Bullying
The Statistics:
- One out of every five (20.2%) students report being bullied
- School-based bullying prevention programs decrease bullying by up to 25%
- A slightly higher portion of female than of male students report being bullied at school (24% vs. 17%)
- 41% of students who reported being bullied at school indicated that they think the bullying would happen again
The “Who, What, When, Where, Why & How?” of Bullying:
Who is involved?
- Bully (Aggressor)
- Target (Victim)
- Bystander (Witness)
What is bullying?
- When one person (or a group of people) intentionally hurts another person (or group of people);
- The hurtful behavior is done more than once or repeatedly; and
- The behavior is peer-based (i.e., between two children or youth and not between a child/youth and an adult).
When does bullying happen?
- Any time of day or night
Where does bullying happen?
- In-person, face-to-face
- Using technology
Why does bullying happen?
- Difference: Usually victims of bullying are targeted because they are “different” in some way (e.g., gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, family background, culture, disability, etc.)
- Imbalance of Power: There is typically an imbalance of power between the bully & victim that makes the target more vulnerable (e.g., physical strength, size, age, social status, etc.)
- Learned Behavior: Youth absorb the norms and messages of the culture that surrounds them, including from family, neighborhood, TV, music, books, movies, and adult role models. Bullying is a learned behavior, informed by the value & belief systems youth create based on the cultural training and societal messages they get from these sources.
- Power & Control: Youth use bullying as a means to gain power and control.
How does bullying happen?
- Physical: Most often used by boys, examples include: kicking, pushing, shoving, forcing people to hand over money or possessions.
- Verbal/Emotional: Online or virtual forums are popular way to bully in this way. The goal is to make people feel inferior or invisible. Most often used by girls, examples include: hurting people’s feelings, leaving people out, embarrassing people (e.g., sending embarassing photos), saying or writing nasty things about people (e.g., online postings on Facebook, texting)
- Sexual: This form of bullying can be through touching (e.g., forcing sex/sexual acts (rape), unwanted touching) or without touching (e.g., calling sexual names, sending sexual pictures, treating like a sex object, sexual harassment)
The Effects of Bullying:
Without intervention targets of bullying are more likely to:
- Be depressed, lonely, anxious
- Have low self-esteem
- Be absent from school, dislike school, and have poorer school performance
- Think about suicide or try to commit suicide
Without intervention bullies are more likely to:
- Engage in antisocial and criminal behavior later in life
- Experience domestic violence in adult relationships
Web Resources:
24-hour Hotlines:
- The Family Place 24-hour Domestic Violence Hotline: 214-941-1991
- Texas Youth Hotline: 1-888-210-2278
- National Hopeline Network: 1-800-SUICIDE
- Teen CONTACT Help Line: 972-233-TEEN
- The Trevor Lifeline: 1-866-4-U-TREVOR
