ABSTRACT

Previous studies have associated initiation practices, also known as hazing, with conformity, fear, apprehension, anxiety, submission, coercion, desire for group integration, and acceptance. Therefore, students undergo several types of influences or pressures. We argue that the social environment surrounding the hazing in Portuguese universities has all the conditions to raise a spiral of silence.

We tested and confirmed Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann’s Spiral of Silence theory. Our empirical analysis is based on questionnaires to a sample of 350 students from two Portuguese institutions. We addressed several additional relevant variables, namely ones derived from the Theory of Planned Behaviour, and Communication Apprehension. Our results show that students who are against hazing and perceive a majority opinion in favour are less likely to express their opinions. We were also able to identify some identifying features of the avant-gardes: the minority that challenges the status quo. These are students who show a willingness to communicate, pay attention to the media, and come from families with higher educational backgrounds. We argue that top-down public policies about hazing are likely to fail. It will be better, in a bottom-up approach, to identify and support the avant-gardes

摘要

先前的研究将初始实践（也称为欺凌）与从众、恐惧、忧虑、焦虑、服从、胁迫、对群体整合的渴望和接受相关联。因此，学生会受到多种影响或压力。我们认为，围绕葡萄牙大学欺凌的社会环境具备引发沉默螺旋的所有条件。

我们测试并证实了 Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann 的沉默螺旋理论。我们的实证分析基于对来自两个葡萄牙机构的 350 名学生样本的问卷调查。我们讨论了几个额外的相关变量，即源自计划行为理论和沟通理解的变量。我们的结果表明，反对欺凌并认为多数意见支持的学生不太可能表达自己的意见。我们还能够确定前卫的一些特征：挑战现状的少数派。这些学生表现出愿意交流、关注媒体并来自具有较高教育背景的家庭。我们认为，关于欺凌的自上而下的公共政策可能会失败。会更好，以自下而上的方式，