Using Music and Imagery to Explore Bullying Behavior in Elementary School Children
Jennie P. Band - Volume: 15
This qualitative, phenomenological study reports the use of an adaptation of the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM; Bonny, 1978) to explore the bullying behavior of elementary school children. The child perpetrators of bullying behavior listened to a short selection of music in a relaxed, focused state and then wrote original stories about bullying. The researcher analyzed the children’s stories, as well as their comments about how the music “told” them about bullying for meaning and described the common clusters of themes in an attempt to understand the essence of the bullying experience for children who engage in this behavior. Adaptations of the Bonny Method of GIM may provide an assessment and effective treatment intervention for children who engage in bullying behavior, as it allows them to explore the power differential inherent in bullying and encourages them to develop empathy for the target of their behavior.
Key Words: Bullying, music and imagery, children