An exploratory study of the subjective traumatic school bullying experiences of adolescent victims who have later developed early psychosis

Abstract

This study aims to understand the subjective traumatic school bullying experiences of adolescent victims who have later developed early psychosis. Literature on school bullying, early psychosis and the traumatic impact of bullying is reviewed. It has been reported that a significant proportion of clients with mental problems have suffered from experiences of school bullying, an issue that has been featured in many studies in the international as well as local literature, suggesting the relationship between school bullying and mental problems is closely linked. However, few of these studies pay attention to the subjective experiences of the victims of school bullying who are found to be developing symptoms of psychosis. A narrative inquiry approach is adopted to explore the stories of 8 adolescents with psychosis who have been bullied before the onset. Interviews were conducted, taped, and transcribed. The thematic and structural analysis suggested by Riessman (1993, 2008) has been used to analyze the stories. Using Sullivan's Interpersonal Theory of Psychiatry (1953) as the conceptual framework, the findings have been separated into 5 main themes and 2 to 4 sub-themes have been developed under each main theme respectively. The first finding is the subjective experience of the being bullied experiences and its traumatic features. The second is the post-bullied complex in which the coping, the unresolved negative feelings and the dynamisms being used are intermingling. The third is the self evaluation and presentation of the participants' self personification which includes the good-me self, the bad-me self, the poor-me self and the ambivalent-me self. The fourth is the manifestations of the psychotic symptoms and their contents. The fifth is the functions of the psychotic symptoms and their resemblance to the contents of being bullied experiences are found. The findings are then thoroughly discussed in the light of the existing literature; both related empirical studies and also Sullivan's Interpersonal Theory of Psychiatry. The relationship of the themes is then conceptualized in a vicious circle diagram to show the interwoven linkage among them. This study is a pioneer project in exploring the subjective experiences of adolescents with being bullied experiences and psychosis. It discloses the rich details of how the victims were bullied, and how they felt about and struggled with the victimization. The possibility of how the psychosis developed is also explored. This study also contributes to informing further social work practice and educational direction, and focuses on helping this type of client and filling theoretical and methodological gaps in this area of study.