The Role of Cyber Bullying and Physical Bullying in Adolescent Suicide - Annotated Bibliography Example

Bullying Bullying Introduction Bullying has been taking place in educational s especially high schools. It is mostly fuelled by technological devices that people use in their daily lives. The traditional view of bullying centers its argument on the physical mode of bullying but research has shown that cyber bullying has similar effects as those of the physical mode of bullying. The topic of bullying is very important in the modern world because there have been several developments among the teens such as increased suicidal thoughts and even attempts where some have succeeded in the same. Bullying has extended from the schools and nowadays, it is even being reported in the workplaces where employees may be stereotyped. While this has been in existence for quite some time, most governments and relevant authorities have failed in establishing and implementing laws that could be used in addressing bullying in the workplace. As such, the outcomes have affected organizations through reduced performance as bullied individual may reduce performance due to the psychological burden placed on them. In other instances, they may develop acute depression that may render them useless to the work sector and can in turn prompt them to consider suicide. Different individuals respond differently to bullying. Some may get anxiety while some may develop depression right away. There is usually a process that takes place before an individual decides to commit suicide. This begins with feeling low self-esteem after the bullying begins which develops to anxiety as the bullying proceeds and then depression sets in. An individual then battles with depression before it becomes too much to the point that they begin contemplating suicide, which they may end up attempting is the issue is not rectified. In the educational sector, a student may begin showing signs of bullying through reduction in performance. In addition, they may become withdrawn and begin avoiding performing in the activities that they liked before. The teachers and the parents can realize this by assessing it from the performance perspective. The victims become too occupied in the resulting stress and finding ways of dealing with it to the point that education and their normal activities cease being important. Other symptoms may include development of disorders such as those related to sleeping and eating. To deal with bullying in the education systems, the teachers should be keen on the changes in performance and the parents should be assessing their children and pushing them to talk if performance deteriorates. In most instances, the students do not talk about it, which may put them in danger of contemplating suicide because they attempt to deal with it themselves. Schneider, S. K., ODonnell, L., Stueve, A., & Coulter, R. W. S., (2012). Cyberbullying, school bullying, and psychological distress: A regional census of high school students. American Journal of Public Health, 102(1), 171-7. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1004790733?accountid=45049 The resource attempts to explain the prevalence of bullying as well as victimization and how these aspects relate to psychological distress. A study was conducted by determining depressive symptoms, self-injury, and suicidality. Among the participants, reports were different. This implies that while some reported cyber bullying, others reported school-based types of bullying. Individuals involved in cyber bullying were also likely to have been exposed to school bullying. This is because school bullying extends to the society although it appears to have begun in school settings. However, it is clear that distress among individuals exposed to any form of bullying was high and has negative consequences in their endeavors. While some may respond through reduced educational performance, others even attempted suicide while some executed it successfully. Cyber bullying can be said to have been fuelled by the advancing technology. Specifically, the usage of gadgets that have the capacity to access the Internet, which happens to be the main channel of cyber bullying is the main channel used by bullies. These devices give the users great capabilities to hide the bullies’ identities and post messages that can be viewed by a wide audience. Relevant authorities have become concerned with the psychological effects of bullying especially because of the increasing cases of suicide attempts among students. Research has not indicated a difference in gender victimizations implying that both males and females have similar victimization possibilities. Some of the outcomes of school bullying are low satisfaction in schools as well as low commitment to educational institutions. In may also lead to depression, self-harm, and suicide at the extreme events. Litwiller, B. J., & Brausch, A. M. (2013). Cyber bullying and physical bullying in adolescent suicide: The role of violent behavior and substance use. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(5), 675-84. This study attempted to establish the link between the two bullying methods and other aspects such as substances use and violent behavior. Here, both physical and cyber bullying are key determinants of an individual’s behavior and their response. This is because individuals may respond differently. The increase in suicides among teenagers has prompted deeper research into the causes of suicide among the teens. Bullying, according to this research, increases suicide risk because it is one of the worst environmental stress facilitators. Bullying can cause a disparity of power between the individuals involved, which may prompt different reactions. This resource introduces several other forms of bullying bringing the total to four. These include rational, verbal, physical and cyber. While other resources concentrate on cyber and physical forms, a comprehensive explanation of all forms. It adds that cyber bullying is different from the other three mainly because it can take place in any setting of the society and that it is rarely reported. In addition, a unique theory is introduced here as to why and how bullying caused suicidal thoughts. This is the interpersonal theory that connects lack of belonging and increased burden on the victim as the key reasons that prompt suicidal thoughts. Furthermore, self-harming behaviors are specifically triggered by physical pain endured by the victim as well as the resulting anxiety. The burden placed on the victims is so intense that it leads to other issues such as anxiety and depression that in turn causes suicidal thoughts and ultimately the attempt. These responses have been found to take place both in adults and younger generations. Victims of verbal bullying are also more prone to engage in unsafe sexual behaviors. Lavan, H., & Martin, W. M. (2008). Bullying in the U.S. workplace: Normative and process-oriented ethical approaches. Journal of Business Ethics, 83(2), 147-165. This research attempts to show that there exists a problem with respect to the available channels for dealing with bullying in the workplace. Bullying has extended even to the workplaces where individuals have been subjected to it or know someone who has been subjected to it. In spite of the fact that the authorities are aware of this happening in the workplace, there are inadequacies in legal protection with regard to workplace bullying. Issues related to bullying in the workplace should be dealt with ethically. Several approaches have been outlined and how they relate to the ethics of bullying in the workplace. To facilitate the prevention of bullying, some of the approaches that can be used include normative and process oriented approaches. This approach goes beyond what has been provided by the U.S government in attempt to regulate workplace bullying. It incorporates principles that include moral rights, ethics of care, and ethics of virtue. In addition, utilitarianism also applies with respect to this approach. These ideas can be used to eliminate the possible effects of bullying in the working environment that include but not limited to workplace well-being, which is measured through performance of the employees and the safety of the employees. This is also a key aspect in high employee turnover. From a morality perspective, workplace bullying is unethical. It is also known that bullying in the workplace affects employee relationships that in turn affect their ability to perform in teams. The manager should play certain roles to help in reducing these effects such as interventionist and diagnostician. These would help in discouraging bullying and improve productivity of the employees. Read More