The causes and affects on bullied students in American high scools - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages... On the other hand, social factors should also not be overlooked. Family problems, such as lack of communication and family violence, can produce depressed and violent adolescents that are prone to being bullies. The absence of school and teacher involvement, as well as media factors, can also result to wider bullying practices. Bullying, furthermore, impacts bullies, victims, and bystanders. Bullies and victims can both suffer from depression, suicidal intentions, and school problems. Victims also have higher truancy and delinquency problems than non-victims. Bystanders also experience anxiety and helplessness. These effects can be extended along the adult lives of these subgroups and impact their health and happiness in the long-run. It is important for schools, teachers, and other stakeholders to collaborate in resolving bullying behavior. They should understand its causes and find immediate and long-term solutions, so as to adequately deal with and preventing bullying incidence. Causes and Effects of Bullying in American High Schools: The Bully, The Victim, and The Witnesses Bullying in American high schools has taken a larger proportion of the media and researcher attention, especially for the last thirty years and after the Columbine tragedy. Despite this growing interest in studying and stopping bullying, it sadly continues to be a mainstay for American schools, including its high schools. Gastic mentions studies from DeVoe and Kaffenberger and Dinkes et al. that stated that from 2003 to 2004, more than one fourth of American public schools reported that bullying happened every week, where 21 percent of high school students experienced and witnessed bullying (391). Bullying is an alarming phenomenon, because it underlies social and individual issues and further contribute to diverse social and psychological problems for bullies, victims, and bystanders alike. This paper explores the causes and effects of bullying in American high schools. It argues that bullying is a product of individual and social factors and that if schools and concerned stakeholders will not do anything about it, this will contribute to consequences of violence, suicide, and other health and well-being problems. For the purpose of defining bullying in this paper, bullying or harassment takes place, when one or more students are “unfriendly or unpleasant towards a student who cannot defend him/herself very easily” (Roland 57). This can include a wide range of bullying behaviors, such as kicking, hitting, or pushing another student, or teasing and ostracizing victims, either at school or online (Roland 57). Cyberbullying is a recent phenomenon that includes teasing people online or spreading rumors about them in various social networks. Bullying can also be categorized as indirect, such as being ostracized or bullied online, or direct, such as being hit or kicked. Bullies are seen as impulsive and physically aggressive individuals, who find it rewarding to intimidate others, who cannot defend themselves (Bradshaw, O'Brennan, and Sawyer 10). Why are there bullies? Some of the causes of bullying can be rooted to the individual characteristics of the bullies. In 2011, Roland and Idsoe provided empirical evidence that bullies scored high in “proactive aggressiveness,” which pertains to the tendency to conduct negative behaviors, in order to achieve social rewards, such as witnessing fear and submission from victims (qtd. in Roland 56). Some people theorize that ...Download file to see next pagesRead More