Problems of Well Being

Bullying

Contemporary Social Issues – 30

(GNED2057)

Gloria Shepstone

November, 28, 2013

Professor Emily Brett

Bullying“I'm not the only kid who grew up this way. Surrounded by people who used to say that rhyme about sticks and stones. As if broken bones hurt more than the names we were called, and we were called them all.” Shane Koyczan

Definition of BullyingBullying is defined as

physical, psychological, and/or verbal intimidation or

attack that is meant to cause distress and/or harm

to an intended victim

DID YOU KNOW?A child or youth can be both a bully and a victim, and may move between the two. These children and youth experience the most serious emotional, behavioral and relationship problems, and require the most intensive support

Why are there bullies

There is no one single cause for bullying, individual, family, school and peer factors can place someone at risk. These factors can work individually or collectively. Some of these factors are:• People with low social status will use bullying as a way to deflect the bullying

from them

• People with high social status will use bullying to enhance their social power

Types of Bullying• Verbal bullying - name-calling, sarcasm, teasing, spreading

rumours, threatening, making negative references to one's culture, ethnicity, race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, unwanted sexual comments

• Social Bullying - mobbing, scapegoating, excluding others from a group, humiliating others with public gestures or graffiti intended to put others down

• Physical Bullying - hitting, poking, pinching, chasing, shoving, coercing, destroying or stealing belongings, unwanted sexual touching

• Cyber Bullying - using the internet or text messaging to intimidate, put-down, spread rumours or make fun of someone

“But at night while the others slept we kept walking the tightrope it was practice and yeah, some of us fell.” Shane Koyczan

How has bullying changed?

How we bully has not changed over the years, however the methods used when bullying have changed. It has become easier to do. When we were kids, we would have to verbally

or physically commit the act. In today’s society not only are we verbally committing the act of bullying but we have computers, social networks, and cellphones that play their roll in bullying. It can take less than 5 minutes to send a text that will batter another person

and make them feel less about themselves.

How many children are involved in bullying others?

• Kindergarten to Grade 815% of students reported bullying others at least twice over the school term2% of students reported bullying others once a week or more  • Boys14% of boys aged 4 to 11 reported bullying others.  • Girls9% of girls aged 4 to 11 reported bullying others

Not everyone bullies or is bullied – a relatively small number of children are directly involved in bullying incidents

How many children are bullied?

• Kindergarten to Grade 8

20% of children reported being bullied more than once or twice over a school term. 

8% of children were bullied at least once a week

Children were bullied once every 7 minutes on the playground and once every 25 minutes in the classroom  

• Boys

5% of boys aged 4 to 11 reported being bullied sometimes or very often

• Girls

7% of girls in the same age group reported being bullied sometimes or very often  

• Minority groups

27% of elementary school students from minority groups reported being bullied because of their ethnicity

How many children witness bullying?

• 85% of bullying incidents are witnessed by others

• Peers try to stop the bullying in 11 to 19% of bullying incidents. Someone stepping in can help even out the power imbalances

Not all children are directly involved in bullying incidents, but many get involved in other ways – some watch, some encourage the bullying and some try to stop it.

How does being bullied affect your health Some of the common effects of bullying on the child or youth who is bullied include:

• Depression (including sadness, loss of interest in activities)

• Anxiety (tenseness, fear and worries)

• Loss of self-esteem

• Increased levels of aggressive behaviour

• Health problems like headaches, stomach aches

• Loneliness and social anxiety

• Missing school

• Social withdrawal and isolation

• Suicidal thoughts, or suicide (in the most extreme cases)

How Can We Help

Bullying is a relationship problem. It is about power and the abuse of power and it is incredibly difficult for children who are being victimized to remove themselves from this destructive relationship. Once a bullying relationship is established, attempts to make the bullying stop on their own are usually unsuccessful and may make the bullying worse.

Adult intervention is required to correct the power imbalance. Children and parents may have to report the bullying to more than one responsible adult before an effective intervention is implemented to stop the bullying.

1. By speaking out against those who bully others, you have the power to stop it. Refuse to go along with it.

2. Writing down all that you witnessed, you can paint a clearer image later on to those you speak to about it.

3. Making a formal complaint can be a good way to let an organization know about the problem and prevent future bullying.

How Can We Help continued…

SYMBOLIC INTERACTION

According to symbolic interaction theory, the reflected judgments of significant persons within one’s life can lead to misconceptions on how one internalizes what and how they act. Positive and/or negative appraisals may be a part of the internalization process that produces child self-concept and behavioral outcomes such as bullying.

References

Bullying Statistics & Facts. (n.d.). Bullying: Facts, Statistics & Effects. Retrieved November 27, 2013, from http://www.ourkids.net/bullying-facts-statistics.php#sthash.eDv6vn7V.dpuf

Definition of bully in English. (n.d.). bully: definition of bully (1) in Oxford dictionary (British & World English). Retrieved November 26, 2013, from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/bully

http://www.bullyingcanada.ca/content/239900

http://tothisdayproject.com/get_help.html

It's an emergency! Call to speak to a counsellor 1-800-668-6868. (n.d.). If you are witnessing bullying. Retrieved November 25, 2013, from http://www.kidshelpphone.ca/Teens/InfoBooth/Bullying/Are-You-A-Bystander.aspx

http://tothisdayproject.com/