VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES NGUYEN VAN TUONG COPING WITH ACTS OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE BY LOWER SECONDARY STUDENTS Major: Psychology Code: 9.31.04.01 SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS IN PSYCHOLOGY HANOI - 2019 The thesis is completed at: GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr NGUYEN THI HOA Supervisor 1: Assoc Prof Dr TRAN THI MINH HANG Supervisor 2: Assoc Prof Dr PHAM THI THU HOA Supervisor 3: Assoc Prof Dr DO THI HANH PHUC The thesis will be examined by the Academy-level Examination Board at On: hour(s) day month year 20 The thesis can be found at: - National Library of Vietnam - Library of the Academy of Social Sciences INTRODUCTION Necessity of the topic Individual coping is a psychological phenomenon that is of interest to many scientists around the world Views of Lazarus and Folkman (1984) on coping are one of the important theoretical bases for later studies of coping According to these authors, "coping is a constant effort to change the perceptions and behaviors of individuals to address specific requirements that exist within individuals and in an environment where individuals identify as threatening, challenging or exceeding their resources” [132] Accordingly, individuals will solve their problems if they know how to cope appropriately when encountering dangerous situations in life School violence is also a dangerous situation that many students face at school When faced with acts of school violence, if students have a positive coping, it will help them resolve conflicts and gain more lessons for themselves However, if students use inappropriate ways of coping, it will cause conflict to escalate and negatively affect their friendships, learning activities and mental health Lower secondary students are in the stage of psychological development and social awareness that is unbalanced with biological development It is the imbalance in the process of psychophysical development that contributes to making it difficult for students of this age to control their emotions and behaviors Along with the influences from the living environment, family, school, friends, etc students at this stage are very likely to cause violent behaviors to other students Therefore, they need to raise awareness about ways of coping with acts of school violence, which is an important measure to help students prevent and cope positively to this negative behavior In Vietnam, acts of school violence by students have been receiving the attention of many research professionals, from different perspectives Since then, it has contributed to building a theoretical and practical basis for studying acts of school violence in Vietnam However, until now, no research results in Vietnam have directly addressed the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students The study of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students has the theoretical and practical significance in preventing acts of school violence in lower secondary students, and helps students know how to positively cope with acts of school violence In theory: It develops basic concepts of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students; Clarifies the expressions and ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students In practice: It detects the actual state of ways of coping with school violence by lower secondary students and influencing factors; Proposes a number of recommendations to improve the positive coping to acts of school violence for lower secondary students Stemming from the above reasons, the topic "Coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students" was selected to conduct research Research purposes and tasks of the thesis 2.1 Research purposes of the thesis Systematize the theoretical basis for ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students, show the actual state and factors that affect the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students, thereby propose a number of recommendations to help lower secondary students cope more positively to acts of school violence 2.2 Research tasks of the thesis - Make an overview of research situation in the world and in Vietnam related to ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students - Develop a theoretical basis for the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students: Tool concepts (coping, acts of school violence, ways of coping with acts of school violence, etc.), the expressions and ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students, factors that affect the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students - Survey and assess the actual state of the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students, along with factors that affect the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students - Propose a number of recommendations to help lower secondary students cope more positively to acts of school violence Research subject matter and scope of the thesis 3.1 Research subject matter Expressions and ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students 3.2 Research scope of the topic 3.2.1 Research content - Study the acts of school violence that occur among students - Study the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students who are victim of acts of school violence - Study the coping by lower secondary students with acts of school violence in general - Approach the 3-sided psychological structure (thoughts, emotions, actions) to learn ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students 3.2.2 Research object Research object to develop the questionnaires is 12 students who used to cause acts of school violence; students who are victims of acts of school violence Trial investigation object (to check whether the language used in the questionnaire and the time to answer the questionnaire are appropriate) is 25 lower secondary students in Ho Chi Minh City Official research object (to investigate the actual state of ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students) is 417 lower secondary students who suffer from school violence in Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Thuan Province In-depth interview object is lower secondary students who are victims of acts of school violence Case study object is lower secondary students who are victims of acts of school violence 3.2.3 Study area The study was conducted at lower secondary schools in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City (L.L Lower secondary school, L.Q.Đ Lower secondary school) and lower secondary schools in Ham Thuan Nam District, Binh Thuan Province (H.T Lower secondary school and M.M Lower secondary school) Methodology and research methods of the thesis 4.1 Methodological basis of the thesis To carry out our research tasks, we rely on some basic principles of psychology such as: 4.1.1 Principles of operation - personality: The ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students is inseparable from the activities - communication of lower secondary students in order to satisfy the needs of lower secondary students when they encounter acts of school violence, it is also based on the personality characteristics of lower secondary students 4.1.2 Principles of human psychological development: The ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students are not a constant psychological phenomenon, it can be varied by the impact of different personal and social factors 4.1.3 Principles of systematic approach: The ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students interact with personal and social factors 4.2 Research hypothesis When lower secondary students experience acts of school violence, they often choose to cope with positive thoughts, positive emotions and positive actions Coping with negative thoughts, negative emotions and negative actions is not prioritized by the students There is a statistically significant difference between the ways of coping by lower secondary students and variables of geography, gender, and grade Psychosocial factors such as the friendship of lower secondary students, behavior between parents and lower secondary students, behavior between schools, teachers and lower secondary students have influence and can change the expressions and ways of coping by lower secondary students when they encounter acts of school violence 4.3 Research questions How lower secondary students cope with acts of school violence? Is there any difference between the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students and variables of geography, gender, academic performance, and grade? How personal psychological and psychosocial factors affect the choice of ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students? 4.4 Research methods of the thesis + Researching documents + Expert method + Concentrated group discussion + Investigation by questionnaire + In-depth interview + Case study + Processing data by mathematical statistics New scientific contributions of the thesis 5.1 In theory The thesis has built a theoretical basis for the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students; identified tool concepts (coping, acts of school violence, ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students); identified expressions and ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students and clarified some personal psychological and psychosocial factors that affect the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students 5.2 In practice The thesis has clearly pointed out the actual state of the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students, clarified the actual state of expressions and ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students across all study samples and in groups The thesis found that when students encounter acts of school violence, they prioritize positive coping and rarely use negative coping The thesis has clarified a number of factors that affect the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students, including psychosocial factors (behavior between parents and students; behavior between the school/teachers and students, the student's friendships) and some personal psychological factors of the student In particular, psychosocial factors are more influential and may change the lower secondary students' ways of coping with acts of school violence The thesis has proposed some recommendations for lower secondary students to prevent and cope positively to acts of school violence Theoretical and practical significance of the thesis 6.1 Theoretical significance Research results of the thesis add to the theory of psychology, educational psychology, and developmental psychology a number of theoretical issues about ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students 6.2 Practical significance Research results of the thesis are references for educators, parents who have children in lower secondary age, as a basis for them to find effective measures to help lower secondary students effectively cope with acts of school violence It is also a very useful document for lower secondary students where they are victims of acts of school violence Structure of the thesis In addition to the introduction, conclusions and recommendations, list of references and annexes, the thesis consists of chapters CHAPTER AN OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH ON WAYS OF COPING WITH ACTS OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE BY LOWER SECONDARY STUDENTS 1.1 Studies related to ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students Ways of coping by children, adolescents, pupils and students to dangerous situations in life are of research interest by many authors in the world and in Vietnam, from theoretical studies to practical studies Studies on this issue follow some of the following trends: (1) Studying coping models, coping strategies and coping skills of children, adolescents, pupils and students; (2) Studying to measure and evaluate the coping behavior of adolescents; (3) Studying factors that affect the coping behavior of adolescents; (4) Studying the coping behavior of students and adolescents in cultural differences In general, studies related to the students’ ways of coping with difficulties in life have shown the ways of coping, coping models, coping strategies and typical coping skills of student groups, thereby entailed studies to measure and evaluate the students’ coping behavior through the development, improvement and Vietnamization of coping scales The existing studies also show personal psychological and psychosocial factors that affect the students’ ways of coping Some other studies consider this issue in cultural differences between regions, countries and ethnic groups, thereby showing specific characteristics in the expressions and ways of coping by the students to difficulties in life However, no study has directly addressed the ways of coping by lower secondary students to acts of school violence 1.2 Studies related to acts of school violence by lower secondary students In the world and in Vietnam, there are many studies related to acts of school violence by students in general and lower secondary students in particular, and there are also many academic exchange activities related to this issue These studies can be divided into the following four main trends: (1) Studying the actual state of acts of school violence among students; (2) Studying factors that affect acts of school violence among students; (3) Studying the consequences of acts of school violence among students; (4) Studying preventive measures and interventions for acts of school violence among students In general, acts of school violence among students have been specially researched by scientists The studies have surveyed and explored many aspects of the issue such as the actual state, the influencing factors, consequences and interventions In particular, research on the actual state and factors affecting acts of school violence has been particularly interested and focused on many typical studies However, no research has surveyed the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students Sub-conclusion of chapter CHAPTER THEORETICAL BASIS FOR THE WAYS OF COPING WITH ACTS OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE BY LOWER SECONDARY STUDENTS 2.1 Coping 2.1.1 Concept of coping Coping means conscious reactions, which are consistent with purpose and psychological and physiological characteristics of each individual, expressed through thoughts, emotions and actions when an individual encounters a certain dangerous situation 2.1.2 Classification of coping This study is based on three basic psychological functions which are thoughts emotions - actions, and refers to the coping models of the previous authors, in which the main reference is from the coping model of author Phan Thi Mai Huong et al (2007), to learn the expressions and ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students Accordingly, ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students have a psychological structure consisting of components: thoughts, emotions and actions From there, it is based on the purpose of the subject's coping to identify the ways of coping and based on the significance of the ways of coping in problem solving and mental health improvement for individuals to divide the ways of coping into directions which are positive coping and negative coping 2.2 Acts of school violence 2.2.1 Concept of acts This thesis is based on the perspective of Corsini (1999) on acts to learn about acts of school violence by lower secondary students Thus, acts of an individual are not simply gestures, actions that are revealed to the outside and observable but also the inner gestures and unconscious processes 2.2.2 Concept of school violence School violence means that one or several members in the school environment threaten to use or use their physical strength or power to cause physical, mental or material damages to one or several other members 2.2.3 Concept of acts of school violence Acts of school violence are actions that consciously harm others (physically, mentally and materially) that occur within or outside the school, performed by one or several groups of students towards another student 2.2.4 Types of acts of school violence This study only investigates the actual state of school violence among lower secondary students in the three most common forms of school violence: mental violence, physical violence and material violence 2.3 Lower secondary students 2.3.1 Concept of lower secondary students In Vietnam, lower secondary students are understood to be teenagers aged 11 or 12 years old to 14 or 15 years old, who are attending lower secondary school education (grades to 9) under Vietnam national education system 2.3.2 Some psychological characteristics of lower secondary students The period of lower secondary students is a volatile stage during the psychological and physiological development, especially changes in personal and social psychology 2.3.3 Lower secondary students who are victims of acts of school violence Lower secondary students who are victims of acts of school violence are those who are physically, mentally and materially harmed by one or several groups of students within or outside the school 2.4 Concept of acts of school violence by lower secondary students Acts of school violence by lower secondary students are acts that consciously harm others (physically, mentally and materially) that occur within or outside the school, performed by one or several groups of lower secondary students towards another student 2.5 Concept of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students Coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students means conscious reactions, consistent with the purpose and the psychological and physiological characteristics of each student, expressed through thoughts, emotions and actions when a student is a victim of certain acts of school violence 2.6 Expressions and ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students (1) Resignation means subjective thoughts of students about a violent situation such as accepting a violent situation as an obvious thing everyone faces, those who encounter this situation must suffer, and no one can help them This way of coping in the long run does not help students solve their problems in a positive way but makes their problems more complicated and adversely affects their mental health, friendships and learning activities (2) Problem inference means subjective thoughts, inaccurate and incomplete evaluation of students about themselves and violent situations such as completely blaming others, completely blaming themselves, underestimating themselves, and just looking at the negative effects of the problem This way of coping in the long run does not help students solve their problems in a positive way but makes their problems more complicated and adversely affects their mental health, friendships and learning activities (3) Self-comfort means the positive thoughts, objective evaluation of students about the effects of a violent situation such as seeing things as a challenge in life, if they can overcome, it will help themselves more mature; this issue will help them gain more experience in dealing with similar situations in the future This way of coping in the long run can help students solve their problems in a positive way, limit the negative effects of the violent situation on their mental health, friendships and learning activities (4) Problem-solving orientation means the positive thoughts, objective evaluation of students about causes of a violent situation, pointing out solutions and choosing appropriate solutions to solve the violent situation in a positive way, in order to limit the negative effects of the violent situation on their mental health, friendships and learning activities (5) Emotional expression means that students express their emotions (worry, fear, boredom, sadness, insecurity, and anger) when encountering school violence This way of coping demonstrates students' momentary emotions when facing with violent situations, but in the long run this way of coping does not help students solve their problems in a positive way and adversely affects their mental health, friendships and learning activities (6) Emotional repression means that students try to repress, hide, not to express their emotions to the outside (worry, fear, boredom, sadness, insecurity, and anger) when encountering school violence This way of coping can help students hide their emotions in relationship with others, to avoid trouble for themselves, or not to annoy others But in the long run this way of coping does not help students solve their problems in a positive way and adversely affects their mental health, friendships and learning activities (7) Emotional balance means that students control their emotions, regain calm through adjusting their bodies, doing the things they like or rearranging their timetables, etc In the long run, emotional balance can help students face the problem they are encountering, in order to solve the problem in a positive way, thereby limiting the negative effects of the violent situation on their mental health, friendships and learning activities (8) Evasion means actions to evade, delay, not to accept the reality when students encounter violent situations, in order to bring about a momentary sense of security such as finding a place where nobody knows to cry; going alone, avoiding meeting, avoiding contact with everyone; changing the way to school, the way home; hiding teachers, parents, etc This way of coping in the long run does not help students solve their conflicts but makes problems more complicated and adversely affects their mental health, friendships, and learning activities (9) Retaliation and self-harm mean the students' actions to retaliate against the person who caused the acts of violence to them or to obey all the demands of the person who caused the acts of violence, or to drop out of school, use stimulants, hurt themselves, join informal gangs, participate in violent games, etc This way of coping in the long run does not help students solve their conflicts, even escalates the conflicts, and adversely affects their mental health, friendships, and learning activities (10) Confrontation and seeking help mean the students' actions to face violent situations and seek help from related parties to solve the problem they are encountering This way of coping helps students solve their problems in a positive way, thereby helping students avoid the negative effects of violent situations on their mental health, friendships and learning activities (11) Problem-solving actions means the students' actions to solve the problem through planning to implement the chosen solutions, taking action to implement the set plan, trying and endeavoring to overcome all difficulties to implement the set plan and draw lessons for themselves This way of coping clearly shows the students' determination to solve problems, thereby helping students have a good mental health, improve relationships with friends and does not adversely affect their learning activities Then, significance of the ways of coping with the students themselves and 02 criteria (Firstly, in the long run, which way of coping has a positive impact on students' mental health? Secondly, in the long run, which way of coping is directed to solving problems that students face?) will be relied on to divide the ways of coping with thoughts, emotions and actions by the students into two directions: positive and negative Accordingly, 11 ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students are divided into expression groups, namely as follows: (1) Negative thoughts mean that students accept the problem (they have to suffer) or infer the problem in a negative way Negative thoughts can help students get a temporary "support" for the problem they are encountering, but in the long run does not help students solve their problem but makes the problem more complicated, and adversely affects their mental health, friendships and learning activities This expression includes two ways of coping: problem resignation and problem inference (2) Positive thoughts mean that students see the violent situation from multiple perspectives and consider the situation in a positive correlation to themselves, thereby limiting the negative effects of the violent situation on their mental health, friendships and learning activities This expression includes two ways of coping: self-comfort and problem-solving orientation (3) Negative emotions mean that students repress to the inside or express to the outside their worry, fear, boredom, sadness, insecurity, and anger when they encounter acts of school violence This way of coping expression can help students express or repress their negative emotions when encountering acts of school violence, but in the long run it does not resolve their conflicts, even makes the problem more complicated, and adversely affects the students' mental health, friendships and to answer the questionnaires, after collecting the questionnaires and coding, there were 417 valid notes (accounting for 43.7% of the total 953 students) and 21 invalid notes Demographic information of 417 objects participating in the survey was shown as follows: Table 3.1: Some characteristics of the official survey samples Area Object characteristics Ho Chi Minh City Binh Thuan Total Quantity % Quantity % Total 215 51,6 202 48,4 417 Grade 51 23,7 47 23,3 98 Grade 55 25,6 52 25,7 107 Grade Grade 53 24,7 48 23,8 101 Grade 56 26,0 55 27,2 111 Male 93 43,3 96 47,5 189 Gender Female 122 56,7 106 52,5 228 Weak 0,0 0,0 Average 17 7,9 29 14,4 46 Academic performance Good 113 52,6 127 62,9 240 Excellent 85 39,5 46 22,8 131 3.2 Research methods 3.2.1 Researching documents 3.2.2 Expert method 3.2.3 Concentrated group discussion 3.2.4 Investigation by questionnaire Collect quantitative information on the actual state of school violence by lower secondary students, the actual state of ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students and the factors affecting the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students Table 3.2: Contents of the questionnaire on ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students No Number of observed variables* Concept Scale Part 1: Demographic information about the surveyed objects Area Identification Grade Identification Gender Identification Academic performance of the most recent semester Identification Part 2: Actual state of school violence by lower secondary students Mental violence 5-point Likert Physical violence 5-point Likert Economic violence 5-point Likert Part 3: Actual state of ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students Coping with thoughts 17 5-point Likert 1.1 Problem resignation 5-point Likert 11 Number of observed variables* 1.2 Problem inference 1.3 Self-comfort 1.4 Problem-solving orientation Coping with emotions 12 2.1 Emotional expression 2.2 Emotional repression 2.3 Emotional balance 3 Coping with actions 29 3.1 Evasion 3.2 Retaliation and self-harm 3.3 Confrontation and seeking help 11 3.4 Problem-solving actions Part 4: Factors affecting the ways of coping with acts of school violence by students The students' awareness of acts of school violence The students' attitude of life 12 The students' personality The students' friendship 5 Behavior between school, teachers and students 10 Behavior between parents and students Acknowledgment No Concept Scale 5-point Likert 5-point Likert 5-point Likert 5-point Likert 5-point Likert 5-point Likert 5-point Likert 5-point Likert 5-point Likert 5-point Likert 5-point Likert 5-point Likert lower secondary 5-point Likert 5-point Likert 5-point Likert 5-point Likert 5-point Likert 5-point Likert * The number of initially observed variables before testing the scale reliability and validity 3.2.4.3 How to proceed * Step 1: Design the questionnaire; * Step 2: Trial investigation; * Step 3: Official investigation; * Step 4: Test the scale reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha) and validity through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) 3.2.4.4 How to calculate scores The higher the mean of the form of violence, the more violence the students suffer in that form and vice versa; The higher the mean of the ways of coping, the more ways of coping the students use when they experience school violence and vice versa The higher the mean, the better the students are aware of the acts of school violence and vice versa; the higher the mean, the more optimistic and positive the attitude of the students is and vice versa; the higher the mean, the more extroverted the students are and vice versa; the lower the mean, the more introverted the students are; the higher the mean, the more positive the friendship (caring, sharing, encouraging, helping each other) the students have and vice versa; the higher the mean, the more fair, democratic, and friendly the student-teacher relationship is; the higher the mean, the more attention, sharing and mutual listening between parents and students and vice versa 3.2.5 In-depth interview 3.2.6 Case study 3.2.7 Processing data by mathematical statistics Sub-conclusion of chapter 12 CHAPTER RESULTS OF PRACTICAL RESEARCH ON WAYS OF COPING WITH ACTS OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE BY LOWER SECONDARY STUDENTS 4.1 The actual state of school violence by lower secondary students 4.1.1 General actual state of forms of school violence by lower secondary students With three common forms of school violence (mental violence, physical violence, and material violence), mental violence was chosen by students with the highest Mean (3.07), followed by physical violence (2.96) and material violence (2.90) The results show that lower secondary students participating in this study suffered from school violence at normal level (sometimes) and the most common was mental violence, followed by physical violence and material violence 4.1.2 Specific actual state of forms of school violence by lower secondary students 4.1.2.1 Actual state of mental violence by lower secondary students The most common expression of mental violence encountered by the students was "being intentionally removed from many things, boycotted from a group of friends, completely ignored" by friends (Mean = 3.13) and the least common expression was "being fabricated, slandered, falsely rumored or threatened to publish personal information to everyone by friends" (Mean = 2.98) 4.1.2.2 Actual state of physical violence by lower secondary students The most common expression of physical violence encountered by the students was "having their hair pulled, being slapped, pushed, splashed with water or thrown with objects" and "being locked up in the classroom or toilet using force” by other students (Mean = 3.04 and Mean = 3.02), especially they were also “punched, kicked or attacked with shoes, sandals or sticks" by other students (Mean = 2.99), the least common expression was "being threatened, forced to things they don't want" (Mean = 2.82) 4.1.2.3 Actual state of material violence by lower secondary students Among the three signs of material violence, the most common sign encountered by the students was "having their books, school supplies, and personal belongings deliberately damaged" by other students (Mean = 2.98), followed by "being forced by other students to give money or buy food, school supplies and personal belongings for them" (Mean = 2.89), the least common expression was "having their money, school supplies, and personal belongings deliberately asked for or taken” by other students (Mean = 2.85) 4.1.3 Comparison of forms of school violence by lower secondary students with demographic variables There is no statistically significant difference among lower secondary students in Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Thuan Province (p > 0.05) who are victims of forms of school violence That is the students in Ho Chi Minh City or Binh Thuan are victims of acts of school violence, where mental violence has the highest Mean: 3.04 (Ho Chi Minh City) and 3.11 (Binh Thuan) Similarly, there is no statistically significant difference between male and female students who are victims of school violence The results also show that there is almost no statistically significant difference among grades when students experience school violence In terms of academic performance, there is a statistically 13 significant difference between students with good academic performance and those with excellent academic performance in the forms of mental violence and material violence In particular, good students are more likely to suffer from mental violence and material violence than excellent students 4.2 Actual state of ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students 4.2.1 General actual state of expressions and ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students The results of Table 4.6 show that when lower secondary students suffer from school violence, firstly they will cope with "positive actions" (Mean = 3.40); secondly "emotional balance" (Mean = 3.35); thirdly "positive thoughts" (Mean = 3.25); the fourth is coping with "negative emotions" (Mean = 3.37); the fifth is "negative thoughts" (Mean = 2.36); and finally "negative actions" (Mean = 2.07) Indepth interviews also yield similar results 4.2.2 Specific actual state of expressions and ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students 4.2.2.1 Actual state of coping with negative thoughts to acts of school violence by lower secondary students The students rated low for the coping with negative thoughts, including two ways of coping that are "problem resignation" and "problem inference" in which the "problem inference" way of coping is selected by more students (Mean = 2.48) than "problem resignation" (Mean = 2.23) In-depth interviews also yield similar results 4.2.2.2 Actual state of coping with positive thoughts to acts of school violence by lower secondary students The students rated quite high for the coping with positive thoughts, which means they often use this way of coping when encountering acts of school violence The students rated the coping with "self-comfort" higher than the coping with "problemsolving orientation" (Mean = 3.27 versus 3.23) 4.2.2.3 Actual state of coping with negative emotions to acts of school violence by lower secondary students The students rated low for the coping with negative emotions (including two ways of coping that are "expressing" (Mean = 2.22) and "repressing" (Mean = 2.55) the negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, fear, boredom), it means that the students sometimes use this way of coping when encountering acts of school violence 4.2.2.4 Actual state of coping with positive emotions to acts of school violence by lower secondary students The students often "balance emotions" by "doing the things they like" (Mean = 3.38), "adjusting breathing, relaxing body, drinking water, etc." (Mean = 3.35) and "rearranging personal timetable" (Mean = 3.33) 4.2.2.5 Actual state of coping with negative actions to acts of school violence by lower secondary students The students rated low for the coping with negative actions In particular, the students choose the "problem evasion" more than "retaliation and self-harm" (Mean = 2.28 versus 1.92) 14 4.2.2.6 Actual state of coping with positive actions to acts of school violence by lower secondary students The students rated quite high for the coping with positive actions In particular, the students choose the "confrontation and seeking help" more than "problem-solving actions" (Mean = 3.49 versus 3.20) 4.2.3 Comparison of ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students with demographic variables 4.2.3.1 Comparison of the coping with negative thoughts by lower secondary students with demographic variables There is a statistically significant difference (p = 0.00) between lower secondary students in Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Thuan in the coping with negative thoughts This can be explained by the in-depth interview results of some homeroom teachers The results also show a statistically significant difference (p = 0.01) between male and female students in the coping with negative thoughts At the same time, there is also a statistically significant difference in the "problem inference" way of coping between grade students and students in grades and 8, particularly grade students "infer the problem" more than students in grades and (p = 0.02 and p = 0.03) But there is no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) among students of different grades in the "problem resignation" way of coping 4.2.3.2 Comparison of the coping with positive thoughts by lower secondary students with demographic variables There is a statistically significant difference (p = 0.00) between lower secondary students in Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Thuan in the coping with positive thoughts, students in Binh Thuan cope with more positive thoughts than Ho Chi Minh City students (Mean = 3.34 versus 3.18) This can be explained by the sharing of Ms N.T.H – the homeroom teacher of class 9B, L.L Lower secondary school (Ho Chi Minh City) The results also show that there is a statistically significant difference (p = 0.00) between male and female students in the coping with positive thoughts, female students coped with fewer positive thoughts than male students (Mean = 3.19 versus 3.33, p = 0.00) At the same time, there is also a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) among students in different grades in the coping with positive thoughts, grade students coped with more positive thoughts than those in grades 6, and 4.2.3.3 Comparison of the coping with negative emotions by lower secondary students with demographic variables There is a statistically significant difference (p = 0.00) between lower secondary students in Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Thuan in the coping with negative emotions The results also show that there is a statistically significant difference (p = 0.00) between male and female students in the coping with negative emotions, female students coped with more negative emotions than male students However, there is no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) among students in different grades in the coping with negative emotions and in the "emotional repression" way of coping 4.2.3.4 Comparison of the coping with emotional balance by lower secondary students with demographic variables There is a statistically significant difference in the coping with positive emotions (emotional balance) by lower secondary students among geographical, gender and grade variables 15 4.2.3.5 Comparison of the coping with negative actions by lower secondary students with demographic variables There is a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) between lower secondary students in Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Thuan in the coping with negative actions, students in Binh Thuan coped with fewer negative actions than those in Ho Chi Minh City (Mean = 1.89 versus 2.24) However, there is no statistically significant difference between male and female students in the coping with negative actions The results also show a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) among students in different grades in the coping with negative actions, students of grades 7, and coped with more negative actions than those in grade (p < 0.05) 4.2.3.6 Comparison of the coping with positive actions by lower secondary students with demographic variables The results in Table 4.18 show that there is a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) between lower secondary students in Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Thuan in the coping with positive actions, students in Ho Chi Minh City coped with fewer positive actions than those in Binh Thuan (Mean = 3.32 versus 3.48; p = 0.00) At the same time, there is no significant difference between male and female students in the coping with positive actions in general (p > 0.05) However, more female students chose the coping with "problem-solving actions" than male students (Mean = 3.28 versus 3.11; p = 0.00) The results also show a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) among students in different grades in the coping with positive actions, grade students chose to cope with more positive actions than those in grades 6, 7, and (Mean of Grade is 3.58 versus grade of 3.29, grade of 3.34, and grade of 3.38; p = 0.00) 4.2.4 Correlation between ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students The results show that the ways of coping with negative thoughts, negative emotions and negative actions are positively correlated; the ways of coping with positive thoughts, positive emotions and positive actions are also positively correlated; but positive coping and negative coping are negatively correlated Table 4.19: Correlation between ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students Coping expressions Negative thoughts Positive thoughts Negative emotions Positive emotions Correlation coefficients Negative Positive Negative Positive Negative Positive thoughts thoughts emotions emotions actions actions Pearson -0,393** 0,494** -0,353** 0,498** -0,362** Correlation Sig (2-tailed) 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 Pearson -0,393** -0,339** 0,692** -0,278** 0,228** Correlation Sig (2-tailed) 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 Pearson 0,494** -0,339** -0,355** 0,466** -0,379** Correlation Sig (2-tailed) 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 Pearson -0,353** 0,692** -0,355** -0,278** 0,236** Correlation Sig (2-tailed) 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 16 Coping expressions Correlation coefficients Negative Positive Negative Positive Negative Positive thoughts thoughts emotions emotions actions actions Pearson 0,498** -0,278** 0,466** -0,278** -0,284** Correlation Sig (2-tailed) 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 Pearson -0,362** 0,228** -0,379** 0,236** -0,284** Positive Correlation actions Sig (2-tailed) 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 Note: **when p < 0.01 4.3 Factors affecting the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students 4.3.1 Actual state of factors affecting the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students 4.3.1.1 General actual state of factors affecting the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students Table 4.20: Actual state of factors affecting the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students No Influencing factors Mean Standard Rank deviation The students' awareness of acts of school 3,46 0,68 violence The students' attitude of life 3,36 0,46 The students' personality 3,53 0,82 The students' friendship 3,48 0,88 Behavior between school, teachers and students 3,50 0,78 Behavior between parents and students 3,70 0,86 Negative actions 4.3.1.2 Actual state of each factor affecting the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students a The students' awareness of acts of school violence Most students agreed with the clauses that truly reflect the consequences, forms, causes, and nature of the acts of school violence such as "school violence is a bad behavior, which negatively affects students, families, schools, and society”(Mean = 3.58), “cases of school violence should be dealt with strictly and fairly”(Mean = 3.52), “there are various causes leading to acts of school violence among students” (Mean = 3.41), “physical violence, mental violence, and economic violence are common forms of school violence” (Mean = 3.23), etc With the inverse clauses, most students expressed their disagreement (Mean = 2.26) b The students' attitude of life They know how to "love themselves and also listen, sympathize and respect their friends" (Mean = 3.48), "no matter what happens, I still want to study with my current friends and teachers” (Mean = 3.41), they also have a suitable attitude about conflicts in their friendship when they say that “conflict among students is inevitable, not all conflicts lead to acts of school violence” (Mean = 3.40) With the inverse clauses, most students did not agree with this attitude (Mean = 2.64) 17 c The students' personality The students said that "when I participate in collective activities, I feel joyful, happy and energetic" (Mean = 3.71), most of them also agreed that they are "extroverted, ardent, enthusiastic, confident, and communicative” (Mean = 3.35) With the inverse clauses, most students disagreed that they are "introverted, shy, closed, friendless, self-deprecating, and non-communicative" (Mean = 2.47) d The students' friendship The students said that "my friends always care about me and are willing to listen, share and support me when I encounter difficulties in school" (Mean = 3.75), "when having difficulties in life I will come to my friends to share and seek help” (Mean = 3.49), “my friend immediately find out if I am unhappy or have unusual behaviors” (Mean = 3.24) e Behavior between school, teachers and students Most students agreed that "my teachers always listen, share and are willing to support me to solve difficulties in school" (Mean = 3.63), "the school always cares and handles fairly and publicly cases of school violence among students” (Mean = 3.51), etc With the inverse clauses, most students disagreed: "I am very afraid of teachers at my school, every time I have difficulties, I not dare to actively share with my teachers" (Mean = 2.47), "my teachers are very strict and hard to approach” (Mean = 2.38) f Behavior between parents and students Most students agreed that: "my parents always listen, share and support me when I encounter difficulties in school" (Mean = 3.84), "in my family, the members are always willing to listen, share, sympathize and respect each other” (Mean = 3.70), “when I encounter difficulties at school I will share and seek help from my parents” (Mean = 3.62) With the inverse clauses, most students disagreed: "my parents are very fastidious and strict, I often not dare to proactively speak out the difficulties I have encountered at school" (Mean = 3.32), "my parents are very busy with their work and not have time to care about my friendships" (Mean = 3.31) 4.3.2 Forecast of changes in a number of ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students in relation to the influencing factors 4.3.2.1 Models that predict changes in the coping with negative thoughts by lower secondary students Table 4.28: Five models predicting changes in the coping with negative thoughts by lower secondary students Level of Five models predicting changes in the coping with Beta significance negative thoughts by lower secondary students (p) Model 1: r² = 0,24; constant = 3,73; p < 0,001 Behavior between parents and students -0,49 0,000 Model 2: r² = 0,27; constant = 4,11; p < 0,001 Behavior between parents and students -0,37 0,000 The students' awareness of acts of school violence -0,21 0,000 Model 3: r² = 0,29; constant = 4,60; p < 0,01 Behavior between parents and students -0,33 0,000 The students' awareness of acts of school violence -0,17 0,001 The students' attitude of life -0,15 0,001 18 Five models predicting changes in the coping with negative thoughts by lower secondary students Beta Level of significance (p) Model 4: r² = 0,30; constant = 4,71; p < 0,01 Behavior between parents and students -0,28 0,000 The students' awareness of acts of school violence -0,14 0,007 The students' attitude of life -0,14 0,002 The students' personality -0,15 0,002 Model 5: r² = 0,31; constant = 4,72; p < 0,05 Behavior between parents and students -0,24 0,000 The students' awareness of acts of school violence -0,11 0,027 The students' attitude of life -0,13 0,004 The students' personality -0,12 0,014 The students' friendship -0,12 0,021 The results of stepwise multiple regression analysis show that there are optimal forecasting models, where the model that explains most changes in the negative coping by the students is model 5, which explained 31% of the changes in this way of coping 4.3.2.2 Models that predict changes in the coping with negative emotions to acts of school violence by lower secondary students Table 4.30: Five models predicting changes in the coping with negative emotions by lower secondary students Level of Five models predicting changes in the coping with Beta significance negative emotions by lower secondary students (p) Model 1: r² = 0,28; constant = 4,06; p < 0,001 Behavior between school, teachers and students -0,53 0,000 Model 2: r² = 0,36; constant = 4,71; p < 0,001 Behavior between school, teachers and students -0,37 0,000 The students' awareness of acts of school violence -0,32 0,000 Model 3: r² = 0,38; constant = 4,79; p < 0,001 Behavior between school, teachers and students -0,26 0,000 The students' awareness of acts of school violence -0,26 0,000 Behavior between parents and students -0,21 0,000 Model 4: r² = 0,40; constant = 4,92; p < 0,01 Behavior between school, teachers and students -0,23 0,000 The students' awareness of acts of school violence -0,23 0,000 Behavior between parents and students -0,18 0,001 The students' personality -0,15 0,001 Model 5: r² = 0,40; constant = 4,94; p < 0,01 Behavior between school, teachers and students -0,19 0,000 The students' awareness of acts of school violence -0,20 0,000 Behavior between parents and students -0,15 0,004 The students' personality -0,12 0,006 The students' friendship -0,13 0,009 19 The results of stepwise multiple regression analysis show that there are optimal forecasting models, where the two models that explain most changes in this way of coping are models and 5, which explained 40% of the changes in this way of coping 4.3.2.3 Models that predict changes in the coping with negative actions by lower secondary students Table 4.32: Four models predicting changes in the coping with negative actions by lower secondary students Level of Four models predicting changes in the coping with negative Beta significance actions by lower secondary students (p) Model 1: r² = 0,20; constant = 3,00; p < 0,001 Behavior between parents and students -0,45 0,000 Model 2: r² = 0,26; constant = 3,70; p < 0,001 Behavior between parents and students -0,34 0,000 The students' attitude of life -0,27 0,000 Model 3: r² = 0,29; constant = 3,83 p < 0,001 Behavior between parents and students -0,26 0,000 The students' attitude of life -0,24 0,000 The students' personality -0,18 0,000 Model 4: r² = 0,30; constant = 3,90; p < 0,01 Behavior between parents and students -0,22 0,000 The students' attitude of life -0,22 0,000 The students' personality -0,15 0,001 The students' awareness of acts of school violence -0,11 0,024 The results of stepwise multiple regression analysis show that there are optimal forecasting models, where the model that explains most changes in this way of coping is model 4, which explained 30% of the changes in the coping with negative actions by the students 4.4 Case study of the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students 4.4.1 Case 1: A student was teased, ridiculed by friends for "girl-like personality" Diagram 4.1: Ways of coping with acts of school violence by T.T.N and the influencing factors 20 When N was teased and ridiculed by his friends, he initially repressed his anger and discomfort, but then he decided to confront and seek help from his friends, family and school (he planned to tell his mom and ask for class transfer when going to 9th grade), he knew how to balance his emotions, comfort himself, think positively, think about solving problems and acted to solve his problem (his willingness and initiative to share his story also showed this spirit) The researcher found that N still did not really solve his problem, he did not really understand his sexual orientation, was not fully aware of acts of sexual abuse and acts of school violence so he was selfdeprecating about himself Therefore, the researcher conducted personal psychological consultation for N 4.4.2 Case 2: A student was pressured by his friends for studying well and acting as a monitor Diagram 4.2: Ways of coping with acts of school violence by N.H.N.M and the influencing factors When N.M was pressured, forced by his friends to resign from monitor and reduce his academic performance, at first he did not care, but then when his friends tried to hit him, during self-defense he hit his friends once, then he felt guilty and apologized his friends and talked directly to his friends so that the could understand him better Before that he also confided the story to his friends, he also planned to tell his parents and the homeroom teacher if the issue was more serious Finally, with his sincerity and positive thoughts, N.M has solved his problem In the case of N.M, the researcher found that he was very agile, vivacious, and optimistic and he knew how to cope positively when encountering difficulties in his relationship with friends, so the researcher did not conduct personal psychological consultation with N.M But the researcher still maintained an indirect interaction with him via Facebook and phone to help him expand his knowledge of personal psychology and social skills 21 4.4.3 Case 3: A student was slandered to steal money by his friends Diagram 4.3: Ways of coping with acts of school violence by Đ.Q.A and the influencing factors When A was slandered by his friends to steal the money of a classmate, and was intentionally provoked by a male classmate, A coped by clearly showing his angry feelings to his friends, this was related to his thinking about the matter, he believed that only by hitting his friends will they stop provoking him Although he faced his problem by meeting the friend who lost money to make it clear that he was not involved in that matter, but he retaliated when being provoked by his friends by hitting them When he didn't get the support of his friends, he thought that they didn't trust and help him, only he could solve the problem he was encountering Through A's story, the researcher found that A did not really solve his problem, he had many negative emotions and this is adversely affecting his daily life Therefore, the researcher conducted personal psychological consultation with Đ.Q.A Sub-conclusion of chapter CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS CONCLUSIONS Through the study of theory and practice of the ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students, a number of the following conclusions can be drawn: - In the world and in Vietnam, there are many research projects on the ways of coping by students to difficulties in life, these studies are based on many different perspectives to point out models, styles, strategies, and ways of coping by students when they encounter a dangerous situation In different groups of students, their ways of coping are also different The studies in the world mainly rely on the content, purpose and significance of coping behavior to categorize coping into different ways such as: coping by focusing on the problem, coping by focusing on emotions, coping by focusing on evasion, positive coping, and negative coping, etc At the same time, the exploratory factor analysis is used to build coping scales for different subjects In Vietnam, when studying the ways of coping in general and ways of coping by students in particular, researchers often rely on three basic psychological functions 22 which are thoughts, emotions and actions to indicate the coping expressions to these three aspects, on the other hand, they also rely on the content, purpose and significance of the coping behavior to the subjects to divide into different ways of coping - Coping means conscious reactions, which are consistent with purpose and psychological and physiological characteristics of each individual, expressed through thoughts, emotions and actions when an individual encounters a certain dangerous situation Coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students means conscious reactions, consistent with the purpose and the psychological and physiological characteristics of each student, expressed through thoughts, emotions and actions when a student is a victim of certain acts of school violence - Ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students are shown in expressions with 11 specific ways of coping: coping with negative thoughts (problem resignation, problem inference); coping with positive thoughts (self-comfort, problem-solving orientation); coping with negative emotions (emotional expression, emotional repression); coping with positive emotions (emotional balance); coping with negative actions (evasion, retaliation/self-harm); coping with positive actions (confrontation/seeking help, problem-solving actions) Ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students are affected by personal psychological and psychosocial factors: students' awareness of acts of school violence; students' personality; students' attitude of life; students' friendship; behavior between the school, teachers and students; behavior between parents and students - When lower secondary students experience school violence, they will first cope by confrontation, seeking help, then emotional balance, self-comfort, and problem-solving orientation Emotional suppression, problem inference, problem evasion, problem resignation, emotional expression and retaliation/self-harm are the ways of coping that students rarely use when encountering acts of school violence That is, when students experience acts of school violence, they often cope with positive actions, positive emotions, and positive thoughts The ways of coping with negative thoughts, negative emotions and especially negative actions are not appreciated by the students There is a statistically significant difference between the students’ ways of coping with geographic, gender and grade variables There is a strong correlation between the students’ ways of coping - Among the psychosocial and psychological factors affecting the expressions and ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students, the behavior between parents and students, behavior between the school/teachers and students, students' friendships, and students’ attitude of life are the most influential factors and can change the ways of coping by lower secondary students when they encounter acts of school violence The weaker influential factors are students’ personality and students’ awareness of acts of school violence - An analysis of the three cases of students’ ways of coping with acts of school violence showed: (1) a student’s ways of coping when he was teased and ridiculed by his friends for girl-like personality; (2) a student’s ways of coping when he was pressured by his friends to resign from monitor and reduce his academic performance; (3) a student’s ways of coping when he was slandered to steal money by his friends From these three cases, it is possible to see how common ways of coping are expressed 23 in a particular case and more clearly see how influencing factors affect the students’ ways of coping Personal psychological consultation can help students develop selfawareness, know how to approach and evaluate problems from different perspectives, thereby knowing objective assessments about themselves and others, taking initiative to improve relationships with friends, proactively confronting and effectively resolving contradictory situations in friendships RECOMMENDATIONS *To lower secondary school administrators - Issue a code of conduct in their school, set up a school psychology counseling team, establish a hotline to record information related to acts of school violence occurring in their school and publicize the procedure of coping with school violence cases related to the school’s students - Organize training courses for teachers and students to raise awareness about effective prevention and ways of coping with acts of school violence - Keep regular contact with students' parents through representatives of parents' committee, to promptly coordinate with students' families to prevent and cope positively to acts of school violence *To homeroom teachers and psychologists of lower secondary schools - Actively improve their understanding of the psychological characteristics of lower secondary students, especially improve their ability to early detect students who are at risk of encountering acts of school violence - Keep regular contact with students' parents and class officers, promptly coordinate with related parties to support students to effectively cope with acts of school violence, consult individually for students who have not coped effectively with acts of school violence *To students’ parents - Proactively improve their understanding of psychological characteristics of lower secondary students, actively coordinate with the school, homeroom teachers and school psychologists to monitor the learning and development of their children - Proactively pay attention to the emotional life of their children, proactively listen, sincerely share, promptly detect and support when their children encounter difficulties *To lower secondary students - Proactively improve their understanding of effective prevention and coping when encountering acts of school violence - Proactively care for, listen to, share with their parents, sympathize with their parents and proactively seek help from their parents when encountering difficulties in learning and life - Respect, be respectful to teachers, proactively share with teachers whenever they encounter difficulties and boldly speak out their concerns and worries with teachers - Students should also develop positive friendships based on the principle of mutual respect, caring, sharing and supporting each other when they encounter difficulties - In particular, students should consider and objectively assess the problems they encounter Limit unilateral, subjective, and negative thoughts about others or difficulties they encounter Proactively participate in social and community activities and participate in useful entertainment activities./ 24 LIST OF PUBLISHED ARTICLES AND WORKS RELATED TO THE THESIS Nguyen Van Tuong (2019), Some models predicting changes in coping with school violence with negative thoughts by lower secondary students, Journal of Psychology, Issue (238), P 75-90 Nguyen Van Tuong (2018), The actual state of school violence of lower secondary students in Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Thuan Province, Journal of Education and Social Affairs, Special issue of Period 2, September 2018, P 147-151 Nguyen Van Tuong (2018), Some models predicting the change of coping with positive thoughts by lower secondary students when suffering from school violence, Education Management Journal, Issue of September, 2018, P 26-33 Nguyen Van Tuong (2018), Some models predicting the change of coping by expressing emotions by lower secondary students who are victims of acts of school violence, Proceedings of the Scientific Conference "Development of professional social work in schools of Vietnam: Actual state - Solutions Development orientation, Ho Chi Minh City National University Publishing House, P 249-258 Nguyen Thi Hoa, Nguyen Van Tuong (2018), Correlation between behavioral culture in students' families and ways of coping with acts of school violence by lower secondary students, Proceedings of the National Scientific Conference: Psychology and sustainable development, Hong Duc Publishing House, P 117 - 125 Nguyen Thi Hoa, Nguyen Van Tuong (2018), Model of forecasting changes in coping with school violence with negative actions by lower secondary students, Proceedings of the National Scientific Conference: Psychology and sustainable development, Hong Duc Publishing House, P 319 - 330 Nguyen Van Tuong (2018), The correlation between school behavior and coping by lower secondary students when encountering acts of school violence, Proceedings of the National Scientific Conference "School culture in the context of educational innovation”, Academy of Educational Management, Labor - Social Publishing House, P 260-267 ... school violence (mental violence, physical violence, and material violence), mental violence was chosen by students with the highest Mean (3.07), followed by physical violence (2.96) and material violence... school violence, which is an important measure to help students prevent and cope positively to this negative behavior In Vietnam, acts of school violence by students have been receiving the attention... Binh Thuan Province (p > 0.05) who are victims of forms of school violence That is the students in Ho Chi Minh City or Binh Thuan are victims of acts of school violence, where mental violence has