Speaker
Presentation in English
VASILIKI MAKRYDAKI
UNIVERSITY OF THESSALY. GREECE
Vasiliki Makrydaki, MSc, is a Counselling Psychologist and PhD Candidate in Developmental Psychology at the University of Thessaly, Greece. Her doctoral research on school bullying in adolescence is funded by the Special Account of Research Grants of the University of Thessaly through a doctoral scholarship programme. She has experience in counselling, supervision, prevention, and psychosocial support with children, adolescents, adults, and vulnerable groups. She serves as APA Campus Ambassador and as National Representative for Greece in the Early Researchers Union of the European Association of Developmental Psychology.
From School Bullying to Meaning-Making: Developmental Narratives, Prevention, and Support Across Childhood and Adolescence
The present invited symposium addresses school bullying through an integrated developmental and practice-oriented lens across childhood and adolescence. Bringing together one longitudinal qualitative presentation and three interventionfocused contributions, it examines how school bullying is experienced, narrated, prevented, and addressed across development. The first presentation explores developmental changes in adolescents’ narratives of school bullying, highlighting shifts in meaning-making, self-blame, emotional processing, disclosure, inner voice, and the role of significant others in either intensifying distress or supporting recovery. Building on this developmental perspective, the remaining presentations focus on prevention, intervention, and support, with particular emphasis on school-based programs for children aimed at fostering safety, participation, emotional expression, and timely responses to bullying.
Across the symposium, school bullying is approached not only as a behavioral or disciplinary issue, but also as a relational and developmental experience with important psychological implications. By linking adolescents’ evolving narratives of victimization with prevention-oriented practices and supportive responses in childhood and adolescence, the symposium aims to offer a coherent framework for understanding and addressing school bullying in ways that are developmentally informed, relationally sensitive, and practically useful for clinicians, educators, school psychologists, and researchers.
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