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Arizbel Falcon

Mr. Powers

English 1302

5 February 2024

The Cycle of Bullying

Lerner, Joshua C. “Burying bullying.” Academic Emergency Medicine, vol. 30, no. 6, 3 Nov. 2022, pp.

691–692, https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.14613.

“Bullying is not simply a dyadic problem between a bully and a victim, but is recognized as a

group phenomenon, occurring in a social context in which various factors serve to promote, maintain, or

suppress such behavior” (e.g., Olweus, 2001; Rodkin & Hodges, 2003; Salmivalli, 2001). This quote

gives the significance that bullying is not just a stereotypical movie dynamic fight, but it is a serious

issue not taken lightly. The result of bullying in stable victims has shown to be “depression, attention-

deficit hyperactivity disorder, and anxiety, whereas stable bullies reported higher levels of anxiety, and

those who shifted from victimization to bullying reported more anxiety, depression, and somatization.”

(Espelage & Swearer, 2003). This statement is students are sad, whether the victim, the bully, or the

victim who turned to bully. If the rate of this outcome continues to rise, then society will not be stable

for the future. Mental Health strain is a big issue society will have if this cycle continues. The emotional

and psychological toll on individuals who are consistently bullied or engage in bullying behavior can

lead to mental health issues.The results of school bullying in the United States, as evidenced by national
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reports indicating that over one in five students has experienced bullying, underscores the urgent need

for comprehensive interventions. This paper explores bullying victimization by examining its connection

with child obesity, emphasizing the mental health results for victims. Additionally, the gender-specific

patterns revealed in recent studies highlight the necessity of tailored strategies to address direct bullying

among boys and indirect bullying involving girls, ultimately advocating for a safer and more inclusive

school environment.

Morales, Danielle X., et al. “School Bullying, Body Size, and Gender: An
Intersectionality Approach to Understanding US Children’s Bullying Victimization.”
British Journal of Sociology of Education, vol. 40, no. 8, 2019, pp. 1121–1137,

In the article I read, it states that bullying is mainly in schools. “According to a national report,

more than one out of every five US students has been bullied in school.” (Lessne and Yanez

Citation2016). Most bullying is linked to child obesity, which is a main problem in our schools. With

obesity being a rising factor in child bullying this can cause serious mental damage to the victim. In this

case the article states that with more recent studies it is also linked that boys are more towered to be

directly bullied, whereas girls are more likely to be involved in indirect bullying (Olweus Citation1994;

Varjas, Henrich, and Meyers Citation2009). The connection between bullying and child obesity raises

awareness about the multifaceted challenges faced by students, as issues related to body size contribute

significantly to the bullying dynamic. This association implies that addressing child obesity not only has

physical health consequences but also plays a crucial role in the victim's mental health. Knowing I have

a sibling that suffers with child obesity, I feel for her because no one deserves to be treated like that.

Even if someone you don't like, a person is a person, and they have feelings. This is a big problem in

schools and the reason I am writing and researching about this topic is because I want to get to the root
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of the problem and just want to see why things like this happen to kids, who are teaching the kids who

bully. Thats my big question.In conclusion to this article, this is a study to see who the victims in the

school are bullying we see. I found the answer to my question, the victims tend to usually be kids with

obesity. Which is usually sad because I take my little sister to school every morning praying and hoping

that she hasn’t fallen for one of the victims of bullying we see in schools today.

Fisher, H. L., Moffitt, T. E., Houts, R. M., Belsky, D. W., Arseneault, L., & Caspi, A. (2012).
Bullying victimisation and risk of self harm in early adolescence: Longitudinal cohort study. BMJ, 344,
e2683 https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e2683.

This article is about the results of bullying in their mentality. Their case studied the victims of

bullying and how “with increased risks of psychosomatic problems and mental health problems, such as

depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and decreased academic achievement” (Gini & Pozzoli, 2013;

Heerde & Hemphill, 2019; Moore et al., 2017). But it's not just the victims that get these health

problems, the bully can experience health problems as well... “students who bully others are also at

higher risk for suicidal ideations, antisocial personality disorder, and functional impairment” (Evans et

al., 2018; Pontillo et al., 2019). This is the answer I have been looking for to my questions. I have been

wanting to know what has happened to the victims over the years and if they still suffer from the torture

of what is known as “Bullying”, but who is there to stop this and are they doing their job. In the article,

it states how bullying often arises in an environment like school. “Bullying is a social phenomenon that

does not only exist between two individual students but arises in a complex social system” (Hong &

Espelage, 2012). If the environment is said to be a school, then there must be someone to stop the

bullying or at least be in intervention. Yes, the person fit for that job would be the teacher. Teachers are

a very important part of the social environment. Their actions and behaviors towards bullying can stop
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or prevent bullying in schools. (Longobardi et al., 2020; Yoon & Bauman, 2014). Teachers can be a

great role model for students, especially the younger ones. When it comes to young elementary students,

they look up to the people who are the authority in the situation. The article goes into detail on how the

student and the teacher create a bond that the student knows can trust the teacher. If said teacher can get

an idea to the kids that bullying is not the way to go, they can get the sense that the teacher is right. This

might not work for kids above 6 because older kids don’t want to listen to their teachers, but better late

than never. Even if the student doesn't want to listen, we know that there is someone in this world who is

doing their job.

Dirk Baier (2018). “Consequences of Bullying on Adolescents’ Mental Health in Germany: Comparing

Face-to-Face Bullying and Cyberbullying” Springer Science+Business Media

The article I read investigates the various aspects of bullying, cyber and physical. Physical

Bullying consists of hitting, name calling, punching etc.; While cyberbullying is a whole new category

of bullying. The author puts into detail on what cyberbullying is; Cyberbullying is defined as “an

aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or individual, using electronic forms of contact,

repeatedly and over time against a victim who can not easily defend him or herself” (Smith et al. 2008,

p. 376). Cyberbullying is known as not to be as damaging as physical bullying, which is totally a myth.

Cyberbullying is linked to many different mental health problems in the people who were affected by

said cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is defined as “an aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or

individual, using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly and over time against a victim who can not

easily defend him or herself” (Smith et al. 2008, p. 376). With the next generation being born with
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electronics in their hands, they are already on track to being the next victims of cyberbullying. This is a

worse problem than it sounds, most kids will already have to face bullying in school but when it comes

to having to face bullying on their devices, they won’t have anyone to help them as the internet is bigger

than you think. They will have to be alone in this battle and this can cause multiple mental health

problems, one of them being depression. The article's author conducted a (2015) cross-sectional study,

consisting of 1225 adolescents, found that face-to-face bullying and cyberbullying were associated with

poorer mental health. The article's author conducted a study surveying 4297 children in three grades

(grades 5 to 10) and found that experiences in cyber bullying are linked to poorer mental and physical

health and stronger depression symptoms. When writing an annotated bibliography, think about the

question/ topic you want solved and be set on that one question. You get articles and research on that

one question/ topic. For example, my topic was the effects of bullying, I wouldn’t think that I would get

so much more information on my topic than I thought. For me, there will never be a solution to my

question/ topic, but I find it more interesting to learn about it. I do want there to be a solution to

bullying, but I know that as of right now that just isn't possible.

In this personal story, the author shares two experiences of bullying in the medical field. The

story starts with the writer’s first shift in the emergency department. A primary care doctor reacts rudely

to a call about a patient who didn’t follow medical advice on July 4th. The PCP questions the emergency

doctor’s choices and acts arrogantly, making the writer doubt their own skills. The writer talks about a

similar situation 2000 shifts later, showing that bullying in medicine is a long-lasting problem. The first

story shows how the PCP doesn't respect the emergency doctor’s worries about a patient who has a

history of drug use and has a fever. The second story involves another PCPwho criticizes the emergency
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department, saying they made mistakes and broke the law. The author points out that bullying is

common in the workplace and that it can hurt professionals. The author ends by saying that the work

force is changing, with more talks about professionalism, and experience. They are hopeful about the

growing awareness of bullying and the professional’s commitment to getting rid of this widespread

issue. In the end the author encourages identifying and dealing with bullying as the first step to creating

a healthier and more respectful work culture.

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Forseberg, Camilla. “Bystanders to Bullying: Fourth- to Seventh-Grade Students’

Perspectives ...” Taylor and Francis Online, 19 Feb. 2013,

The author gives great examples of bullying, but more specifically bullying in the grades of

fourth to seventh. In previous annotated bibliographies they state how bullying is mainly in schools, but

bullying is everywhere and even where you least expect it. The causes of being a bystander can vary,

while some take the initiative to take charge others have a fear of being the one to step in. The study that

the article shows states that the bystanders (the children) all said sort of the same thing. They didn’t

want to step in because of what they were seeing be done to the victim, “You don’t want to see anyone

feel bad, you want to help, and then you do what you can”, says girl, fourth grade. In result to the review

on the article, everyone is in the cycle of bullying. Even the ones who aren’t even being bullied, those

are the ones who you would think would be preventing the bullying from stopping but because of the

results bullying does to the victims they have the sense that if they get involved there is no way out.

Which is a big misconception.

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Maria M Ttofi (2009) “What works in preventing bullying: effective elements of anti-bullying

programmes” Institute of Criminology

Bullying in school settings has long been known as an issue for many students. In response to

that growing concern schools have had many anti-bullying interventions to prevent bullying and create a

safer environment. Anti-bullying programs started in hopes of helping students to stop being mean to

each other. Some people think these are a way to waste time in schools, while others think these

programs give awareness to stop bullying. In the article, the study conducted by the author provides

proof these interventions have on the students and whether they are worth the watch or not. Having

schools do anti-bullying interventions is one of the many things that schools do to try and stop the

phenomenon of bullying. These programs contribute to a positive school climate by raising awareness

about bullying, providing strategies, and empowering bystanders to address incidents. These programs

have the potential to shape the minds and feelings of the kids they are presenting too. Ultimately, these

programs have the potential to shape students to treat others with kindness and respect. However, the

effectiveness may vary due to some just not having the interest of bullying as others. In the study

conducted by the author, “Anti-bullying interventions showed statistically significant effectiveness

compared with control groups on all assessed bullying-related outcomes after the intervention.”

(Assessment of School Anti-Bullying Interventions). In other words, these interventions do work, if

others say otherwise then they might not be getting the message. Of course, others might have to be a

certain age to get the message through. The age range of the study was (4-17) years old, the younger the

more compassionate you are and the older the wiser you are. The conclusion to the article is that anti-

bullying interventions to work. If you get the point or not, they will stick with you. If asking anyone you

would get the response that you do get the memo and that they understood the message.
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Gradinger P. (2017) “Parents’ and Teachers’ Opinions on Bullying and Cyberbullying

Prevention” School of Medical Engineering and Social Sciences,

The summary of this article is too fully understand the opinions of the parents and teachers when

it comes to bullying in schools. “Research shows that teachers’ own victimization experiences as a

student are associated with their later bullying prevention competence (Kokko & Pörhölä, 2009).”

Teachers who had been victimized by their peers back then when they were students were better at

dealing with bullying than teachers who weren’t in that situation back then. In the study they got the

same number of parents as teachers, about 450 each with the same age range, (47-68). In the study the

author got the participants to answer a questionnaire with the question of “Is the interference of bullying

important in or out of school” and more like that question including cyberbullying. In the end everyone

answered that bullying is important in or out of school. Thinking it was going to be obvious that they

were going to answer yes to the intervention to bullying, they got the math of all the answers from the

questionnaire and got the results that there was a low result in the actual intervention of bullying. The

result showed that both parents and teachers consider bullying to be an important or very important topic

within Austrian schools. Obviously, all forms of bullying are universally rates as serious or very serious,

with physical bullying considered the most severe and cyberbullying the least. (Biggs, Vernberg,

Twemlow, Fonagy, & Dill, 2008). Notably, all forms of bullying are universally rated as serious or very

serious, with physical bullying considered the most severe and cyberbullying the least. While initial

perceptions downplayed the seriousness of cyberbullying, teachers are increasingly recognizing its

gravity due to the growing impact of social media.

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Ng Kara (2019) “‘I could help, but . . .’: A dynamic sensemaking model of workplace bullying

bystanders”, human relations, Vol. 73(12) 1718–1746

In this personal story, the author shares two experiences of bullying in the medical field. The

story starts with the writer’s first shift in the emergency department. A primary care doctor reacts rudely

to a call about a patient who didn’t follow medical advice on July 4th. The PCP questions the emergency

doctor’s choices and acts arrogantly, making the writer doubt their own skills. The writer talks about a

similar situation 2000 shifts later, showing that bullying in medicine is a long-lasting problem. The first

story shows how the PCP doesn't respect the emergency doctor’s worries about a patient who has a

history of drug use and has a fever. The second story involves another PCP who criticizes the emergency

department, saying they made mistakes and broke the law. The author points out that bullying is

common in the workplace and that it can hurt professionals. The author ends by saying that the work

force is changing, with more talks about professionalism, and experience. They are hopeful about the

growing awareness of bullying and the professional’s commitment to getting rid of this widespread

issue. In the end the author encourages identifying and dealing with bullying as the first step to creating

a healthier and more respectful work culture.

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Yidliz, P (2021). “Mediating Role of Self-Control in the Relationship between Aggressiveness and

Cyber Bullying” stanbul Vol. 11, Iss. 1, : 40-49.

This study explores the mediating role of self-control in the relationship between children aggressive

behaviors and their cyberbullying behaviors. The research involved 333 high school students and used

various scales to collect data, including the Positive Social and Aggressive Behaviors Scale, the Brief

Self-Control Scale, and the Cyber Victimization and Bullying Scale. The study found a definite and

moderate relationship between aggression and cyberbullying, and a relationship between self-control and

cyberbullying. The results of this study suggest that self-control plays a mediating role in the relationship

between aggressive behaviors and cyberbullying behaviors. This research provides valuable insights into

the complex dynamics of aggression and cyberbullying among adolescents and underscores the

importance of self-control in mitigating these behaviors.

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Dieter. W (2015) “Long-term effects of bullying” Archives of Disease in Childhood, Vol. 100, Iss 9

This article provides a full view of bullying and its different branches, it goes into full detail

giving the reader the definition of “bullying” to a table giving the reader visual detail of bullying and the

different levels the effects of bullying as on others. When reading more into depth the reader can see that

the article is mainly focused on the ages of (6-17) which are the most vulnerable ages of bullying. While

there is no study as in the past articles, there is still so much to be learned about the topic. With the

article stating how “Bullying occurs in settings where individuals do not have a say concerning the

group, they want to be in. This is the situation for children in school classrooms or at home with siblings

and has been compared to being 'caged' with others.” Which was found in all the articles I have read for

this annotated bibliography. Multiple articles have different wordings of this statement, but this article

made it clear that bullying only happens when the environment and victim don’t align well in contrast.

This article serves as a valuable contribution to the discussion of bullying. Offering many points and

highlighting the importance of considering the victims' feelings/factors.