Effectiveness of assertiveness training on victimization rate of male students who are victims of bullying

Based on the researches done over the past few decades bullying is a serious problem and if effective action is not taken to prevent bullying and to educate people, this phenomenon will become a common norm in schools. There is a research gap in the effectiveness of assertiveness training on the victimization rate of male students who are victims of bullying, as reviewed by domestic research on bullying.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of assertiveness training on victimization rate of male students who are victims of bullying. 

The research was quasi-experimental with pre-test, post-test and follow-up design with experimental and control groups. The statistical population of the study consisted of all male high school students in Marivan city, who were studying in the 97-98 academic year. Using cluster random sampling method, 60 students were selected and randomly assigned to experimental (30) and control (30) groups. The participants of the experimental group were trained in groups for six weeks and two sessions per week (12 sessions in total). The revised questionnaire bully / victim scale of Olivius (1996) and the Gambrill and Ritchie (1975) assertiveness questionnaire were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using mixed ANOVA.

The results showed that the victimization rate of bullying students in the experimental group was significantly reduced compared to the student victims in the control group (p< 0/001).

according to the findings of this study it can be concluded that, assertiveness training during adolescence can be effective in reducing the victimization rate of students who are victims of bullying.