Introduction: Peer victimization is when a student is exposed to negative behaviour in a constant and repetitive manner by another student or students (Olweus, 1993). Being exposed to victimization effects is likely to negatively influence the academic success of an individual and can also result in lack of concentration, difficulty in learning and dropping out of school. Among those who have been bullied, depression and anxiety disorders are commonly observed, as well as weak social relations and weaker sense of self (Craig and Pepler, 2007; Blood et al. 2010, 2016). Children who stutter have a higher chance of being exposed to bullying compared to their peers who speak fluently. Blood et al (2010) have stated that 61% of children who stutter and 22% of children who speak fluently are exposed to peer victimization. Langey’in (2009) has stated that 81% of the children who stutter have been exposed to peer victimization. Children who stutter, as with their fellow peers who have been exposed to bullying, show various negative attitudes and behaviour on the emotional and social level (Hugh-Jones and Smith, 1999). This study is a preliminary examination to determine whether adults who stutter in Turkey have been exposed to peer-bullying, the type of bullying they encounter and the short and long-term effects of this victimization. Method: 54 adults, 17 females and 37 males, participated in this study. Participants were volunteers from 9 different cities were who were over 18 years old. There were no prerequisites. Participants were administered the "Victimization Assessment Questionnaire for Stuttering" designed by the authors based on Hugh-Jones ve Smith’in (1999). This questionnaire is a retrospective questionnaire containing questions about the bullying that they were exposed to and its effects. The questionnaire had 15 items and the results of 13 items were presented in this study. Findings obtained from the questionnaire were analysed by descriptive statistical methods. Results: For the question "Have you ever been bullied in your school life?" 84% of respondents answered yes, 16% answered no. When they were asked what type of bullying that they were exposed to, 34% reported mocking, 18% nicknaming, 7% being part of gossip, 5% physical abuse and 2% reported abuse of their belongings. None of the participants reported any threats or racist bullying. Regarding the frequency of bullying, 5% responded ‘every day’, 41% ‘several times in a week’, 13% ‘once a week’’, 22% ‘a few times in a month’ and 19% ‘several times during the year’. For the question “Was this victimization connected to your stuttering”, 24% responded ‘every time,’ 32% ‘often’, 16% ‘occasionally’, 18% ‘sometimes’ and 10% ‘never’. For the question “Did this victimization effect your school performance, 16% reported ‘all the time’, 16% ‘often’, 13% ‘occasionally’ 16% ‘sometimes’ and 39% gave the answer ‘never’. For the question “How did this victimization effect your life?”, 28% of the participants reported ‘emotional effects’, 22% ‘social effects’, 21% reported that their stuttering was affected, 9% reported effects on their academic life, 6% reported occupational effects and 4% reported that their life was not affected at all. For the question “Did your parents know that you were exposed to victimization?”, 76% reported that they did not know, 13% said that they knew but they didn’t do anything and 11% reported that they knew, and they did something about it. For the question “Did your teacher know that you were exposed to victimization?”, 32% reported that they didn’t know about it, 30%reported that they knew but didn’t do anything about it, 38% reported that they knew, and they did something about it. Discussion: As a result of this preliminary study, it was revealed that individuals who stutter in Turkey are exposed to peer bullying. Stuttering increases the possibility that the child might be exposed to bullying. Children who stutter are exposed to peer bullying for different reasons, such as their physical features. Bullying increases rapidly after the age of 8 but the age when bullying most dense is after the age of 13. Verbal bullying is the most common type of victimization that people who stutter face. Being exposed to peer victimization during school-age effects people who stutter emotionally, socially, academically and occupationally, long and short term. While most of the teachers are aware of bullying and give no reaction; a larger portion of parents are not aware of it. This study is a preliminary examination about peer-bullying in Turkey. In international literature, there seems to be increasing interest concerning stuttering and bullying and an increase in studies to help stutterers to cope with bullying.
Keywords
peer victimization, stuttering, school age, adultery, bullying
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