ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT.Bullyingorharassmentareapartofthe everydayexperienceofmanyschoolchildrenintheU.S. Bullyingcantakemanyformsand,whilenotacceptable, isconsideredalmostinevitable.Despiteexposuretovariousanti-bullyingprogramsinstitutedintheschools,bullyingpersists,andstudentsmustfigureouthowtodealwith thisphenomenon.Thisexploratorystudyinvestigatedthe viewsofsecondaryschoolstudentsonbullyingandharassmentaswellastheirstrategiesforhandlingthisform ofpeerinteraction.Onehundredtwenty-twostudents(N= 122)fromthreeruralhighschoolsparticipatedinthis actionresearchinquiry.Thedataweregatheredfromfive focusgroupsand52individualinterviews.Thestudy foundthatstudentsintheseschoolsusedcognitivecoping mechanismsandstrategiestomanagetheimpactofbullyingwhenitwasdirectedtowardthem.Thearticledescribesstudents'reactionstobeingvictimizedaswellas theirinterpretationsoftheirpeers'actions.Findingsinformviolencepreventionprogramsbyprovidingthestudents'perspectiveondealingwiththispervasiveissue.
