PhD Ceremony Mw. E. (Elsje) de Vries: Bullying in secondary education: social position, school context, and intervention development

On 21 mei 2026 16:15, Mw. E. (Elsje) de Vries will defend their PhD at the University of Groningen.

Bullying in secondary education: social position, school context, and intervention development

Bullying is the repeated and intentional hurting of someone who cannot (or can no longer) properly defend themselves. Bullying can be relational, physical, verbal, material, or digital in nature. Bullying is often strategic behavior related to students’ status. In secondary schools, bullying is a persistent problem (3.5–10% of students are bullied) with major consequences for young people’s well-being.

This dissertation aims to gain more insight into how bullying in secondary education can be addressed effectively. The first part examines how bullying behavior develops within secondary education and how this relates to students’ social position. The second part focuses on the context in which anti-bullying programs are implemented. For this purpose, the staff culture of primary and secondary schools is compared. The third part explores the theoretical foundation of GRIPP (GRoup Forming, Identity, and bullying Prevention Program) and evaluates this new anti-bullying program.

Together, these three components provide a broader and more in-depth understanding of bullying processes, school context, and interventions, with the aim of developing better substantiated and more effective strategies to combat bullying in secondary education.

Dissertation: https://hdl.handle.net/11370/e44a3fc4-35bd-4c2d-8281-90d5ee325e23

The ceremony will take place at Academy Building, UG.