How to Overcome Bullying at School? – The Adult Survivors’ Perspective

Bullying is a phenomenon that concerns many people, not just the victim and the bully. In this study, the focus is on the perceptions and experiences of victims of bullying. The purpose of this research is to find out—from the adult survivors’ perspective—how victims of bullying have survived and what kinds of coping methods they have used. A qualitative research approach was selected to study this serious phenomenon and to acquire survivors’ perceptions and experiences. The data were collected from open internet forums where people can write anonymously. Altogether, the data consisted of 190 messages written by 142 pseudonyms. The data were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. Coping methods and strategies were eventually categorized into the following categories: Cognitive, Emotional, Social, Creative, Physiological, and Spiritual coping methods. The perspective researchers took on bullying was fundamentally a phenomenon of bullying at school and was discussed by grounding on the ideas derived from positive psychology. The fundamental question is how to make school a positive institution that would not only prevent bullying but also increase children’s well-being.