Bullying

Written by: Tykia Owens; Master Student of the LBS I Special Education Program and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

“If we are to have a positive impact on the future health and safety of the American populations, we must change the behaviors of our children and young adults by reaching them with important health messages”

(House Appropriate. Comm., 2001)

What is Bullying?

Bullying is commonly defined as aggressive behavior that:

• Is meant to cause harm or distress,
• Is repeated over time, and
• Occurs in a relationship in which there is an imbalance of power or strength.
• Bullying happens when someone hurts or scares another on purpose and the person being bullied has a hard time defending himself or herself. 

~punching, shoving and other acts that hurt people physically

~spreading bad rumors about people

~keeping certain people out of a “group”

~teasing people in a mean way; name-calling

~getting certain people to “gang up” on others;

• Nonverbal or emotional bullying, such as intimidating someone through gestures or social exclusion; and

Cyber Bullying

Children and youth also may be involved in cyberbullying, which occurs when children or teens bully each other using the Internet, mobile phones or other cyber technology. This can include:

Sending mean text, e-mail, or instant messages;

Posting nasty pictures or messages about others in blogs or on Web sites;

Using someone else's user name to spread rumors or lies about someone.

What are the most common methods of cyberbullying?

In a recent study of students in grades 6-8 (Kowalski et al., 2005), the most common way that children and youth reported being cyberbullied was through instant messaging. Somewhat less common ways involved the use of chat rooms, e-mails, and messages posted on websites.

How does cyberbullying differ from other traditional forms of bullying?

Although there is little research yet on cyberbullying among children and youth, available research and experience suggest that cyberbullying may differ from more “traditional” forms of bullying in a number of ways (Willard, 2005), including:

• Cyberbullying can occur any time of the day or night;
• Cyberbullying messages and images can be distributed quickly to a very wide audience;
• Children and youth can be anonymous when cyberbullying, which makes it difficult (and sometimes impossible) to trace them;

• How common is cyberbullying?
  
  Although very little research has been conducted on cyberbullying, studies have found that:
• 18% of students in grades 6-8 said they had been cyberbullied at least once in the last couple of months; and 6% said it had happened to them 2 or more times (Kowalski et al., 2005).
• 11% of students in grades 6-8 said they had cyberbullied another person at least once in the last couple of months, and 2% said they had done it two or more times (Kowalski et al., 2005).
• 19% of regular Internet users between the ages of 10 and 17 reported being involved in online aggression; 15% had been aggressors, and 7% had been targets (3% were both aggressors and targets) (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004).

Who is the Targeted Audience?

• Teens are youth between the ages of 9 through 13 years
• Boys are more likely than girls to bully others.
  Girls frequently report being bullied by both boys and girls, but boys are most often bullied only by other boys.
• Adults who shape their lives are family members, educators, health and safety professionals, mental health professionals, individuals who work in youth organizations, professionals in the law enforcement and justice fields and professionals in faith-based organizations.

Bullying happens when someone hurts or scares another on purpose and the person being bullied has a hard time defending himself or herself. 

What Can Parents Do:

• Become educated and sensitive to the issue
• Listen to the child that is affected
• Take the issue of bullying seriously
• Be responsive and thing fast (ways to stop the problem)
• Be alert because their child might be playing a role in bullying.
• Call and inform police officers or other persons who are able to tackle the problem.
• Do not all kids to erase messages and pictures
• Try to identify the individual doing the cyberbullying. Even if the cyberbully is anonymous (e.g., is using a fake name or someone else’s identity) there may be a way to track them through your Internet Service Provider. If the cyberbullying is criminal (or if you suspect that it may be), contact the police and ask them to do the tracking.
• Keep your home computer(s) in easily viewable places , such as a family room or kitchen.
• Talk regularly with your child about on-line activities he or she is involved in.

What Can Kids Do:

• Not answer to any unfamiliar e-mails or chats
• Tell parents or school administrators and teachers if persons are of threat on the internet
• Ignore and block any sites or unwanted chats unfamiliar

What Can Teachers Do:

• Develop a prevention and intervention program that consider peer influence-for bullying and the unwillingness to intervene
• Consider how peer influence can be used to foster more prosocial behaviors.
• Be aware of how student groups are emerging in the classroom.
• Be aware of what sites they visit, why and with whom.
• Update the school Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) to prohibit using the Internet for bullying.

Websites:

§        www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov

§        www.cybercrime.gov./rules/kidinternet.htm

Books:

• Breaking the Culture of Bullying and Disrespect, Grades K-8  by Marie-Nathalie Beaudoin, Maureen Taylor, Published by Corwin Press, 2004.
• Aggressors, Victims, and Bystanders: Thinking and Acting to Prevent Violence - by Ronald G. Slaby, Ph.D., Renee Wilson-Brewer, M.A., Kimbery Dash, M.P.H., Published by Education Development Center, Inc., 1994.
• Bullies Are a Pain in the Brain - by Trevor Romain, Published by Free Spirit Publishing , 1997.
• Bully Busting - by Evelyn M. Field, Published by Finch Publishing , 1999.
  
  

Muti-Media:

• Bullying: Not Just a Guy Thing - by AIMS Multimedia, Published by AIMS Multimedia, 2003.
• Bullying: What Every Adult Needs to Know - by Charity Spatzeck-Olsen - Producer, Published by Paraclete Press, 2003.
• No Name-Calling: Creating Safe Environments - by Anson Schloat, Published by Human Relations Media, 2004.
• Stop Bullying! Standing Up for Yourself and Others - by Charity Spatzeck-Olsen - Producer, Published by Paraclete Press, 2003.
• Stop Bullying...Take a Stand! - by In the Mix, a national PBS weekly series for teens, Published by Castle Works, Inc. , 2005.

Bibliography

Willard, N. (2005).  A parent’s guide to cyberbullying and cyberthreats.  Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use.

Kowalski, R., Limber, S. P. Scheck, A., Redfearn, M., Allen, J., Calloway, A., Farris, J., Finnegan, K., Keith, M., Kerr, S., Singer, L., Spearman, J., Tripp, L., & Vernon, L. (2005, August).  Electronic bullying among school-aged children and youth.  Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association.  Washington, DC.

Ybarra, M. L., & Mitchell, K. J. (2004).  Online aggressors/targets, aggressors, and targets: a comparison of associated youth characteristics.  Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 1308-1316.