Abstract.

This article presents the results of a qualitative research that took place from September 2014 to January 2015 with students of three junior high schools belonging to the official system within the metropolitan area of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. The objective was to discover the role played by the emotions experimented by the students involved in school violence specifically mistreatment among equals. The information was obtained through three focus groups and eleven semi-structured interviews using the categorical thematic analysis. The results show an emotional pattern shared between observers and victims; victims and aggressors; and observers, victims and aggressors; this pattern is integrated by emotions that belong in the spectrum of emotions related to shame, in which underlies an insult or humiliation perceived as near or potential to the observer, real for the victim and occurred for the aggressor. It is concluded that this situation can turn the violence into an endless circle, in which students whether they are observers, victims, or aggressors, in an attempt to restore their value for themselves the others, try to overcome the shame of the received affront by using violence as a catharsis for shame. These findings will serve as empirical foundation to design educational interventions that consider the emotions of the students.

KeyWords: School violence; emotions; students; junior high school education.