An overview of peer bullying experiences of Turkish and foreign national students: The case of Gaziantep province

The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of peer bullying experiences among Turkish and international middle school students. Variables such as peer bullying, sibling bullying, and cyberbullying were examined. The study was conducted using a survey technique, a quantitative research method. The data collection tools used in the study were the Revised Sibling Bullying Scale, the Peer Bullying Identification Scale Adolescent Form, the Revised Cyberbullying Scale, the Ka-Si Empathic Tendency Scale Adolescent Form, and the Problem-Solving Inventory for Primary School Children. The study group consisted of 580 students in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grades of five different secondary schools in the province of Gaziantep. Of the participants, 290 were Turkish and 290 were foreign nationals. The data obtained from the study were analyzed using MANOVA and ANOVA analysis techniques. The research findings revealed that peer bullying behaviors between Turkish and foreign students did not differ significantly based on nationality (p>0.05). The results indicate that peer bullying is not a nationality-based phenomenon, and that different variables (socioeconomic status, family communication, environment, etc.) may be more decisive in determining this behavior. Another important finding is that as cyberbullying tendencies increase, face-to-face bullying behavior decreases. Our findings also indicate that as an individual's tendency to engage in online bullying or in sibling relationships increases, the likelihood of being subjected to peer bullying decreases. Regarding empathic tendencies, our findings indicate that individuals with high empathic tendencies are more likely to be subjected to peer bullying. Consequently, we recommend that efforts to reduce peer bullying be planned not solely based on cultural or nationality, but rather encompass multidimensional factors such as students' social environment, family structure, and school environment.