Dr. MJ Bazos, Patient Handout
BULLYING

What is ‘Bullying’?

Bullying is a form of inter-child aggression which occurs when a child is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more children.
What distinguishes bullying from the usual conflicts between children is that bullying behaviour is a combination of power and aggression.
Bullying may be physical (hitting or kicking); verbal (name-calling, insults, racist comments and constant teasing); relational (gossip, ostracism); or reactive (taunting which invites retaliation).
Many victims of bullying are different in some way, which often explains their lack of power. Children who are fatter, skinnier, wear glasses, have speech impediments or a learning disability are common victims. They can become isolated and withdrawn, anxious and insecure, which may increase their likelihood of being targeted.

Why care about bullying?

Bullying is a pervasive problem. A major study in Toronto schools found that a bullying act took place on school grounds, and in other supervised areas of the school, every seven minutes. Teachers were aware of only 4% of these incidents.
Most bullying goes unreported because the victims feels that nothing will be done and they might receive greater retaliation the next time. Those who watch are afraid to report because they might lose their social status, because of the tendency to prefer to identify with the power of the bully rather than with the weakness of the victim, and because of fears that they might be next.
Boys and girls engage in bullying at approximately the same rate. Boys report more physical forms of bullying, whereas girls bully in socially-oriented ways, such as by exclusion.
Bullying has an enduring effect on both victim and bully. One longitudinal study has shown that 60% of boys who were nominated as bullies in Grades 6 to 9 had at least one court conviction by age 35 to 40% had three or more convictions by age 24, compared to 10% for the control group of non-bullying boys.
We do not know, yet, however, whether bullying is predictive of later aggressive uses of power or whether it exists on a continuum from bullying to sexual harassment and dating violence.
Longitudinal research on aggressive children shows that their prognosis for healthy development is poor.
Children who become established in the role of victim are often rejected by their peers and are, therefore, at risk of later adjustment problems, such as depression and school dropout.
The impact of bullying extends from bully and victim to those who witness it:

- 90% of students don’t like to see someone bullied,
- 33% said they would join in, and
- peers participated in 85% of the bullying episodes.

Strategies to stop Bullying

The power of peer intervention:

Bullying usually involves more than the bully and the victim – 85% of bullying episodes occur in the context of a peer group.
Children helping other children is a powerful experience which can build self-esteem and resilience.
Children dislike bullying in their schools and want to help stop it.
Children and adolescents are not aware that they may feed the problem by not intervening.
Peers need to be taught how to intervene.
Teachers and parents are relatively unaware of bullying episodes – bullying is an underground activity, hidden from adults.
Teaching children different and effective strategies to achieve social approval from their peers may reduce aggressive behaviour.
A bully’s triumph over the victim is the reward, and a lack of negative consequences may increase the likelihood of other children being aggressive.

Peer Intervention by Adolescents: Why it Works

They are struggling with their own hurts.
They are acting as primary supports for their peers.
They are responsible for other children in their communities as baby-sitters, coaches and leaders of youth groups.
They are making major life decisions about who they are and the quality of their relationships.
They are capable of breaking the cycle of violence.
They are preparing to become the parents of the next generation.

What can children and youth do now:

Find your friends and make sure that none of you is either bully or victim. If you don’t have a lot of friends, try joining a school club and become part of a group that way.
Stop teasing or otherwise participating in bullying behaviour.
Stand up for the child who may be different and find a new friend.
Report bullying to an adult when you see it.
Speak up to a teacher or other adult you trust if you are being bullied. Expect that adult to help you.
Stay safe. Avoid isolated parts of the school.
If you are being bullied, try to ignore it. The bully wants a reaction. If you don’t react, the bully is more likely to lose interest.

What can adults do?

Younger children, in kindergarten through Grade 4, look to adults for protection from bullying. By Grade 6, they think bullying cannot be stopped. By Grade 8, children are beginning to understand the personal dynamics of bullying and have a more sophisticated view of anti-social behaviour perceiving it as a symptom of a child’s troubled environment.
To influence children’s behaviour it is important to develop understanding within the context of strategies children can use to solve the problem.

What works?

The best intervention is one which addresses the social context in which bullying occurs – the culture of the school. It must be a collaborative effort of teachers, parents and students.
The first step in such an effort is a school policy with clearly stated rules against bullying. Classroom discussions are also essential as they serve to sensitize children to the problem, help them to identify the consequences for bullying and in coming up with ways to help the victims. Also necessary is increased adult active supervision of playgrounds.

What you can do now:

Expose bullying – name it – provide a way for your children to understand what is happening when they witness or experience bullying.
Raise awareness – reduce victim isolation and increase the likelihood of reporting.
Speak in the language of young people.

Websites:
Bully B’Ware Productions at: http:/www.bullyb’ware.com

Totally devoted to bully prevention, this website is out of British Columbia and takes a look at the impact of bullying as well as providing tips and strategies on how to deal with bullies.

Another website to check out is:
http://www.bullying.org/