depreciation. Education values stimulate respectfulness rather than aggressive jealousness. Ambitiousness, travelling experience, social selectiveness based on criteria of intellectual, encyclopedic qualifications or politeness also prevent verbal aggressiveness. Female students seem to be more invulnerable. Bullying seems to be reciprocal and diachronic. Verbal aggressiveness seems to conceal a presumption of corporal aggressiveness. Especially, ambitiousness in the scientific arena or the high education level of father seems to encourage practicing verbal aggressiveness.

Machiavellianism in Universities: Perceiving Exploitation in Student Networks

“…work analysis [16] [17] [18] [19]. In a similar way, Machiavellianism can also be analyzed as a network of exploiting and imposing relations.…”

Islamic vigilantism and women in social media

“…Although verbal aggressiveness has often been positioned into the interpersonal domain, it is quite common in group communication as well (Anderson & Martin, 1999). Netizens frequently display verbal aggressiveness in SNSs (Bekiari & Pachi, 2017) which subsequently leads to communication dissatisfaction (Anderson & Rancer, 2007). Four probable reasons can be postulated those may cause verbal aggressiveness: psychopathology, disdain for other, social learning of aggression, and deficiency in argumentative skills (Littlejohn & Foss, 2009).…”

RISE 9(1) Full Issue

“…o el estudio de la relación entre el sentimiento de pertenencia y el rendimiento académico de dichos jóvenes. Infante and Wigley (1986) depict verbal aggressiveness as attack on individual's self-concept causing unpredictable psychological pain and constant negative outcomes (Infante & Rancer, 1996;Bekiari, Kokaridas, & Sakellariou, 2005;Bekiari, Digelidis, & Sakellariou, 2006;Bekiari et al 2006;Bekiari, 2012;Bekiari, Perkos, & Gerodimos, 2015;Syrmpas & Bekiari, 2018), considering character attacks, threats, insults, sarcasm, yelling, profanity and belittling to be certain examples (Rancer & Avtig, 2006;Avtgis & Rancer, 2010). However, they have focused only on verbal aggressiveness considering it just from a psychometric (self-perceptional) and not structural (socially incorporated) point of view.…”