Bullying in Childhood and the Social and Psychological Causes - Research Paper Example

? Bullying in Childhood and the Social and Psychological Causes of Bullying in Childhood and the Social and Psychological Causes On April 20, 1999, two boys walked into their high school, shot and killed several students and a faculty member, and injured several others. When they were finished, they shot themselves. The high school was Columbine in Littleton, Colorado and Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris wrote in journals that they had been bullied and this was the reason that they went on the shooting spree. Since that time, there have been more school shootings and more suicides for one reason or another, and many of them were the result of children being bullied over time Klomek, Sourander, & Gould, 2010). Vail (2009) adds that adults are often apathetic when their children tell them about bullying because many parents see it as something that is natural. Many parents were bullied in school at a different time and they took the bullying. Because of this many parents think that their children can also get through the bullying. Vail also states that after Columbine, a body of research began that showed how bullying, when it is allowed to continue leads to violence. Unfortunately most children are bullied by other children in school, but the school environment should be safe (Vail, 2009). Bullying can begin on school grounds, at home and in cyberspace. Many children experience cyberbullying which can be more deadly than other types. Bartlett and Gentile (2012) suggest that cyberbullying, though more subtle than traditional bullying, can make children afraid and can continue longer than traditional bullying. One of the reasons that it lasts longer is because it is generally accepted by society and often goes unnoticed by parents in their homes. Definition of Bullying According to Stein (2007) bullying has evolved over-time and is now seen as any behavior that excludes one person over another, treats someone mean, words that suggest that one child is preferred over another, threats, or physical attacks. Stein states that the idea of zero tolerance in schools still encourages gender level bullying and that schools must look into this because children are still not safe. Vail (2009) offers the definition of bullying as anyone who is repeatedly harassed or receives other negative actions over time, and the person receiving the negative actions cannot defend his or herself. Both of these definitions suggest that one person is taking advantage of another person. Traits of Children who Bully Jansen, Veenstra, Ormel, Verhulst and Reijneveld (2011) studied preschoolers who bully and found that these children generally came from low-income families, they were more aggressive than other children, and most of these children had good motor function. This suggests that a child who was unsure of his or herself may not be a victim of bullying but may be a perpetrator of bullying. Older children may come from foster care, may be students who regularly engage in alcohol, smoke cigarettes, and who have mental health issues (Rivers, Noret & Ashurst, 2010). Onfer and Yurtal (2008) add that children who bully tend to be antisocial, are impulsive, and have a tendency to have less psychosocial health. Generally, it would seem that children who bully have less regard for others and have a tendency to pick on children who are more passive than they are, especially in school. When Ragatz, Anderson, Fremouw & Schwartz (2011) studied older high school children, they found that men were more aggressive than girls, an those children who had been bullied earlier had more criminal thinking, had more aggressiveness, psychopathy, and more tendencies for higher aggression than girls. These studies indicate that children who bully look for targets who are passive, and who appear afraid. They do not go after bullies and they do not have a tendency to attack those they see as their equals. Liu and Graves (2011) add that children who watch television frequently, attend schools in environments that are unsavory, lack teacher support and lack support from parents to do well in school, were often more prone to bully than other children. Psychological Impact of Bullying—The Victims There is no doubt that there are psychological consequences for those children who receive bullying whether it is at school or at home. Because bullying happens over time, it is clear that children can lose their level of performance in school and can cause psychological damage. As an example, children can be bullied through verbal abuse, physical abuse, or through being excluded from various activities. These all can have a psychological effect on the victim. Children who are bullied over time often have a difficult time with psychosocial adjustment. They have difficulty making friends and are often ostracized because they are different (“Taking on” , 2009). In order to get away from the bullying, children may skip school, or begin using drugs or alcohol to numb the feelings they have that are caused by the bullies (“Taking on,” 2009). Onfer and Yurtal (2008) also found that the children who are bullied become anxious, mistrust their peers, and tend to be more passive. Correia, Alves, De Almeida & Garcia (2010) state that children who are bullied are also rejected by their peers which can add to more passive behavior and they have they are doubly rejected by their peers and by the person(s) doing the bullying. Children who are bullying do not have a chance to gain help if the adults in their lives either tell them to deal with things on their own or are ignored all together. These children can have even more challenges as they go through life. Children who are bullied are also more prone to suicide when the adults do not listen to them and do something to help (Klomek, Sourander, & Gould, 2003). Bullying and Depression Kaltiala-Heino, Frojd and Marttunen (2010) studied bullies and those children who bully to understand whether they were affected by bullying. The results of their study showed that both bullies and those they bullied were prone to depression as they grew older, especially with boys. Further, the authors realized that overtime, bullying becomes traumatizing and leads to depression. Seeds, Harkness and Quilty (2010) found that when children were also bullied at home, especially by their fathers, the incidences of social isolation were more frequent and this led to depression. Stopping Bullying and What Children Can Do In the school environment, teachers are the first level of assistance for children because they are just outside the peer environment for children (Rodkin & Hodges, 2003). A challenge for children who are bullied is that teachers do not always see what is going on. Rodkin and Hodges state that teachers must be more involved in monitoring what is going on outside their classrooms and understand the dynamics that are happening in their school ecologies. Also, it is very important for children who are bullied to have adults who can help them when they are in trouble and who will listen to them when they need help. Many adults play down the issue of bullying until it is too late; too late meaning that the bullying has escalated to the point of someone getting physically hurt. Other children can also be a source of help to children who are bullied especially when there are anti-bullying problems in schools (Rinaldo, 2011). Many people in the literature stated that the children should speak up when they are having problems, but many children speak up and their bullying problems are ignored. Another aspect of stopping bullying is to prevent it from the beginning. Some of the literature read for this paper stated that teachers should talk to students who have been bullying and that there should be programs that help students not getting along to come together. Some of the literature also suggested that students should tell when they are getting bullied, but many adults do not believe these children. Conclusion Bullying is not an easy issue because it happens in many school districts. It is something that often is seen as nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, when children are not taken seriously when they are having problems in school, the bullying can continue. Many children who are bullied are prone to depression and other psychological problems that can sometimes lead to children committing suicide. Usually, children who are passive, anxious and afraid are picked out as targets for bullying. Although some girls are bullying, this happens more with boys. Children who bully may be low-income, may be more aggressive than other children, and may have been bullied themselves. To eliminate bullying, parents and teachers must be more open to hearing what children need and trying to help them immediately until waiting to see whether the bullying will stop. Children have to be given ways to resolve bullying beyond just telling an adult because adults often do not listen. Parents must teach their children strategies that they can comfortably follow to stop bullying before it does physical and psychological damage. References Barlett, C. P., & Gentile, D. A. (2012). Attacking others online: The formation of cyberbullying in late adolescence. Psychology Of Popular Media Culture, 1(2), 123-135. DOI:10.1037/a0028113 Correia, I., Alves, H., De Almeida, A., & Garcia, D. (2010). Norms regarding secondary victimization of bullying victims: Do they differ according to the victim’s categorization?. Scandinavian Journal Of Psychology, 51(2), 164-170. DOI:10.1111/j.1467-9450.2009.00732.x Jansen, D. C., Veenstra, R., Ormel, J., Verhulst, F. C., & Reijneveld, S. A. (2011). Early risk factors for being a bully, victim, or bully/victim in late elementary and early secondary education. The longitudinal TRAILS study. BMC Public Health, 11(Suppl 4), 440-446. DOI:10.1186/1471-2458-11-440 Kaltiala-Heino, R., Frojd, S., & Marttunen, M. (2010). Involvement in bullying and depression in a 2-year follow-up in middle adolescence. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 19(1), 45-55. DOI:10.1007/s00787-009-0039-2 Klomek, A., Sourander, A., & Gould, M. (2010). The association of suicide and bullying in childhood to young adulthood: A review of cross-sectional and longitudinal research findings. Canadian Journal Of Psychiatry, 55(5), 282-288. Lamb, G. (2008, April 17). Columbine high school. New York Times. Retrieved from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/columbine_high_school/index.html Liu, J., & Graves, N. (2011). Childhood Bullying: A Review of Constructs, Concepts, and Nursing Implications. Public Health Nursing, 28(6), 556-568. DOI:10.1111/j.1525-1446.2011.00972.x Onfer, F., & Yurtal, F. (2008). An investigation of the family characteristics of bullies, victims, and positively behaving adolescents. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 8(3), 821-832. Pack, C., White, A., Raczynski, K., & Wang, A. (2011). Evaluation of the safe school ambassadors program: A student-led approach to reducing mistreatment and bullying in schools. Clearing House, 84(4), 127-133. DOI:10.1080/00098655.2011.564974 Ragatz, L. L., Anderson, R. J., Fremouw, W., & Schwartz, R. (2011). Criminal thinking patterns, aggression styles, and the psychopathic traits of late high school bullies and bully-victims. Aggressive Behavior, 37(2), 145-160. DOI:10.1002/ab.20377 Rinaldo, D. (2011). Bullying takes center stage. Scholastic Choices, 27(1), 4-7. Rivers, I., Noret, N. F., & Ashurst, N. (2010). Why Do Children Bully Others? Perpetrator Characteristics, Mental Health, and Hostility Toward Victims. Washington, District of Columbia, US: American Psychological Association (APA). Rodkin, P. C., & Hodges, E. E. (2003). Bullies and Victims in the Peer Ecology: Four Questions for Psychological and School Professionals. School Psychology Review, 32(3), 384-400. Seeds, P. M., Harkness, K. L., & Quilty, L. C. (2010). Parental maltreatment, bullying, and adolescent depression: Evidence for the mediating role of perceived social support. Journal Of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 39(5), 681-692. DOI:10.1080/15374416.2010.501289 Stein, N. (2007). Bullying, harassment and violence among students. Radical Teacher, (80), 30-35. Taking on school bullies. (2009). Harvard Mental Health Letter, 26(3), 6-7. Vail, K. (2009). From words to action. American School Board Journal, 196(9), 40-45. Read More