The Neuman Systems Model
Nursing theorist Betty Neuman’s philosophy is “helping each other live” (Fawcett, 2000).  She believes that nurses are holistic healers and should focus on conserving their students’ energy while helping them achieve harmony as they adjust to the stressors in their environment.  Neuman hypothesizes that stressors exist in a student’s internal, external, and created environment, and they can be either negative or positive based on the student’s perception.  A student system is comprised of a series of circular structures representing lines of defense against stressor invasion (Fawcett, 2000).  The Neuman Systems Model states that the nurse is involved in three levels of prevention: primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention.   Each of these lines of defense and levels of prevention will be examined with respect to the stress of bullying on the student system from perspective of both the victim and perpetrator.