The Main Causes and Effect of High School Bullying - Essay Example

of Lecturer] English The Causes and Psychological Effect of Bullying in High School Introduction In the contemporary high school environment, aggressive behaviors characterized by threats, use of force, and cohesion against one another are commonplace occurrences. In most cases, these aggressive and coercive behaviors, referred to as bullying, are quite habitual and are a result of power imbalances between a bully and the bullied. There are several forms of bullying that may be observed at school including physical, verbal, and psychological assault or harassments. These types of bullying are often carried out on the victims based on their sexuality, gender, race, religion, abilities, body size, and age among other features (Carey, P. 34). From these factors that promote bullying, it is apparent that the power imbalances that favor and promote bullying could be social, economic, and physical powers. Although bullying affects the bullied more than the bully, the stereotypical notion that the bullied is never affected by his/her actions should be revised. That is to say, the portrayal of a bully as some tough and self-confident individual who conquers all his/her victims no longer stands. Besides harming their victims, high school bullies are also emotionally, physically, and psychologically affected by their actions (Carey, P. 89). In fact, psychological instability has been identified as a major cause of bullying tendencies in high school bullies. It can therefore be asserted without fear of contradiction that ‘true bullies’ are quite rare since most bullies are also affected or bullied by their actions. This paper therefore explores the causes of bullying and the emotional and psychological effects of high school bullying on bullies. Causes of High School Bullying Despite the recently reported increased awareness of bullying in high schools, little has been achieved as far as reducing the cases of bullying in schools are concerned. This situation may be due to the fact that the identification and the tackling of the real causes of high school bullying are still quite big challenges to parents and teachers. There are numerous causes of high school bullying that are however quite apparent and concerned parties such as teachers and parents should take them into account. In other words, it appears that the only affective solution to high school violence is the identification of the variety of reasons for which high school students become bullies. The first cause of high school bullying is frustration. The cause of frustration in these cases could be impairments and such impaired students may be resentful if such impairment is not being recognized. These impairments include allergy, undiagnosed PTSD, learning disabilities, autism, deafness, and dyslexia among other difficulties. The frustration particularly stems from the fact that these impaired students are expected to perform at par with the other able-bodied classmates. The matter is made worse by the fact that no attempts are made to identify the source of their frustration. The second cause of high school bullying is bad or lack of role models for high school students at home and the larger communities they come from. Absence of proper role models to look up to results in high school students missing the opportunity to learn positive behavior skills. Coupled to this cause is abuse at home, which results in abused children expressing their anger on their classmates. Family neglect just like home abuse causes retardation in children’s emotional, psychological, and behavioral developments. The other causes of high school bullying are undue influence from friends or crowds, conduct disorders, personality disorders, and antisocial disorders. Psychological and Emotional Effects of Bullying There are several psychological effects that researchers have found high school bullies to be prone to including low self-esteem, childhood and adulthood behavioral problems, and depression disorders and other psychological disorders. Besides childhood disorders, high school bullies are also highly likely to experience mental problems later in their adulthood. In other words, high school bullies are also bullied by their actions or the causes and effects of their aggressive actions. Confirmed by researches to be mostly boys, bullies in high schools have been found to suffer from high levels of insomnia, paranoia, suicidal behaviors/tendencies, and emotional disaffection (Chang, p. 167). In addition, these psychological conditions are multiplied by the fact that high school bullies are disliked by their classmates. If not addressed, the psychological and emotional effects of bullying on high school bullies could become long-term. In fact, researches have shown that students who bully others are twice as likely to become criminals and multiple offenders if their problems are not attended to in time. Instead of developing some level of understanding for what they might have encountered in their childhood or early adulthood, high school bullies impulsively met out the suffering they have undergone on their peers (Chang, p. 117). One type of bullying that has profound emotional and psychological effects on high school bullies is psychological bullying. In fact, the effects of psychological bullying are more harmful on high school bullies than those of physical bullying in quite a number of ways. First, the manipulation of social relationships and victimization of bullies are quite obvious effects of bullying. Bullying, Posttraumatic Stress, Depression, and Suicide Recent studies have established a correlation between high school bullying, depression, and suicidal tendencies, leading to the emergence and the spread of the term bullycide. The bullycide originated from the myriad real stories of school bullies tormenting their victims to death or the bullies themselves committing suicide. Overwhelmed by the psychological and emotional effects of being a bullies and having no way out on coping with their frustrations and the other causes of their aggressive nature, high school bullies sometimes resort to end their sufferings and lives (Kim et al, P. 48). The bullies thus take their lives by making certain tragic choices in efforts to end their frustrations and pain, believing theirs are hopeless situations (Kim et al, P. 203). High school bullies may also suffer posttraumatic stress disorders due to their bullying activities and experiences. In fact, just like traumatic events such as war and rape results in PTSD, so does bullying, more so for high school students and adolescents that may have encountered a lot of traumas. Studies have also shown that bullying increases bullies’ risks of developing PTSD, compared to non-bullies. The shaking up and scaring effects of bullies’ own aggressive acts have been cited as major triggers of PTSD in bullies. Moreover, the accompanying frustrations, feelings of unworthiness and out-of-control feelings also aggravate the possibilities of PTSD in high school bullies (Crothers & Levinson, P. 143). Bullying and Increased Anxiety Bullying has also been found to cause increased anxiety in high school as well as other types of bullies. Bullying therefore causes disorders that originate from or are related to increased anxiety in bullies, which originate from the emotional effects of their actions. It is however among high school adolescents that social bullying has been reported to have greater links with anxiety disorders and depression (Crothers & Levinson, P. 53). Even long after the aggressive and traumatic effects of their bullying acts were encountered, the memories of these acts continue to influence adolescent bullies’ proximity and vulnerability to anxiety disorders. It would be quite interesting to note that these anxiety-effects on bullies continue to be apparent even in young adults (bullies and the bullied alike). Importantly, the heightened impacts of frequent bullying cannot be overemphasized. Several incidents of bullying over a short period have been found to result in more serious cases of increased anxiety and related disorders in high school bullies compared to those who occasionally bully others. However upsetting they could be, less frequent incidences of bullying have been reported to trigger less severe anxiety or depression in bullies (Crothers & Levinson, P. 114). Conclusion An aggressive conduct intended to cause physical, mental, or psychological harm to others, bullying may take physical forms such as punching or verbal forms such as teasing and name-calling. The main causes of high school bullying are frustration, childhood abuse and neglect, and poor or lack of role models. Notwithstanding the form it takes, bullying has physical, emotional, and psychological effects on both the bullied and the bully. Although it is stereotypically believed that bullies are never affected by their actions, studies have proved that bullies are equally emotionally and psychologically affected by their acts. For instance, bullying and its consequences cause stress, anxiety, depression, and constant fear in bullies, preventing them from concentrating on their work or studies. A reactive depression is the other effect of bullying on high school bullies. In addition to the above psychological effects of bullying on bullies, the others are high levels of anxiety, low self-esteem, insomnia, suicidal thoughts, drug use, and feelings of insecurity and unworthiness. Works Cited Besag, V. E. Bullies and Victims in Schools. Milton Keynes, 1989. England: Open University Press. Carey, T. A. Improving the Success of Anti-Bullying Intervention Programs: A Tool for Matching Programs with Purposes, 2003. International Journal of Reality Therapy, 23(2), 18. Chang, L. Workplace Bullying Linked to Insomnia, 2009. Retrieved on December 9, 2011 from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/09/02/health/webmd/main5282399.shtml. Crothers, L. M., and Levinson, E. M. Assessment of Bullying: A review of methods and instruments, 2004. Journal of Counseling & Development, 82(4), 503. Kim, Y. S. et al. Bullying and Suicide: A review, 2008. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health 20 (2), 133. Read More