Bullying
What can kids do?
What can parents
do?
What can teachers
do?
Bullying is recognized as one of the major problems facing United States’
schools today. It occurs along a continuum, with students assuming roles
including bully, victim, and bully/victim.[1] Current estimates suggest
that nearly 30% of American students are involved in bullying in one of
these capacities. [2] Specifically, findings derived from a nationally
representative sample indicated that among 6th to 10th graders, 13% had
bullied others, 11% had been bullied, and 6% had both bullied others and
been bullied. [2]
What is the definition of bullying?
“A student is being bullied or victimized when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more students”. [3] The preceding definition highlights the aggressive component of bullying as well as the associated inherent power imbalance and repetitive nature. In recent years scholars have recognized the wide range of behaviors consistent with bullying. Many people think that bullying involves only physically aggressive, face-to-face acts. However, verbal bullying is the most frequent form of bullying for both girls and boys, and girls are at an increased risk for relational bullying (gossip and rumor-spreading). “Derogatory speculation” regarding sexual orientation is another form of bullying. [4]
Are some youth more likely to bully others or to be victimized?
Individual, family, and school factors all influence students’ risk for being bullied or bullying others.
For victims of bullying, some of these factors include:
• Boys experience more physical bullying victimization (e.g., being
hit)
• Girls are more likely to be targets of indirect victimization
(e.g., social exclusion)
• Obesity
• Enrollment in remedial education
• Having developmental disabilities
• Insecurity and anxiety
For bullies, some of these factors include:
• Boys are more likely to bully their peers than girls
• Having behavioral, emotional, or learning problems
• Physical strength
• Authoritarian parents who condone “fighting back”
• Parents who use physical discipline
• Less social support from parents
• Have peers who also bully
What are the effects of bullying?
Victims, bullies, and bully/victims often report adverse psychological effects and poor school adjustment as a result of their involvement in bullying. [5]
Compared to their non-bullied peers, targets of bullying experience more:
• Loneliness
• Depression
• School avoidance
• Suicidal ideation
Bullies are more likely than non-bullies to experience:
• Externalizing behaviors (e.g., truancy, acting out)
• Conduct problems
• Delinquency
Students who bully peers and are also targets of bullying themselves (i.e., bully/victims) are considered to be a particularly at-risk group of youth. Bully/victims, as compared to their peers, are more likely to experience:
• Externalizing behaviors (e.g., truancy, acting out)
• Hyperactivity
• Psychiatric consultation referrals
Are there any long-term effects for victims or bullies?
For some youth there are long-term effects from their involvement in bullying episodes either as victims or bullies. For instance, results from Olweus’ (1995) longitudinal work indicated that at age 23, individuals who had been chronically victimized in their youth had lower self-esteem and were more depressed than non-victimized members of their cohort.[6] Similarly, long-term outcomes for bullies also can be serious; compared to their peers, bullies are more likely to be convicted of crimes in adulthood. [7] In addition, a study conducted in the United States revealed that youth identified as bullies in school had a 1 in 4 chance of having a criminal record by age 30. [8]
Bullies need your help and support too. Because family dynamics are among the risk factors for bullies, it is important to recognize that bullying behaviors may be a sign that there are problems at home. Help the bullying child build supportive relationships with adults and develop healthy peer relations.
Every child has unique strengths and qualities. Although it’s easy to see the bully as “all bad”, bullies too have contributions to make. Helping a bully recognize their potential for positive contributions and learning how to use their power in healthy and meaningful ways, such as focusing energy on hobbies or causes, will alleviate bullying problems and the long-term consequences associated with bullying.
_____________________________________________________________________
This Primer on bullying was prepared by Melissa Holt,
PhD of the UNH Crimes Against Children Research Center. Melissa is an
UNH Center on Adolescence Associate.
Contributing Author, Abby Winzeler
This primer on bullying was possible, in part, through a grant from the NH Charitable Foundation- Madison Fund
References
[1] Espelage, D. L., Bosworth, K., & Simon, T. R. (2000). Examining
the social context of bullying behaviors in early adolescence. Journal
of Counseling and Development, 78(3), 326-333.
[2] Nansel, T. R., Overpeck, M., Pilla, R. S., Ruan, W. J., Simons-Morton, B. G., & Scheidt, P. (2001). Bullying behaviors among US youth: Prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment. Journal of the American Medical Association, 285, 2094-2100.
[3] Olweus, D. (2001). Peer harassment: A critical analysis and some important issues. In J. Juvonen & S. Graham (Eds.), Peer harassment in schools: The plight of the vulnerable and the victimized. New York: The Guilford Press
[4] HRSA Fact Sheet, What We Know About Bulling, accessed 9/22/04 at http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/indexAdult.asp?Area=resourcekit
[5] Juvoven, J., Nishina, A., & Graham, S. (2000). Self-views versus peer perceptions of victim status among early adolescents. In J. Juvonen & S. Graham (Eds.), Peer harassment in schools: The plight of the vulnerable and victimized (pp. 105-124). New York: The Guilford Press.
[5] Nansel, T. R., Haynie, D. L., & Simons-Morton, B. G. (2003).
The association of bullying and victimization with middle school adjustment.
Journal of Applied School Psychology, 19(45-61)
[6] Olweus, D. (1995). Bullying or peer abuse at school: Facts and interventions.
Current Directions in Psychological Science, 4(6), pg pg. 196-200.
[7] Olweus, D. (1993). Bully/victim problems among schoolchildren: Long-term consequences and an effective intervention program. In S. Hodgins (Ed.), Mental disorder and crime (pp. 317-349). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
[8] Eron, Huesmann, Dubow, Romanoff, & Yarnel, (1987). Aggression
and its correlates over 22 years. In D. H. Crowell & I. M. Evans (Eds.),
Childhood aggression and violence: Sources of influence, prevention, and
control (pp. 249-262). New York: Plenum Press.
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