“A Holistic Perspective on the Prevalence, Causes and Effects of School Bullying: The

Bully, the Bullied and I”

Bullying among students occur worldwide, among all problems of secondary school,

none is as debilitating as bullying because of its effect on the bully and the victim as well.

Bullying, long tolerated by many as a rite of passage into adulthood, is now recognized as a

major and preventable public health problem, one that can have long-lasting consequences

(McDougall and Vaillancourt, 2015; Wolke and Lereya, 2015). Bullying is a unique but complex

form of interpersonal aggression, which takes many forms, serves different functions, and is

manifested in different patterns of relationships (Swearer & Hymel, 2015). Bullying is

considered as global problem that affect emotional, social, and physical wellbeing of school-age

children worldwide (Alison, 2016).

Everywhere, bullying happens. The most serious place where bullying happen is at

school. There are many places in school that bullying happens, like hallways, restroom,

classroom, canteen and others. School bullying is a widespread issue which affects students in

several ways. Bullying in school sometimes consist of a group of students taking advantage of or

isolating one student in particular and gaining the loyalty of witnesses, who, in some cases want

to avoid becoming the next victim (Mortega, 2016)

School bullying is defined as a form of violence that harms others and it occurs at school

or during various activities when a student or group of students uses their strength in hurting

other individuals or other groups. The basis of bully’s strength is either physical strength or their

age or financial situation, or social level or technological skills (Quiroz et al., 2016).
Bullying in school is a significant problem worldwide and is one of the most common antisocial

behaviors among adolescents and children (Al-Ali, 2018).

When most people think of bullying, they imagine boys punching, kicking, and hitting

one another. But physical bullying is just one type of bullying that kids participate in. There are

actually six primary types of bullying namely, (1) Physical Bullying, (2) Verbal Bullying, (3)

Relational Aggression, (4) Cyber Bullying, (5) Sexual Bullying and (6) Prejudicial Bullying

(Gordon, 2019).

Physical bullying is the most obvious form of bullying. It occurs when kids use physical

actions to gain power and control over their targets. Physical bullies tend to be bigger, stronger,

and more aggressive than their peers. Examples of physical bullying include kicking, hitting,

punching, slapping, shoving, and other physical attacks. Unlike other forms of bullying, physical

bullying is the easiest to identify. As a result, it is most likely what people think of when they

think of bullying. Additionally, it has historically received more attention from schools than

other more subtle forms of bullying (Gordon, 2019).

Perpetrators of verbal bullying use words, statements, and name-calling to gain power

and control over a target. Typically, verbal bullies will use relentless insults to belittle, demean,

and hurt another person. They choose their targets based on the way they look, act, or behave.

It’s also common for verbal bullies to target kids with special needs. Verbal bullying is often

very difficult to identify because attacks almost always occur when adults aren’t around. As a

result, it is often one person’s word against another person’s word. Additionally, many adults

feel that things kids say don’t impact others significantly. As a result, they usually tell the victim

of bullying to “ignore it.” But verbal bullying should be taken seriously (Gordon, 2019).
 Relational aggression is a sneaky and insidious type of bullying that often goes unnoticed

by parents and teachers. Sometimes referred to as emotional bullying, relational aggression is a

type of social manipulation where teens try to hurt their peers or sabotage their social standing.

Relational bullies often ostracize others from a group, spread rumors, manipulate situations, and

break confidences. The goal behind a relationally aggressive bully is to increase their own social

standing by controlling or bullying another person. In general, girls tend to use relational

aggression more than boys, especially between fifth and eighth grades. As a result, girls who

engage in relational aggression are often called mean girls. A teen on the receiving end of

relational aggression is likely to be teased, insulted, ignored, excluded and intimidated.

Although relational aggression is common in middle school, it is not limited to teens. In fact,

some bullying bosses and other workplace bullies also engage in relational aggression (Gordon,

2019).

When a teen uses the Internet, a smart phone, or other technology to harass, threaten,

embarrass, or target another person, this is called cyber bullying. If an adult is involved in the

harassment this is called cyber-harassment or cyber stalking. Examples of cyber bullying include

posting hurtful images, making online threats, and sending hurtful emails or texts. Because teens

are always "plugged in," cyber bullying is a growing issue among young people. It’s also

becoming more widespread because bullies can harass their targets with much less risk of being

caught. Cyber bullies often say things that they do not have the courage to say face-to-

face. Technology makes them feel anonymous, insulated and detached from the situation.

Consequently, online bullying is often mean and cruel. To the targets of cyber bullying, it feels

invasive and never-ending. Bullies can get to them anytime and anywhere, often in the safety of

their own homes. As a result, the consequences of cyber bullying are significant (Gordon, 2019).
 Sexual bullying consists of repeated, harmful, and humiliating actions that target a person

sexually. Examples include sexual name-calling, crude comments, vulgar gestures, uninvited

touching, sexual propositioning, and pornographic materials. For instance, a bully might make a

crude comment about a girl’s appearance, attractiveness, sexual development, or sexual activity.

In extreme cases, sexual bullying opens the door to sexual assault. Girls are often the targets of

sexual bullying both by boys and by other girls. Boys might touch them inappropriately, make

crude comments about their bodies, or proposition them. Girls, on the other hand, might call

other girls names like “slut” or “tramp," make insulting comments about their appearance or

body and engage in slut-shaming (Gordon, 2019).

Prejudicial bullying is based on prejudices teens have toward people of different races,

religions, or sexual orientation. This type of bullying can encompass all the other types of

bullying including cyber bullying, verbal bullying, relational bullying, physical bullying, and

sometimes even sexual bullying. When prejudicial bullying occurs, kids are targeting others who

are different from them and singling them out (Gordon, 2019).

There is no single reason which explains why bullying happens. Children and adults can

be bullies for a number of reasons. Many have been bullied themselves. Sometimes it can be an

expression of anger or frustration due to problems they have, such as problems at home or

struggling at school or work. It can be the result of poor upbringing - some people have not been

taught to be sensitive to or care about other people's feelings. Violent games or movies may

influence some people's behavior and make them more likely to be bullies. For some it may be

an attention-seeking behavior - for example, if they are not getting enough care and attention at

home or elsewhere. Others find themselves in a position of power without the skills to use it
wisely. In some schools and workplaces there is no culture of respect for others; this can make

bullying more likely (Harding, 2016).

Most people who identify as bullies have experience a stressful situation sometime in the

last 5 years. While some children might have the family support to cope with this stresses in

positive ways, others do not. Bullying, then, becomes a strategy to manage stress. We need to

teach students how to cope with stress in a positive way.

Males are more likely to have bullied another person. While it is common for us to

encourage females to talk about their problems and accept visual emotions, the opposite is

usually true for males. Without the outlet of healthy communication and displays of emotion,

males can revert to aggressive behavior. Again, this is a coping strategy. The Bullied becomes

the Bully. People who are bullied are twice as likely to bully others. This is the most obvious

way of paying the hurt forward. To keep themselves from being hurt, students who have been

bullied become the bully. Unfortunately, they don’t have the awareness to associate that they are

now causing others the same pain that they are trying to get out of.

A third of those who bully feel like adults in their lives don’t have enough time to spend

with them. There can be violent dynamics that are on constant display in the home. Additionally,

they feel like those in close proximity to them aren’t supportive or demonstrative of

unconditional love. Essentially, they have no place where they feel safe and secure – a basic

human need (Bethart, 2017).

Students who are bullied have increased school avoidance, decreases in grades, and

difficulties with learning. These students often suffer from sleep difficulties, headaches and
stomachaches, and mental health issues such as anxiety and depression (Whalen, 2017). Bullied

kids struggle to focus on their schoolwork. In fact, slipping grades is one of the first signs that a

child is being bullied. Kids also may be so pre-occupied by bullying that they forget about

assignments or have difficulty paying attention in class (Foreman, 2019). Students who are

bullies also have long-term issues such as academic problems, substance use, behavioral issues,

and problems with the law. They are less likely to obtain meaningful employment and often

struggle with independence and relationships as adults (Whalen, 2017). Bullying victims also

tend to experience a wide range of emotions. They may feel angry, bitter, vulnerable, helpless,

frustrated, lonely, and isolated from their peers. Consequently, they may skip classes and resort

to drugs and alcohol to numb their pain. As bullied kids grow into adults, they may continue to

struggle with self-esteem, have difficulty developing and maintaining relationships, and avoid

social interactions. They also may have a hard time trusting people, which can impact their

personal relationships and their work relationships (Foreman, 2019).

Engage your child. The first thing to do if you notice that something’s wrong with your

child is to talk to them. The most important thing you can do for a bullied child is to validate the

situation. Pay attention to your child’s feelings and let them know that you care. You may not be

able to solve all their problems but it’s essential that they know they can count on you for

support. Be a role model. Bullying is a learned behavior. Children pick up antisocial behaviors

like bullying from adult role models, parents, teachers, and the media. Be a positive role model

and teach your child good social behavior from an early age. Your child is less likely to enter

damaging or hurtful relationships if you as their parent avoid negative associations. Get

educated. Continual training and education is essential to stop bullying in your community. This

gives teachers time to talk openly with students about bullying and to get a feel for what the
bullying climate is at school. It will also help children understand what behaviors are considered

bullying. School-wide assemblies on the subject can bring the issue out into the open. It’s also

important to educate school staff and other adults. They should understand the nature of bullying

and its effects, how to respond to bullying at school, and how to work with others in the

community to prevent it. Work with the bully. Don’t forget that the bully has issues to deal with

as well and also needs help from adults. Bullies often engage in bullying behaviors out of a lack

of empathy and trust, or as a result of issues at home. Bullies first need to recognize that their

behavior is bullying. Then, they need to understand that bullying is harmful to others and leads to

negative consequences. You can nip bullying behavior in the bud by showing them what the

consequences of their actions are (Wolfson, 2015).

School bullying is just one of the most salient issues in the country nowadays. Actually,

such issue is also present in almost all countries across the globe thus making it as a global

concern. The drastic scenario is that physical harm is not only inflicted to victims but it also has

psychological effects which drastically lessens the morale or self esteem of individuals. Viewing

school bullying on a bird’s eye view, it is not only the victims of bullying who should be given

with importance but the needs and innermost feelings of the bullies should also be considering

that we should have a deeper understanding on why they behave in such way. The researcher

also believe that addressing the problem on bullying should be done through a multi-sector

approach which calls for the collaboration of parents, guardians, educators, peers, government

agencies and even non-government organizations. With this, the researcher intends to conduct a

study which seeks to come up with a detailed account on the prevalence of school bullying. For

its sub-objectives, the study will draw out the forms of bullying incidents; will surface its causes;
to know how it affects the involved individuals in terms of academics and social relationship;

and to generate measures which can be undertaken to eradicate bullying.

Method
Participants

There will be two sets of respondents in the study. The first set of will be the students

involved in school bullying whether they are the bully or the bullied. They are the primary

sources of data considering that they are the ones who are in the actual situation thus they can

give elaborated answers on its causes and effects. The second set will be school personnel

composed of advisers, guidance counselors and principals who attends to bullying incidents,

records data, monitors student discipline, conducts counseling and implement disciplinary

actions. The respondents will be chosen through purposive sampling which is a respondent

selection method wherein an individual must first possess certain characteristics or qualifications

before he/she is considered to be a potential research respondent. The study will be conducted in

selected Junior High Schools in Santiago City, Isabela. However, the schools where the study

will be conducted will not still be identified for the reason that the researcher will first conduct

document scanning and interviews to identify the schools with high number of bullying

incidents.

Research Design

The qualitative research design will be applied. Data on qualitative studies are gathered

through interviews, focused group discussions, series of observations and even ocular visits in

order for the researcher to have a clearer understanding on the phenomenon or condition being

studied.

Measures
 With the fact that data needed in the study are in the form of narratives or interview

responses, an interview guide will serve as the principal data gathering instrument. It will be

composed of questions relevant to school bullying particularly with its causes and effects to both

bullies and bullied. It will also contain questions as to on how school bullying can be eradicated.

Guide questions will be made open-ended so that respondents can freely express their opinions

during the interviews. The use of an interview guide is needed to ensure that questions are asked

in an organized and consistent manner.

Procedures

Library and internet research will first be done to have a broader understanding on school

bullying and to identify the variables which will be included in the study. Reviewed materials

will then be the basis in constructing the interview guide. The developed interview guide will

undergo thorough checking to be done by the research adviser to ensure that guide questions are

comprehensively stated. After the checking, suggested improvements on the interview guide will

be incorporated. Document scanning and interviews will be done to have a concrete basis in

selecting the schools where the study will be conducted and also for the purpose of easily

locating the target respondents. With the fact that the primary respondents are minors, consent

from their parents, guardians and advisers will first be sought. The interview sessions with the

respondents will be recorded. Interview responses will then be summarized and important points

will be obtained. If there are instances that some respondents did not fully comprehend the

questions asked to them, questions will be re-stated but assuring that the context of the questions

are not mislead. Follow-up interviews will be conducted if additional data are needed.

Qualitative Analysis
 The interview responses will be transcribed and focal points will be drawn out. After

which, they will be presented into narrative form. It will be supplemented by some of the exact

interview responses given and some of the presented literatures and studies.