ABSTRACT

This chapter presents an analysis of the Peer Aggression and Well-Being study data collected from over 500 students in one region of Poland. It provides a snapshot of 11- to 16-year-old young people's experiences of harm associated with bullying and peer aggression. One of the most important factors affecting students' well-being at school is their relationship with their peers. Feelings that accompany tormented students are of a very individual nature, but often students mention that among their emotions they experience a sense of humiliation and loneliness, sadness, helplessness, and hopelessness. In rural locales, the only support options available to victims comprise teachers, school leadership, and other students who stand up for and defend the victim. The homogenous nature of students in Polish urban schools, and the sample of students from one region of Poland, might be indicative of similar patterns of behaviour across Poland.