Hazers' Personality Characteristics and the Perception of School Climate in Slovenia

This article presents the initiation rite for the admission of newcomers to Slovenian upper secondary education, which is called “pheasanting” and has similar characteristics to hazing. It examines the relationship between certain personality traits of hazers with their perception of the school climate and the severity of the hazing activities they engage in (subtle, harassing, and violent hazing). In a sample of 460 students in the fourth grade of upper secondary education, 25.4% of them had carried out hazing in the previous 3 years, of which 47% performed only subtle, 24% harassment, and 29% violent hazing. Violent and harassment hazers justified their actions much more often than subtle hazers by dominating and distorting of the consequences and by diffusing responsibility. They also had less empathy and perceived the school climate as enabling more aggressive attitude. However, violent hazers had the most negative attitude toward hazing, while harassment hazers found hazing most acceptable. Finally, some practical implications of the results at individual and school level are discussed.