The relationship between the secondary school seventh grade students? level of fulfilling their basic psychological needs and the bullying behaviour

In this research, the relationship between the secondary school seventh grade students? level of fulfilling their basic psychological needs (belonging, power, freedom and fun) and the bullying behaviour (bully and victim) is explored. Further, whether gender and the level of fulfilling one?s basic needs have an interactional influence on bullying behaviour.In this research the relational survey method was used. This survey has been conducted on 444 students in total of whom 219 male and of 225 female who attend seven state schools in Ankara city center. In the research, ?School Bullying Inventory? (Çalık, 2007) that determines the students? bullying behaviour and ?Basic Needs Inventory? (İkinci, 2003) that determines the high school students? fulfilling their basic needs, were used to collect data. Moreover, students? personal knowledge were collected through ?Personal Knowledge Form? which was developed by the researcher himself.The data analysis was conducted with statistical techniques of pearson moment correlation, t tests, ANOVA. Scheffe test was used in order to find source of the difference. The findings of the research revealed that a negative relation between belonging, power, total basic needs score and bullying behaviour, and positive significant relation between freedom and bullying behaviour. Furthermore, the research revealed that there is a negative and a significant relation between belonging, fun, freedom, power, basic needs? score and victim?s score. The difference between the gender and the scores of bullying behaviour has been found to be significant. The difference related to the mutual influence of gender and the level of fulfilling basic needs on the score of bullying behaviour hasn?t been found to be significant.