Positive and Negative Attitudes - Research Paper Example

The Negative Effects of Bullying Throughout Human Life Introduction One’s personality is shapedgreatly by the experiences and attitudes that he is subjected to, throughout his life. Positive and negative attitudes have the same impact on a person’s psychology. Since childhood is the most vulnerable period in anyone’s life, due to the newness of the real world, the most impact is made by the experiences of this phase. Where positive experience are ideal for a healthy psychological development, negative experiences lead to severe damaging psychological affects in a child’s life when he steps into adolescent age and it is cemented in his adulthood. Bullying is the act of intimidating or influencing someone who is weak in terms of strength, status or experience. According to Harris, Ireland and Forsyth, bullying is a way for the powerful to suppress the weaklings or just express their dominance over them (Harris 302, Ireland 80 & Forsyth 225). What leads to this attitude of the bullies’ and their underlying need to be accepted as superior is a different debate altogether. Bullying is considered as an everyday part of the society, but this does not mean that it should be accepted as a norm by the society. The society and the stakeholders need to counter this issue since those who are victims as well as bullies fall in the age bracket of those categorized as children and are considered as the most important section. The research question that this study sorts to address in this research is “whether childhood bullying impacts the adult life of the bully as well as the victim?” The hypothesis of the present study is that “bullying negatively impacts the childhood as well as the adult life of a bully as well as victim”. Children who are victimized by bullying and who conduct the act of bullying experience issues with psychological and social development and this in turns negatively impacts their social and personal lives in adulthood and childhood. Body Psychological Development of Bully and Victim The act of bullying involves the one greater in size or power to attempt to over power, humiliate or undermine the weaker. It does not come as a surprise that the effects of such acts can be drastic on young minds and result in psychological disturbances. Psychological studies suggest that some children resort to bullying to overcome their fear of non-acceptance (Kostelnik 382). Copeland conducted a research to find out the effects of bullying on adult life and for this, they took a sample of 1420 young people and researched them at two age points 6-11 years and 24-26 years (Copeland 423). The group was classified into the bullies and victims and a third group of people that fell into both the categories, changing from the victim to a bully in adolescent, bully victims. After a comprehensive study, it was revealed that the bullies fared fairly well in their adult life as compared to the victims. The victims were researched to be six times more vulnerable to psychiatric disorders and other health problems as compared to people not involved in bullying or being bullied. Social Development of Bully and Victim In childhood, the effects of being bullied at school, neighborhood or elsewhere can be detected very easily. According to Maudlin, the characteristics of victims of bullying may or may not include “anxious, insecure, cautious, low self-esteem, defenseless, lower number of friends, experiencing social isolation and relatively newer to a particular school” (Maudlin 31). Since a child is too scared generally to discuss such an experience at the fear of being mocked or victimized again, this becomes an innate experience that eats up the child from the inside. He tends to feels oppressed and low most of the time which results in his retreating nature. The bully, however, is bound to have a dominating nature and a rowdy personality. His lack of regard for other’s feelings is a symptom of his bullying. As the child enters adolescent age, with raging emotions and more susceptibility to such an act, he is bound to either retaliate by confronting the bully, and that usually leads to no resolution of the problem, or he may become more intimidated, cementing the effects of childhood experiences of bullying in his personality. Some bullying victims retaliate by becoming bullies themselves to assert that the imbalance in power is theirs to exploit. Others retreat within themselves and become more vulnerable to bullies in the adolescent age as well. Another study by Dr. William Copeland of Duke University, US, revealed that bully victims grow up to be sociophobic, and are likely to develop anxiety disorders and panic attacks. Studies also show that they are likely to be socially awkward, have low self-esteem, are not popular with the cool crowds and are more likely to be regular smokers (DukeHealth.org. 1). Several cases of severe bullying at school have led teenagers to commit suicide and inflict serious harm upon their own selves. A study in the UK revealed that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying (Rivers 74). A Yale University Study claims that bully victims are two to nine times more likely to consider committing suicide as compared to non-victims (Yale 1). Impact on Social and Personal Lives The seriousness of the situation can be comprehended from the fact that an ABC News-USA research stated that 30% of US Students are either bullies or bullying victims, meaning that some years down the lane these 30% students will become part of the society as adults and their psychological health and ability to contribute positively towards the society will remain an uncertainty (Berry-Krazmien 3). As far as personal life is concerned, the pure bullies, who did not give up on their behavior in the childhood are likely to have developed an aggressive nature. They are likely to be involved in illegal activities, drug use, and domestic violence and land themselves a lowly professional job. According to Kert, most childhood bullies grow up to become criminals (Kert 14). This is because they become used to having people under their thumb from the very start. The childhood bullies, who continue to be bullies, end up being wealthier as compared to those who were victimized by bullies or who later turned into bullies as a consequence of being bullied (Coughlan 1). The bullies are not only the ones who suffer in their adulthood, the negative consequences of being a victim rather than bullies are much worse during adulthood. The worst consequences of childhood bullying experienced by victims during their adulthood includes: failure to land themselves in good jobs due to lack of social skills and confidence (Coughlan 1). Their family life is likely to be dominated by the other half and they tend to have an extrovert nature. Conclusion The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of childhood bullying during early ages of life and the issues that are experienced by victims as well as bullies in their adult life. The present study resorted to answer the research question of “whether childhood bullying impacts the adult life of the bully as well as the victim?” The hypothesis for the present study was that childhood bullying impacts both the bully as well as the victim in a negative manner. The present study proved that childhood bullying impacts the social as well as psychological development of both bullies and victims and negatively impacts the social and personal lives of both the victims and bullies. Works Cited "Bullied children can suffer lasting psychological harm as adults - DukeHealth.org." Dukehealth.org, 2013. Web. 5 Dec 2013. . "Bullying-Suicide Link Explored in New Study by Researchers at Yale." Yale News, 2013. Web. 5 Dec 2013. . Berry-Krazmien, Christine A. Bullying Behavior and Victimization Among Adolescents in a Residential Placement. , 2006. Internet resource. Copeland, W.E, A Angold, E.J Costello, and D Wolke. "Adult Psychiatric Outcomes of Bullying and Being Bullied by Peers in Childhood and Adolescence." Jama Psychiatry. 70.4 (2013): 419-426. Print. Coughlan, Sean. "School bullying 'affects adult life'." BBC News, 2013. Web. 5 Dec 2013. . Forsyth, Donelson R. Group dynamics. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Harris, Monica J. Bullying, rejection, and peer victimization. New York: Springer, 2009. Print. Ireland, Jane L. Bullying among prisoners. Cullompton, UK: Willan, 2005. Print. Kert, Allison S. The Impact of the Word Bully and Providing the Definition of Bullying on the Reported Rate of Bullying Behavior. , 2008. Print. Kostelnik, Marjorie J. Guiding Children's Social Development and Learning. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. Maudlin, Karen L. Sticks and Stones. Nashville, Tenn: W Pub. Group, 2002. Internet resource. Rivers, Ian, Neil Duncan, and Valerie E. Besag. Bullying: A Handbook for Educators and Parents. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2009. Internet resource. Read More