IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v21y2024i8p991-d1444864.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Perception and Roles of School Mental Health Professionals Regarding School Bullying ( Suluk Audwani ) in Oman: A Qualitative Study in an Urban Setting

Author

Listed:
  • Muna Al Saadoon

    (Department of Child Health, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat 123, Oman)

  • Rawaa Abubakr Abuelgassim Eltayib

    (Department of Family Medicine & Public Health, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat 123, Oman)

  • Amjad Hassan Alhaj

    (Sociology and Social Work, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat 123, Oman)

  • Moon Fai Chan

    (Department of Family Medicine & Public Health, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat 123, Oman)

  • Said Aldhafri

    (Department of Psychology, College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat 123, Oman)

  • Samir Al-Adawi

    (Department of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat 123, Oman)

Abstract

With increasing mental health risks among school populations and prevalent bullying, school mental health professionals (SMHP) are crucial globally. This study explores the perspectives of SMHP on bullying in Omani schools, focussing on definitions, types, current practices, and future strategies. Involving 50 Omani SMHP from Muscat Governorate with at least three years of experience, data was collected through structured interviews and analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s six-step thematic analysis. Six key themes emerged: The definition of bullying, its components, common types, current anti-bullying practices, challenges, and future suggestions. Bullying, termed “سلوكعدواني” ( Suluk Audwani ), meaning aggressive behavior, includes five components: perpetrators, victims, harmful behavior, spectators, and psychosocial factors. Verbal bullying, physical bullying, and cyberbullying are common and vary by age. SMHP frequently employ awareness-raising and psychological first aid. Challenges include resistance from students and parents and institutional barriers. In the future, SMHP will emphasize greater awareness to effectively address Suluk Audwani. Oman has adopted international best practices to recruit SMHP. SMHP’s perspectives on Suluk Audwani reflect both their training and Omani cultural influences. Future research should explore various social strata to improve evidence-based understanding and prevention of Suluk Audwani .

Suggested Citation

  • Muna Al Saadoon & Rawaa Abubakr Abuelgassim Eltayib & Amjad Hassan Alhaj & Moon Fai Chan & Said Aldhafri & Samir Al-Adawi, 2024. "The Perception and Roles of School Mental Health Professionals Regarding School Bullying ( Suluk Audwani ) in Oman: A Qualitative Study in an Urban Setting," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(8), pages 1-21, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:8:p:991-:d:1444864
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/8/991/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/8/991/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Muna Al-Saadoon & Manal Al-Adawi & Samir Al-Adawi, 2021. "Socio-Cultural Constraints in Protecting Child Rights in a Society in Transition: A Review and Synthesis from Oman," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(1), pages 239-267, February.
    2. Muthanna Samara & Nura Alkathiri & Mahitab Sherif & Aiman El-Asam & Sara Hammuda & Peter K. Smith & Hisham Morsi, 2024. "Bullying in the Arab World: Definition, Perception, and Implications for Public Health and Interventions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(3), pages 1-23, March.
    3. Yijing Zhang & Ji-Kang Chen, 2023. "Emotional Intelligence and School Bullying Victimization in Children and Youth Students: A Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-16, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Samir Al-Adawi & Aishwarya Ganesh & Lara Al-Harthi & Muna Al-Saadoon & Nasser Sibani & Ajitha Eswaramangalam, 2023. "Epidemiological and Psychosocial Correlates of Cognitive, Emotional, and Social Deficits among Children and Adolescents in Oman: A Literature Review," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(2), pages 689-716, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:8:p:991-:d:1444864. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.