Many children are all too familiar with the concept of bullying. They could give you a definition simply by talking about their daily routine. Bullying has gotten significant attention, especially in the past few years, due to a growing awareness of other forms of aggression that take place via the internet and through cell phones. The popular movie from 2004, “Mean Girls,” caused many to focus attention on psychological bullying that exists in schools today. Bullying is much more than the use of physical force. It can also take the form of verbalized taunts and threats or be relational in nature such as spreading of gossip or deliberately excluding one person. It can be based on race, gender, sexuality or personality. Technology has made bullying easier and more convenient. Consequently, now intimidation and belittling can be done through social media sites, blogs or through bombarding victims with text messages. Dr. Dan Olweus, who is considered a pioneer in bullying research, has categorized it this way: "A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself."1 Maybe this definition brings to memory your own childhood or maybe it is something your child is suffering with even now.
One caution may be helpful to keep in mind. It is possible to be over vigilant about bullying. By this I mean that parents, teachers and other authority figures can begin to view everything through the expectation of bullying. There exists a middle ground between indifference and hyper-sensitivity. This middle ground ought to be one which does not ignore bullying that occurs, but it simultaneously keeps a realistic attitude towards it happening. Bullying will take place, because not everything can be seen, but it must be dealt with to the greatest extent possible. This battle can be addressed from multiple fronts.
- Caring for the child who is bullied to minimize its impact
- Working with the perpetrator to decrease bullying behavior
- Helping parents to help their children
- Working collaboratively with youth, parents and educators all together to educate and equip them in proactively preventing bullying
The APA cites a 2001 study done of 15,000 youth from 6th through 10th grades. This study found that roughly one in five students reports being a bully or being a victim of bullying “'sometimes' or more.”2 The impact of this cannot be underestimated. Not only does this affect their day to day lives, but bullying can have serious negative long-term consequences as it affects the individual's self-image. It is my hope that you will find this month's blog informative and helpful, and that it provides you with tools to handle this difficult issue.
1 Olweus. What is Bullying?. Retrieved from http://olweus.org/public/bullying.page
2 American Psychological Association (October 29, 2004). School Bullying is Nothing New, But Psychologists Identify New Ways to Prevent It, Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/research/action/bullying.aspx
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