Rubicon grant for research into anti-bullying programmes in Finland

Lydia Laninga-Wijnen has received a Rubicon grant. This NWO grant will allow the recent PhD graduate to conduct research at the University of Turku in Finland for two years. The UU researcher is looking forward to her collaboration with Finnish scientists: ‘What I appreciate about this Finnish research group is that they are not afraid to look at what isn’t going well in current anti-bullying programmes, and what we can do about it. My project fits in perfectly with that.’

How cool and how surreal! It’s a dream come true.

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) awarded Rubicon grants to 24 researchers who have recently earned their PhD. All of them will be working at foreign research institutes. Laninga-Wijnen was notified that she had won this grant on Friday, 1 October. ‘I danced for joy around my office. How cool and how surreal! It’s a dream come true to be researching something that really matters: reducing bullying and ensuring that children feel happy and comfortable at school.’

Bullying is a group process

In her research, Laninga-Wijnen focuses on a frequently used component in anti-bullying programmes: encouraging others to defend the victim. ‘Bullying is a group process: in about 80% of cases, other children are involved. About 10-25% of these children actually try to do something about the bullying and defend the victim. This is good, because the silence of passive allies can be even more painful than the bullying itself.’

I hope that my research findings will also bring added value to the professional practice in the future.

Defending victims can also backfire

At the same time, previous research has shown that victims are not necessarily always helped by the defensive efforts of their peers. ‘Defending a victim sometimes even backfires: it can exacerbate the bullying, making victims feel even worse. I want to investigate why, and identify which factors do contribute to successful defence.’

Added value for professional practice

Laninga-Wijnen is looking forward to collaborating with Finnish colleagues such as Prof. Christina Salmivalli and Dr. Claire Garandeau. Over the next two years, she will also continue to work with Dutch coordinators of various anti-bullying programmes and with the School and Safety Foundation. ‘In doing so, I hope that my research findings will also bring added value to the professional practice in the future.’