Psychological responses to political hostility: a study on aggression, bullying, and well-being in Qatar

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic variables.

Demographic Variable	N = 24	%
Gender:
Male	10	41.7
Female	14	58.3
Age
30–35	7	29.2
36–40	7	29.2
41–45	5	20.8
46–50	2	8.3
50+	3	12.5
Education
Secondary	4	16.7
Undergraduate	15	62.5
Graduate +	5	20.8
Marital Status
Married	16	66.7
Divorced/Separated	8	33.3
Occupation
Private Business	2	8.3
Professional	19	79.2
Unemployed	3	12.5
Nationality
Qatari	14 (9 female and 5 male)	58.3
Bahraini	4 (3 female and 1 male)	16.6
Saudi Arabian	2 (1 female and 1 male)	8.3
Emirati	3 (1 female and 2 male)	12.5
Number of Children
1–2	12	50.0
3–4	7	29.2
5–6	5	20.8

Table 2. Brief examples of coding scheme.

Code	Description	Overarching Theme	Subtheme	Quotation Example
1	Aggression and bullying from peers and family	Type/place of aggression/bullying	1.1 Bullying in school	“Whenever someone knows that she (my daughter) is Saudi, she gets bullied (…). Her classmates start hinting (whispering) at her. It happened once that a girl pulled her hair and hit her.” QFP-1
				“You are Egyptian. Why are you staying in our country? Get out…” QFP-4
				“My children are rejected more day after day by their peers. At the beginning of the blockade, I did not hear nasty comments, but now I hear a lot of negative comments. They (her colleagues) say it as a joke. ‘Oh, Bahrainis? What do they want? What are they doing here? Let them consume the goodies of Doha.’ Simple words, indeed, but (words) have negatively affected me.” QFP-2
			1.2 Bullying in family gatherings	“When I am at a family gathering, they talk about the crisis (blockade) and direct words to me as if I am the Minister of Qatar Foreign Affairs (laughs). They say, ‘That is Qatar … that is Qatar.’ I listen to them, saying, ‘I know nothing about Qatar.’ They say, ‘No, you do. Don’t you know that they are preparing for something?’ I tell them, ‘I hope everything will be okay soon,’ and then I keep silent. I cannot say anything because they are my family. I do not want to lose my family relationships. I am never ready to get into a political debate that might risk my family relationship.” NQMP-2
				“We were visiting there (in Bahrain), and my little son, who is nine years old, received some comments from his father’s family. They exchanged comments like, ‘You are so-and-so,’ ‘You blockaded us,’ and ‘You are wrong.’” QFP-3
			1.3 Bullying through social media	“I’m part of the family group (WhatsApp)…. brother and sister. My brother sometimes bullies me by hurling abusive words at me. This behaviour makes me upset. My brother is a high school student. Since I know how easily WhatsApp groups can brainwash young people like him, I kept silent. But I find these (abusive words) upsetting.” NQMP-2
2	Impact of bullying on mental health and well-being	Effects and Impact	2.1 Effects on self-worth and self-harm	“She (name of the daughter) faced many situations and suffered from stress and depression. I mean, she developed a psychological problem. She started thinking about punishing herself, so she cut herself with blades. She did not miss her arteries; she only wounded herself to feel relieved from that pain (of bullying).” QFP-1
				“Some people respect us, but others throw insults as if we mean nothing to them. Sometimes, Qataris insulted Emiratis (and) spoke negatively of them in my presence, without respecting me as an Emirati national. This upsets me because I feel disrespected. Some people appreciate my company, but others say I don’t exist.” NQMP-2
			2.2 Loss of pride and national identity	“After the bullying incident, I felt he (my son) was not proud of being Egyptian. He used to be proud before, but later, he didn’t like it anymore. Even the way he spoke, I felt that he loved to speak with Qatari (dialect) and wanted to mingle with Qatari people (…) I think he denied his Egyptian identity and avoided talking to someone with the Egyptian dialect.” QFP-5
				“My younger son, for example, asked me, ‘Why don’t I become a Qatari?’ and I asked, ‘Why do you want to become a Qatari? What is wrong with being Bahraini?’ He said, no, because they (Bahrainis) are from the blockading countries. I do not want to be from the blockading countries because, in school, they (classmates) say, ‘You are from the blockading countries.’” QFP-3
			2.3 Social exclusion and isolation	“I was a spontaneous person. However, with this crisis, everyone has become suspicious. Communication with many people stopped. Even here in Qatar, I used to attend so many seminars. I have stopped such activities (laughs).” NQMP-24
				“Society pays more attention to any mistakes made by Emirati residents because of the current situation. I fear going out; I only go to work and back home. I don’t meet or call anyone. I know (doing so) will trigger a different reaction. I fear everything.” NQMP-23

Figure 1. Sociopolitical process of bullying and aggression.

The figure is a diagram of the sociopolitical process of bullying/aggression and its consequences. It is useful for understanding the complex factors contributing to bullying/aggression and its negative impact on adults and children.