Caractersticas del acoso escolar

En general, el bullying pertenece a los primeros cursos de la ESO y conforme se va

pasando de curso, el ndice de acoso escolar va disminuyendo. Por otro lado, si tenemos en
cuenta el gnero, el acoso escolar es un fenmeno generalmente masculino. La mayora de
estudios consideran que son ms los alumnos varones que se consideran tanto agresores
como vctimas en cualquiera de las formas de acoso.
Propio de los escolares es el grupo de iguales y su gran importancia por pertenecer a uno.
Es por eso que un caso de bullying es ms probable que sea instigado por un grupo de
alumnos en el que uno suele ser el agresor principal y el resto de acompaantes de
batalla.
Muchas investigaciones sitan como principal escenario el aula o el interior del colegio all
donde ms casos de bullying se conocen y concluyen que agresores y victimas comparten
aula o, al menos, curso.
Signos de alerta! Causas y consecuencias del acoso escolar
Las causas del acoso escolar debemos englobarlas en una perspectiva que incluya
diferentes factores a tener en cuenta.
o Los factores individuales encontramos una personalidad retrada o baja
autoestima en el caso de las vctimas y un temperamento agresivo y
alteraciones en la emocin y la conducta en el caso de los agresores.

En el caso de los agresores, el factor familiar es uno de los ms importantes, donde

la inestabilidad en la estructura familiar, falta de vnculo afectivo o abandono,
convivencia familiar pobre, contradicciones, imposicin o autoritarismo, presencia
de actos violentos, permisividad o pasividad, etc.

Cabe comentar que el fracaso escolar no parece ser una caracterstica importante
como causa del bullying en alumnos agresores en comparacin con el resto de
factores, pues muchos estudios no han encontrado relaciones directas entre ambas
variables: bullying y fracaso escolar. Tambin existen factores que provienen
directamente del centro escolar que afectan en la dinmica bullying como
actitudes de falta de coordinacin y colaboracin entre el profesorado,
inconsistencia en la prevencin de conductas agresivas, intrusismo profesional o la
permisividad del profesor as como la convivencia de varias culturas dando lugar a
actos racistas.

La consecuencia ms evidente en ambos lados, vctimas y agresores, suele ser la

disminucin del rendimiento escolar junto con un cambio en el comportamiento habitual.
El agresor, al tener xito con conductas intimidatorias frente a los compaeros, puede
elevar las probabilidades hacia una conducta delictiva en un futuro, al ver en este
comportamiento una nueva forma para conseguir sus objetivos. Adems, puede conseguir
un mejor status social a base de refuerzos del grupo sobre su acto agresivo o violento. En
este caso, las consecuencias van ms all del ambiente escolar. El hecho de aprender a
comportarse de este modo para conseguir lo que quiere, el agresor puede llegar a extender
esas formas de dominio del otro a la convivencia domstica.
Las peores consecuencias las sufre la vctima de bullying. Sufrir acoso escolar puede
acabar en fracaso escolar, ansiedad anticipatoria o fobia al colegio, con lo que configura
una personalidad insegura para el desarrollo ptimo de la persona, a nivel personal y social.
Y la peor consecuencia de todas, el suicidio, como nica va para escapar de la situacin.
Recordemos el caso Jokin en Espaa.
No olvidemos que el hecho que la asistencia a clase sea obligatoria y que implique
necesariamente formar parte de un grupo aumenta el malestar experimentado por quien
sufre el maltrato de sus compaeros. Adems son las vctimas y no los agresores, los
alumnos a los que se les suele cambiar de colegio o instituto para evitar la situacin, con lo
que el agresor sigue en el mismo centro y puede continuar con sus batallas contra otro
alumno.
En las vctimas de acoso escolar se encuentran daos fsicos evidentes pero tambin daos
sociales como la inhibicin o el retraimiento, daos psicosomticos como pesadillas, falta
de apetito, trastornos gastrointestinales, etc., as como psicolgicos (sntomas de depresin,
ansiedad, frustracin) y conductuales en forma de agresin, irritacin o rutinas obsesivas.
http://bullying.about.com/od/Schools/fl/6-Ways-to-Start-a-Conversation-AboutBullying.htm

http://www.antibullying.net/knowledge/questionone.htm

It's late morning on a weekday when you receive a call from your child's school principal.
She tells you there has been an incident involving your child, and asks you to come in for a
conference to speak with her, as well as your child's teacher and the school counselor. You
race to the school, a million scenarios flashing through your brain. Is your child hurt? Was
your child bullied?
Then you arrive at the school to learn that your child was involved with the one scenario
you never imagined in your head as a parent: your child, it turns out, has been bullying
other children at school.
Your child is the bully.
You didn't see it coming. What should you do?
What causes a child to become the bully?
While there is no one single profile of a child bully, in my years as a researcher and
educator, I have witnessed a few different situations that describe the majority of child
bullies:
1. Like Parent, Like Child
Children model what they see. If a child is bullied by his/her parent, or is being abused or
treated in a disrespectful way at home, that child is likely to imitate this behavior at school.
They are learning from their parent that this type of behavior is acceptable.
2. The Powerless Child
Sometimes, the child that bullies is the child who feels completely powerless at home.
Perhaps this child is abused, or watches one of his parents abuse another parent and he/she
is left feeling scared and powerless at home. This child may attempt to gain back power by
bullying others at school.
3. The Forgotten Child
I have seen children who feel invisible at home act out as bullies at school. Children need
constant love and respectful attention from the adults who care for them -- and they want
and need it most from their mother and father. Nobody is more important than mom and
dad; children will try to gain approval from mom and dad, from the time they are born until
the time they die. If they do not get love and attention at home, they may feel voiceless and
un-important. That feeling of invisibility may turn into anger, resentment and then bullying
others at school.
4. The Entitled Child
Then there is the child who has been given too much power. I have seen children who are
given everything they want, raised without limitations and rules to follow, who then grow
up to feel entitled and all-powerful. These children may believe they have a right to bully
others at school, since they bulldoze their parents at home.

5. Children Who Lack Empathy

Finally, there are those children who come from wonderful, loving homes with actively
involved parents who become bullies. These child bullies may simply lack empathy, like to
dominate, are possessive and want power. The wonderful thing about this is that empathy is
something that can be taught.
Children Who Bully Are Still Children
It is important to remember that children who bully are still children. They are acting that
way for a reason, and they, too, need help and guidance from adults. In my experience,
bullies may not have healthy social behaviors, empathy, or coping skills. This has the
potential to lead to a lifetime of relationship problems, general parenting problems, and
even problems with the law.
In my next blog post, I will outline some ways that parents, teachers, and counselors can
help children who bully.

CAUSES
There are many causes of bullying in our society. Many school kids who bully others often
do so in order to show their dominance to others and to raise their social status. They may
have a high self-esteem and they may show little regret or sorrow for their bullying
behaviour, as they do not see bullying as a wrong act. Others may bully out of frustration
and anger as they may socially struggle or they could have been a victim of bullying
themselves and feel that bullying others helps them regain themselves as a person.

EFFECTS
Bullying can affect everyone in different ways depending on the person them self, how they
are being bullied and how they attempt to resolve what is happening.
There can be big effects on victims of bullying and they can be left feeling:
- guilty as if it is their own fault
- hopeless like they cannot get out of the situation
- alone, like there is nobody that can help them
- unsafe
- ashamed due to what is happening to them
- rejected by those bullying them and other groups
Bullying has a negative impact on everyone. Not only does it affect the victim and the bully
but also those who are in the surroundings. Those who see or know somebody who is being
bullied often feel upset, irritated, guilty and fearful. Bystanders also can feel worried that
they may be bullied next. When bullying isnt stopped it can create an environment where
bullying is accepted and where everybody feels so powerless that they cannot stop it which
is a really bad effect of bullying in our community today.
Bullying can also affect the victims in ways which they become medically unstable.
Someone people can be bullied so bad that they become depressed, which can then lead
them to skip school and do other things that they think will make everything better but in

reality it makes things worse. Many teenage victims of bullying today also turn to suicide.
Suicide is the worst effect that bullying can have on victims but sadly today many lives
have been lost due to bullying. The victims feel that their life is so bad that they will be
better off ending it. Bullies do not understand that from them saying a few nasty comments
to the person sitting by themselves on the bus, or the boy that doesnt talk to anyone, that it
can have such an impact. Not only does the effect of bullying (suicide) have an effect on
the victim, it also has an effect on the victims family and the bully themselves.