Bullying and Hazing Among Norwegian Army Soldiers: Two Studies of Prevalence, Context, and Cognition

Abstract

Two questionnaire studies examined the social and cognitive contexts of bullying among conscripts in the Norwegian Army. Replicated prevalence was 12%. Study 1 (N = 696 soldiers) found that (a) bullying requires familiarity, (b) victims' and witnesses' explanations accord with the Fundamental Error of Attribution, (c) bullying is confounded with hazing, (d) high-risk groups include 18-year-olds and socially isolated soldiers, and (e) cohort assignment increases bullying. Study 2 (N = 88 soldiers, 77 officers) found that (a) soldiers and officers agree that bullying is a problem, (b) beliefs about bullying are unrelated to experience with bullying, (c) soldiers blame the victim more than do officers, (d) officers more often intervene to stop bullying when they blame the victim, and (e) soldiers less often intervene when they blame the victim. These findings weigh against clinical or personality-trait theories of bullying and argue for organizational and cognitive management of bullying.

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