Bully/victim problems among Greek pupils with special educational needs: associations with loneliness and self-efficacy for peer interactions Eleni Andreou 1 , Eleni Didaskalou 2 and Anastasia Vlachou 2 1 Department of Primary Education, University of Thessaly, Greece; 2 Department of Special Education, University of Thessaly, Greece Key words: Pupils with SENDs, bullying, victimisation, loneliness, social dissatisfaction, self-efficacy, peer interactions, social inclusion. This study explores the prevalence of different types of bullying and victimisation among Greek pupils receiving special education support provi- sion. Associations of these types with feelings of loneliness and perceived social efficacy for peer interactions are also examined. The sample con- sisted of 178 students of fifth and sixth primary school grades who participated in pull-out special education delivery programmes. Participants were found to be actively involved in both bullying and victimisation, with higher rates in victimisation. Sta- tistically significant gender and disability differ- ences in bullying and loneliness were identified. Both bullying and victimisation were associated with loneliness/social dissatisfaction, and self-efficacy for peer interactions. Moreover, our data provided evidence that bully/victims may be a distinct group in terms of their increased levels of loneliness. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for promoting children with special educational needs and disabilities social inclusion. Bullying in schools has been recognised as a widespread and serious problem with long-term and devastating effects on children’s psychosocial adjustment and well-being (Andreou, Vlachou and Didaskalou, 2005; Stevens, De Bourdeaudhuij and Van Oost, 2000; Storch, Larson and Ehrenreich-May et al., 2012). Bullying is a form of physi- cal, verbal or social aggression that consists of repeated use of force against peers over extended periods of time. It includes name-calling, threatening, teasing, hitting and exclusion (Olweus, 1993). Incidents tend to occur most frequently in locations where adult supervision is limited, such as on the playground (Bourke and Burgman, 2010; Norwich and Kelly, 2004; Sapouna, 2008), and in hallways and bathrooms (Fleming and Towey, 2002; Olweus, 1993). Nevertheless, bullying also occurs in classrooms with teachers present (Parault, Davis and Pelligrini, 2007). Numerous studies have identified pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SENDs) as a group, particularly at risk of being victimised and engaged in bul- lying others (Frederickson and Furnham, 2004; Lindsay, Dockrell and Mackie, 2008; Mishna, 2003; Savage, 2005). In fact, McLaughlin, Byers and Vaughan (2010), and Rose, Monda-Amaya and Espelage (2011), in an extensive review of the available research base, demonstrated that a significant proportion of pupils with SENDs attending mainstream schools ranging from 30% up to over 80%, which extends beyond the national average of their non- disabled peers, have experienced victimisation. On the other hand, empirical evidence cited in the thorough analysis of several relevant studies conducted by Rose et al. (2011) indicates that some pupils with disabilities are likely to exhibit higher levels of aggressive and chal- lenging behaviours, and are more frequently involved in bullying perpetration than the average of their peer group without SENDs. Problems with bullying emerge through a complex process of social interactions with significant others. In this process, peers exercise a critical role in developing, maintaining or altering the social environment in which bullying problems occur (Salmivalli, 2001; Stevens et al., 2000). Research on the interactions between pupils with SENDs and their peers demonstrates that they affect one another in various ways. For instance, numerous studies based on peer reports have identified high proportions of pupils with SENDs possess- ing low social status and being less accepted and more rejected than their mainstream peers (Lindsay et al., 2008; Norwich and Kelly, 2004). Further, pupils with SENDs encounter significant difficulties in forming social relation- ships with their mainstream schoolmates (Frederickson, Simmonds and Evans et al., 2007), and this may lead to social rejection and victimisation (Al-Yagon and Margalit, 2006; Didaskalou, Andreou and Vlachou, 2009). As the evidence of the research conducted by Humphrey and Symes (2010b) on a sample of British secondary education pupils with autistic spectrum disorders indicates, their engagement in bullying and victimisation dynamics was largely dictated by the fractious relationships with their peers, and the limited acceptance and companionship they usually receive from their classmates. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs · Volume •• · Number •• · 2013 ••–•• doi: 10.1111/1471-3802.12028 1 © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs © 2013 NASEN