School bullying

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This article primarily concerns student-related bullying at school. For teacher-related
bullying at school, seeBullying in teaching.


Bullying, of which one form is depicted in this staged photograph, is detrimental to students well-being and development.
[1]

School bullying is a type of bullying that occurs in an educational setting. Bullying can be
physical, sexual, verbal, or emotional in nature.
School bullying may be more specifically defined as an unwelcome behavior among school
aged children that involves a real or perceived powerimbalance. In order to be considered
bullying, the behavior must be repeated (or potentially repeated) and aggressive, and must
include
A difference in power: Kids who bully use their physical strength or popularity to control
or harm others.
Repetition: happening more than once or have the potential to happen more than once.
The long term effects of school bullying are numerous, and can include sensitivity, anxiety,
and depression. Recent statistics suggest that the majority of students will experience
bullying at some point in their academic careers. In the early 21st century, increasing
attention has been given to the importance of teachers and parents understanding and
recognizing the signs of bullying (among both bullies and victims), and being equipped with
strategies and tools to address school bullying.
Contents
[hide]
1 Statistics
2 Types include
o 2.1 Physical
o 2.2 Emotional
o 2.3 Verbal
o 2.4 Cyber-bullying
o 2.5 Sexual
o 2.6 Pack bullying
3 Associated with
4 Forms
5 Where and when it happens
6 Warning signs
7 Roles kids play
8 Short-term and long-term effects
9 Complex cultural dynamics
10 Responses
o 10.1 Identifying
o 10.2 Common myths/misconceptions
o 10.3 Strategies for teachers
o 10.4 Legislation
o 10.5 Reduction strategies
o 10.6 School shootings
11 Events and organizations
12 See also
13 References
14 Fictional bullies
15 Further reading
16 External links
Statistics[edit]
Bullying is a common occurrence in most schools. According to the American
Psychological Association, approximately "40% to 80% of school-age children experience
bullying at some point during their school careers".
[2]
Regardless of the grade level,
socioeconomic environment, gender, religion, or sexual orientation, bullying can happen to
anyone. However, various studies point out that students from lower socio-economic
backgrounds are more bullied than students from higher socio-economic
backgrounds.
[3]
Most children experience bullying at some point in their academic careers.
The following is a list of statistics that illustrate the severity of bullying within classrooms:
[2]

2040% of bullying victims actually report being bullied
70% of secondary school students experience bullying in school
712% of bullies are habitual and pose a serious threat
23% of 9th graders have carried a weapon to school recently
[4]

515% of students are constantly bullied
27% of students are bullied because of their refusal to engage in common sexual
practices
25% of students encourage bullying if not given proper education and support in anti-
bullying techniques
[5]

At least 1 in 3 adolescent students in Canada have reported being bullied recently
[6]

47% of Canadian parents report having a child victim of bullying
[6]

The rate of discrimination experienced among students who identify as Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Trans-identified, Two-Spirited, Queer or Questioning (LGBTQ) is three times
higher than heterosexual youth
[6]

The most common form of cyber-bullying involved receiving threatening or aggressive
e-mails or instant messages, reported by 73% of victims
[6]


This was a survey conducted by the NICHD and were the results on what students did in a
school. "The children were asked to complete a questionnaire during a class period that
asked how often they either bullied other students, or were the target of bullying behavior.
A total of 10.6 percent of the children replied that they had 'sometimes' bullied other
children, a response category defined as 'moderate' bullying. An additional 8.8 percent
said they had bullied others once a week or more, defined as 'frequent' bullying. Similarly,
8.5 percent said they had been targets of moderate bullying, and 8.4 percent said they
were bullied frequently. Out of all the students, 13 percent said they had engaged in
moderate or frequent bullying of others, while 10.6 percent said they had been bullied
either moderately or frequently. Some students-6.3 percent-had both bullied others and
been bullied themselves. In all, 29 percent of the students who responded to the survey
had been involved in some aspect of bullying, either as a bully, as the target of bullying, or
both."
[7]
According to Tara Kuther, associate professor of psychology at Western
Connecticut State University, "...bullying gets so much more sophisticated and subtle
in high school. It's more relational. It becomes more difficult for teens to know when to
intervene, whereas with younger kids bullying is more physical and therefore more clear
cut".
[5]

Because of the low numbers of students who actually report incidents of bullying, teachers
need to have a certain level of awareness that will thwart any potential problems. This
awareness starts with understanding bullying. An additional study has proven that statistics
show sixty percent of bullies in middle school will incur at least one criminal conviction by
the age of twenty-four.
[8]

Types include[edit]
Physical[edit]
See also: Physical abuse


A female bully, portrayed in the 1917 silent film Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.
Physical bullying is any unwanted physical contact between the bully and the victim. This is
one of the most easily identifiable forms of bullying. Examples include:
[9][10]

punching
pushing
shoving
kicking
hazing
inappropriate touching
tickling
headlocks
pinching
school pranks
teasing
fighting
use of available objects as weapons
Emotional[edit]
See also: Psychological abuse
Emotional bullying is any form of bullying that causes damage to a victims psyche and/or
emotional well-being. Examples include:
[9][10]

spreading malicious rumors about people
keeping certain people out of a "group"
getting certain people to "gang up" on others (this also could be considered physical
bullying)
making fun of certain people
ignoring people on purpose the silent treatment, also known as 'Sending to Coventry'
harassment
provocation
pretending the victim is non-existent
saying hurtful sentences (also a form of verbal bullying)
belittling
[11]

Verbal[edit]
See also: Verbal abuse
Verbal bullying is any slanderous statements or accusations that cause the victim undue
emotional distress. Examples include:
[10]

directing foul language (profanity) at the target
using derogatory terms or playing with the person's name
commenting negatively on someone's looks, clothes, body etc. personal abuse
tormenting
harassment
being laughed at
teasing
belittling
[11]

Cyber-bullying[edit]
Main article: Cyber-bullying
According to the website Stop Cyberbullying, "Cyberbullying is when a child, preteen or
teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by
another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or
mobile phones."
[12]
This form of bullying can easily go undetected because of lack of
parental/authoritative supervision. Because bullies can pose as someone else, it is the
most anonymous form of bullying. Cyber bullying includes, but is not limited to, abuse
using email, blog, instant messaging, text messaging, or websites. A lot of kids who are
bullied in school are likely to be bullied over the internet, and vice versa.
[10]

Prevention According to the website Stop Cyberbullying, "When schools try and get
involved by disciplining the student for cyberbullying actions that took place off-campus
and outside of school hours, they are often sued for exceeding their authority and violating
the student's free speech right."
[13]

The tragedy of cyber bullying has become extremely prevalent in today's society. Since 95%
of social media using teens reported to have witnessed malicious behavior on social media
from 2009 to 2013,
[14]
the odds for rashness from the victim are very high. This calls for
preventative measures. There is obviously not a 24 monitoring system on sites
like Facebook, or Twitter so in this new age children must be taught at a young age the
proper Internet behavior. This is a call for parents and educators to teach these modern
skills. Three basic abilities to achieve in this are education through awareness, and
advocacy.
[15]
Parents and educators need to make children aware at a young age of the
life changing effects cyber bullying can have on the victim. The next step for prevention is
advocacy. For example, three high school students from Melville, New York organized a
Bullying Awareness Walk where several hundred people turned out to show their
support.
[16]
Other than organizing events, calling for social media sites to take charge could
make the difference between life and death.
Cyber-bullying is making it increasingly difficult to enforce any form of prevention
[17]
The
rapid growth of social media is aiding the spread of cyber-bullying and prevention policies
are struggling to keep up. In order for prevention policies to be put in place the definition of
cyber-bullying must be stated, others must be educated on how to recognize and prevent
bullying, and policies that have already attempted to be enacted need to be reviewed and
learned from.
[18]
Most importantly, clear and concise legislation must be created on the
state and federal level to aid in world wide prevention.
[19]

Sexual[edit]
Main article: Sexual bullying
Sexual bullying is "any bullying behavior, whether physical or non-physical, that is based
on a persons sexuality or gender. It is when sexuality or gender is used as a weapon by
boys or girls towards other boys or girls although it is more commonly directed at girls. It
can be carried out to a persons face, behind their back or through the use of
technology."
[20]

As part of its research into sexual bullying in schools, the BBC Panorama program
commissioned a questionnaire aimed at young people aged 1119 years in schools and
youth clubs across five regions of England.
[21]
The survey revealed that of the 273 young
people who responded to the questionnaire, 28 had been forced to do something sexual
and 31 had seen it happen to someone else. Of the 273 respondents, 40 had experienced
unwanted touching.
[22]
UK Government figures show that in school year 2007/8, there were
3,450 fixed period exclusions and 120 expulsions from schools in England due to sexual
misconduct.
[23]
This includes incidents such as groping and using sexually insulting
language. From April 2008 to March 2009, ChildLine counselled a total of 156,729 children.
Of these, 26,134 children spoke about bullying as a main concern and 300 of these talked
specifically about sexual bullying.
[20]

Some people, including the UK charity Beatbullying, have claimed that children are being
bullied into providing sexual favours in exchange for protection as gang culture enters
inner city schools.
[24]
Other anti-bullying groups and teachers' unions, including
the National Union of Teachers, challenged the charity to provide evidence of this, as they
had no evidence that this sort of behaviour was happening in schools.
[24]

Pack bullying[edit]
See also: Mobbing
Pack bullying is bullying undertaken by a group. The 2009 Wesley Report on bullying
prepared by an Australia-based group, found that pack bullying was more prominent in
high schools and characteristically lasted longer than bullying undertaken by individuals.
Pack bullying may be physical bullying or emotional bullying and be perpetrated in person
or in cyberspace. In person, it can take place in schoolyards, school hallways, sports fields
and gymnasiums, classrooms, and on the school bus.
[25]

Associated with[edit]
Bullying is usually associated with an imbalance of power. A bully has a perceived
authority over another due to factors such as size, gender, or age.
[26]
Bullies are not
identifiable by their appearance or group identification; rather we need to focus on how
they act. The definition of bullying briefly describes actions that are exhibited by an
individual that is playing the role of a bully.
[27]
Boys find motivation for bullying from factors
such as not fitting in, physical weakness, short temper, who their friends are, and the
clothes they wear. Bullying among girls, on the other hand, results from factors such as not
fitting in, facial appearance, emotional factors, being overweight, and academic
status.
[28]
In both sexes, a speech impediment of some sort (such as stutter) can also
become the target of a bully.
Individuals that choose to be a bully are not typically born with the characteristic. It is a
result from the treatment they receive from authority figures, including parents. Bullies
often come from families that use physical forms of discipline.
[29]
This somewhat turns the
tables on the bully, making them the victim. Unfortunately, this leads to a strategy of bully
or be bullied.
[27]

Bullies come in all shapes and sizes. Girls and boys are both bullies. Girls are more likely
social bullies, spreading rumors, breaking up friendships, etc. Boys are more physical
bullies, hitting, punching, and slapping.
[30]
Bullies are typically overly concerned about their
appearance and the popularity standings. They have an urge to be dominate, or to be in
charge of others. Bullies are usually easily pressured by their peers and feel the need to
impress them.
[31]
There are several different types of bullies; confident, social, fully armored,
hyperactive, bullied bully, bunch of bullies, and a gang of bullies. The confident bully has a
very high opinion of themself and feels a sense of superiority over other students. The
social bully uses rumors, gossip, and verbal taunts to insult others. Social bullies are
typically a female who has low self-esteem and therefore tries to bring others down. The
fully armored bully shows very little emotion and often bullies when no one will see or stop
them. The hyperactive bully typically has problems with academics and social skills. This
student will often bully someone then place the blame on someone else. A bullied bully is
usually someone who has been bullied in the past or is bullied by an older sibling. A bunch
of bullies is a group of friends who gang up on others. A gang of bullies is a group of
students who are not really friends but are drawn together due to their desire for
power.
[32]
Print Students become bullies for many reasons such as they want to impress
their peers, they were once bullied themselves and now feel big bullying others, and some
even do it as retaliation for being punished in school.
[30]

Forms[edit]
Bullying is delivered in a number of different forms and is not limited to one gender. Forms
include verbal, physical, direct, sexual harassment, and relational bullying. Bullying covers
a wide range of age groups but is particularly prominent between the ages of 918. Boys
tend to do more bullying than girls, especially in the form of physical bullying. However girls
are just as guilty. They usually tend to bully in verbal forms.
[28]

Understanding the semiotics of school-age bullying may increase the chances of stopping
the problem before drastic measures are taken by the victims, such as suicide. Bully,
target, and bystander are labels that have been created to help describe and understand
the roles of the individuals involved in the vicious cycle. Barbara Coloroso, an expert in the
field of bullying prevention, explains that the labels serve as descriptors of a childs
behavior rather than permanently labeling the child.
[28]

Where and when it happens[edit]
Bullying occurs in and away from schools; however, the majority of bullying takes place in
educational institutions. Bullying locations vary by context. For example, the playground is
the most dangerous area on the elementary level, followed by the outdoor recess area,
hallways, indoor recess, and classrooms. In middle school, hallways were the most
perilous location, followed by the lunchroom, outdoor recess areas, classrooms, indoor
recess, and the front of the school.
The bathroom, locker room, bus, from and back of the school, gym, parking lot, coat room,
and cubby areas are other hazardous bullying zones.
The common denominator in almost all of these locations is inadequate or no supervision
and unstructured time. Under these conditions, opportunistic children have free rein. For
example, recess, playgrounds and hallways head the list of trouble spots because there
are few adults supervising large numbers of children who are constantly moving around
wide expanses with few or no organized activities.
[33]

Warning signs[edit]
There are warning signs for everyone involved in bullying. Whether your child is being
bullied, doing the bullying, or witnessing it, there are signs to look for. Parents should
always keep the lines of communication open by starting conversations about daily life and
feelings with questions like: What was one good thing that happened today? What is your
lunch time like at your school? Who do you sit with? Keep the questions open-ended so
your child can describe his or her day. Listen for clues as they talk and follow up with
further questions if you suspect something is happening to your child. First, you need to
help your child understand what bullying is. Kids who know what bullying is can better
identify it. Kids need to know what steps to take if they have been bullied or have seen
someone else get bullied. You should encourage your child to always report bullying. Let
them know that bullying is not acceptable for any reason, and they should report it
immediately.
[34][35]

Signs that a child is being bullied
Unexplainable injuries
Lost or destroyed clothing
Change in eating habits
Declining grades
Continuous school absences
Self-injury
Signs that your child is bullying others
Getting into physical or verbal fights
Getting sent to the principals office frequently
Having friends who bully others
Becoming increasingly aggressive in normal day activities
Signs your child has witnessed bullying
Poor school behavior
Emotional disturbance
Depression
Post-traumatic stress
Drug and alcohol abuse
Suicidal tendencies
Roles kids play[edit]
There are some roles in bullying that take place. McNamee and Mercurio have identified
the people involved in bullying as: the person doing the bullying, the person getting bullied
and the bystander as the bullying triangle.
[36]



Wikibully
Bully Students with power (social and/or physical) who repeatedly picks on another
student or group of students with the intent to inflict harm or discomfort.
Victim Students who are the target of the bullying.
Bystander Student who observes bullying may ignore bullying, encourage bullying,
or take a stand against bullying.
[34]

Even if you are not directly involved in the bullying you play a role. There are several roles
kids play when witnessing bullying.
These roles include:
Kids who assist These kids help in the bullying but do not directly start it. They are
encouraged further bullying from surrounding peers.
Kids who reinforce These kids are not directly involved in the bullying or assist in the
bullying. These kids are ones who laugh and give the bully an audience.
Outsiders These kids are incident bystanders who are not involved at all in the
bullying but witness it. They mainly will feel sorry for the victim but do not know how to
get involved.
Kids who defend These kids either get directly involved or defend the victim or there
to console the victim after the bullying.
[34]

Short-term and long-term effects[edit]
See also: Post traumatic stress disorder and Psychological trauma
Dombeck defines some common short-term and long-term effects of bullying. These
include, but are not limited to:
[37]

Short-term (Victim):
depression
suicide (bullycide) Many feel unwanted in life and that they should not live
anxiety
anger
significant drop in school performance
feeling as if their life has fallen apart
excessive stress