Bullying amongst Adolescents in the United States
Alyssa Bailey
California State University, Fullerton Bullying amongst Adolescents in the United States
Bullying has gained increased focus in recent decades, in part because of the intensified media coverage on the subject. Tragic events such as school shootings tend to bring the topic of bullying to the forefront of media coverage because once the shooter’s background is further investigated, a history of peer victimization is often uncovered. While the ______ of these events should not be _______, it is important to understand that children across the nation struggle with peer victimization every day and their voices often go unheard. Though they may not resort to such intense…show more content… These effects can last into the adult years and cause irreparable damage (Berger, 2007). This speaks to the importance of continued research of the topic, and the development of effective prevention and intervention strategies. This paper will discuss the findings of four studies on bullying amongst adolescents, and examine the effectiveness of parental support and prosocial behaviors as protective factors for victims.
Seals and Young (2003) studied the prevalence of bullying and its relationship to grade-level, gender, ethnicity, self-esteem, and depression. Participants in their study consisted of 454 seventh- and eighth-graders in five school districts in the Northern Delta area. These students were primarily African American (79%) and Caucasian (18%). Researchers gave these students three questionnaires to assess exposure to and effects of bullying/victimization: the Peer Relations Questionnaire, which assessed bully, victim, and prosocial behaviors; the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale; and the Children’s Depression Inventory. This study found that 24% of respondents reported being directly involved in bullying activities, of which 10% reported doing the bullying, and 13% reported being victims of bullying. The results also suggested that males were significantly more involved in bullying than females, and were twice as likely to be identified as a bully. Both genders, however,