Abstract:

The article is devoted to the theoretical substantiation of bullying as a complex sociopsychological phenomenon in the adolescent environment. The relevance of the study is due to modern social transformations of Ukrainian society, military events, increased information influence and changes in the system of interpersonal relationships, which actualizes the problem of ensuring a safe educational environment and protecting the mental health of adolescents.

The article emphasizes that adolescence is a critical period of personality formation, the formation of the «I-concept», a system of values and social relationships, which causes increased vulnerability to negative social influences, in particular bullying. The legal framework of Ukraine (the Law of Ukraine «On Education», «On the Protection of Childhood»), as well as the scientific approaches of domestic and foreign researchers to determining the essence of bullying, its structure, signs, forms and types of manifestation, are analyzed. It is substantiated that bullying is a systemic phenomenon that includes the interaction of the bully, the victim and observers and is characterized by systematicity, intentionality and an imbalance of power. Special attention is paid to various forms of bullying, in particular physical, psychological, social and cyberbullying, as well as their transformation in the digital environment. It is proven that bullying has multidimensional psychosocial consequences for all participants in the process, including reduced self-esteem, the development of anxiety and depression, the formation of deviant behavior patterns and impaired social adaptation. It is concluded that a comprehensive theoretical understanding of bullying is a necessary prerequisite for the development of effective measures for its prevention and the creation of a safe educational environment.

Keywords: «adolescence», «bullying», «harassment», «social and psychological phenomenon», «social interaction», «educational environment», «social work».

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