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Proposed Bullying Study Essay

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Bullying and victimization in United States schools has just recently begun to be studied(Milsom & Gallo, 2006). Many schools realizing the impact that bullying has on children are quick advocate anti-bullying programs and punish bullies, however victims of bullies are usally given no emotional support. Research on bullying reveals that there are both immediate and future consequences for the targets of bullying (Gottheil and Dubow, 2001). Students are more likely to suffer from academic problems, absenteeism, loneliness and loss of friends especially when the bullying behavior is severe and prolonged (Robert & Coursol, 1996). Children who are targets of aggression are also more likely to be depressed and develop low self-esteem (Gottheil …show more content…

Improving social skills with these students can decrease a victim’s chances of being bullied. Students can learn to better develop relationship with other peers, which may decrease the likelihood that bullies target them. Specific social skills to target can include friendship skills, how to approach a group of people and how to develop empathy. In addition it would also be beneficial to teach students effective coping skills in the event that they are bullied (Kaiser & Rasminsky, 2003). Coping skills can include identifying support in time of difficulty such as people to talk to and locating a safe area within the school. Having stated the the goals of the group, I believe this group would be suitable to middle school boys and girls, both of which can experience bullying. In order to have students join the group, I will receive referrals from teachers about who could benefit from a group for victims of bullying and also student referrals from the posters that will hang in the hallways and in bathrooms. The poster (Appendix B) that I designed is discrete but describes enough information that would gain the attention of the target population. I purposely did not advertise specific information about when and where the group will take place because of the sensitivity of the topic. This way there is less

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