Teachers who bully students: a hidden trauma.
OBJECTIVE
The study examined teachers' perceptions of bullying by other teachers to see what causes and characteristics were attributed to such bullying teachers, and how often teachers were themselves bullied by students.


METHODS
116 teachers from seven elementary schools completed an anonymous questionnaire reflecting their feelings and perceptions about their own experiences of bullying, and how they perceive colleagues over the years.


RESULTS
Results confirmed that teachers who experienced bullying themselves when young are more likely to both bully students and experience bullying by students both in classrooms and outside the classroom. Factor analysis revealed two types of bullying teacher: a sadistic bully type and a bully-victim type.


CONCLUSIONS
The implications for the mental health of children and for effective teaching are discussed, in the light of widespread recognition of the traumatic effects of bullying on childhood development.
Twemlow
Stuart W
SW
The Menninger Clinic, Houston, TX 77280-9045, USA. stuart.twemlow@gmail.com
Fonagy
Peter
P
Sacco
Frank C
FC
Brethour
John R
JR
D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*