BULLYING

A term paper written by

Ma. Rhea Ann Ano-os 11-HUMSS C
 I. INTRODUCTION

Each day children are victims of bullying. These acts of aggression and violence
keep many students from attending school. Many times they are physically threatened or
they're unable to endure another emotionally degrading day. It is important to gain an
awareness of bullying behaviors and to implement prevention and intervention programs
that help promote pro-social behavior (Baier, 2007).

Bullying behavior has been proven by numerous studies to be a serious problem

worldwide. According to the national Association of School Psychologist, "Everyday
approximately 160,000 children in the United States are absent or skip school out of fear
of being picked on, humiliated or beaten up by a bully." Various reports and studies have
established that approximately 15% of students are either bullied or initiate bullying
behaviors on regular basis students." Bullying occurs in all schools and is not restricted
by race, gender, class, or other natural distinctions, but appears worst during early
adolescence and "there is compelling evidence that the impact of bullying has lifelong
debilitating consequences." (Sullivan, Cleary, and Sullivan, p. 2) .

II. Definition of Bullying

2.1. Bullying is a behavior that can only be easily recognized when individuals
experience it. Bullying can happen to anyone at any age and anywhere whether at
school, home, or even in a workplace. So far, it is difficult to define bullying since
it relates to both a wide range behavior that may constitute bullying, and the
characteristics of bullying behavior (Montgomery, 1994).

2.2. Bullying is a negative and often aggressive or manipulative act or series of

acts by one of more people against another person or people usually over a period
of time. It is abusive and is based on an imbalance of power. Most definitions of
bullying include repeated aggressive acts that are intended to harm without or
provocation by the victim. (Sullivan, Cleary, Sullivan, p. 5)
III. Types of Bullying

There are many different types of bullying that can be experienced by

children and adults alike, some are obvious to spot while others can be more
subtle. The different types of bullying that we look at below are some of the ways
that bullying could be happening. Some of the types are physical bullying, verbal
bullying, and social bullying where bullies prevent some individuals from
exercising certain activities or reject their friendship or spreading rumors about
others. (Quiroz et al., 2006)

3.1. Physical bullying has also evolved from the physical injuries that were
inflicted on the victims and it has included theft as a method that is used to
involve threats and lead to the violence. (Staffordshire, 2010).

3.2. Social bullying that was once used to make the victims stay alone without
friends and was experienced by children of all age groups has evolved to also
include homophobic isolation. Homophobic isolation is the type of isolation that
is practiced by the bullies on the children who are termed as gay or they are seen
to be gay (Staffordshire, 2010).

3.3. Cyber bullying may include spreading rumors, posting false information,
hurtful messages, embarrassing comments or photos, or excluding someone from
online networks or other communications. It allows perpetrators to remain
anonymous, can affect the victim at any hour and on any day, and messages and
images can quickly reach a very wide audience.” (School Violence and Bullying:
Global Status Report, UNESCO, 2017, p.15).

IV. Effects of Bullying

4.1. Past research has shown that involvement in bullying and poor physical
and mental health are related, though in different ways according to the different
groups of students involved (bullies, victims or bully-victims). Depression is a
known mental disorder and affects more than 350 million people of all ages
(WHO, 2010). Generally, victims exhibit statistically lower levels of self-esteem
than the remaining students. (Seixas et al., 2013).

4.2. Both bullied adolescents and adolescents who were aggressive toward
others showed increase feelings of sadness, lower global self-worth, higher levels
of depressive symptoms, and more broad-spectrum psychological problems than
noninvolved adolescents (Undheim & Sund, 2010).

4.3. A meta-analysis of studies investigating the relation between victimization

and psychosocial maladjustment found a stronger association with measures of
depression, anxiety, unhappiness, loneliness or self-esteem. In general, victims
reported elevated levels of psychological distress. (Seixas et al., 2013)

V. CONCLUSION

I. Summary
5.1. It is normal to have bullies in some school. Students feel higher than
anyone when they bully other students. Bullying can be acknowledged as it can
happen anytime and to anyone at any age and anywhere whether at school, home,
or even in a workplace. It usually shows aggression and manipulation. It
somehow boosts bullies pride and power over their victims. They tend to repeat
this as they already empowered their peers. Bullying varies and happens in
different way. It could be physical bullying where they use the power of their fist.
Physical injuries are inflicted on the victims and sometimes bullies also steal
something from their victim. This type of bullying lead to violence. Another type
of bullying is the social bullying. The bullies make the victims stay alone without
friends. The victims became loner and isolate their selves. The most common
 social bullying is the homophobic isolation. Homosexuality is a trend nowadays.
Bullies make fun of those who are feminine and the last one is cyber bullying
which is rampant nowadays. Cyber bullying includes spreading rumors, posting
false information, hurtful messages, embarrassing comments or photos, or
excluding someone from online networks or other communications. Student
involved in bullying as victims had shown to be frail. Some of the victims
suffering from depression, a mental disorder which affects more than 350 million
people of all ages. Victims also exhibit statistically lower levels of self-esteem
than the remaining students, increase feelings of sadness, lower global self-worth,
higher levels of depressive symptoms, and more broad-spectrum psychological
problems than noninvolved adolescents. Generally, victims reported raised levels
of psychological suffering.

5.2. Bullying certainly is not a new problem in schools throughout history, but
the level of and frequency of violence associated with bullying has soared to an
all-time high. Most victims of bullying don't have physical wounds that are visible
to the human eye. The pain of bullying does not always heal like a bruise. The
pain of bullying continues to haunt victims of bullying long after a student leaves
school. The wrath of bullying may affect one's ability to establish healthy
relationship, achieve life and educational goals, and maintain a healthy sense of
self-worth and self-esteem. Bullying behaviors affect everyone. Due to the vast
amount of bullying there is rarely anyone who hasn't been bullied themselves or
been a witness to bullying. It can be concluded that bullying is harmful behavior
that can be traced all across the globe. Self-knowledge and self-care can be
utilized in the future. By having good understanding of power and deep self-
knowledge, one is more conscious about own needs and comprehends own place
in relationship to others. Being thrown in this world, people need sense of
belonging. For youths, the first meaningful bond and belonging is to their peer
group in school. Therefore it is crucial for them to have a healthy bond for the
ability to form meaningful relationships in the future.
 REFERENCES LIST

Baier, S. (2007). A Critical Review of Literature: Understanding Bullying Behaviors of

Children (5th Edition ed.). Menomonie, Wisconsin.

Quiroz, H. C., Arnette, J. L., & Stephens, R. D. (2006). Bullying in schools: Discussion
activities for school communities. Retrieved from http://www.schoolsafety.us

Seixas,R.; Coelho, J. & Gustave, N. 2013. Bullies, victims and bully-victims impact on
health profile. Educação, Sociedade & Culturas, No 38, 2013, 53-75.

Staffordshire, R. (2010). Types of Bullying. Retrieved July 5, 2010, from Staffordshire

Learning Net: http://education.staffordshire.gov.uk/PupilSupport/Anti-
Bullying/TypesBullying/

Sullivan, D., Landau, M. J., & Rothschild, Z. K. (2010). An existential function of

enemyship: evidence that people attribute influence to personal and political enemies to
compensate for threats to control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(3),
434.

Undheim, A. & Sund, A. 2010. Prevalence of bullying and aggressive behaviour and
their relationship to mental health problems among 12- to 15-year-old Norwegian
adolescents. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Vol. 19, Issue 11, 803-811.

UNESCO, School Violence and Bullying Global Status Report, United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2017

WHO 2010. Prevention of bullying-related morbidity and mortality: a call for public
health policies. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. Vol.88, 403-403. Consulted
11.07.2015