CHAPTER TWO
Review of Literature
Historical Background of Bullying
It is alarming that students between the ages of 8 and 18 consider pressure to engage in sexual activity, AIDS, racism, alcohol and drug use to be less problematic than bullying. They consider the latter a far greater problem than the former (Domino, 2013). Bullying has been defined as a subcategory of interpersonal aggression characterized by intentionality, repetition, and imbalance of power, with abuse of power being a primary distinction between bullying and other forms of aggression. Moreover it is a unique but complex form of interpersonal aggression, which takes many forms, serves different functions, and is manifested in different patterns of relationships. 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, and suppress such behavior (Hymel & Sweareer, 2015). There seems to be an array of definitions for bullying, but for the most part “research agrees that bullying is (1) chronic, (2) done with the intention to harm, (3) relational, and (4) is a form of exposure to violence that presents a major threat to healthy development through adolescence (Fitpatrick, Dulin, & Piko, 2010).”
There are different types of bullying, for instance physical, verbal, relational or social, and cyberbullying. Physical bullying involves harmful actions against another
In John Cloud’s essay “The Myths of Bullying” he talks about the reaction that schools and states have to bullying. Cloud expresses his concerns for bullying and also explains the steps that people are taking to help prevent it. He explains that most of the systems used now are not effective and are making school’s waste money. He then provides his own opinion on how bullying should be approached in school systems. Cloud’s essay not only tries to persuade the reader to his cause but he uses literary elements such as bathos and logos to appeal to and draw in the reader.
One of the grimmest, ongoing issues present within all latter-day educational institutions and public facilities is the problem and complications of a recently reinvigorated phenomenon: bullying. Bullying can be defined—and entails—as any of the broad gamut of aggressive, intimidating, and/or negative behaviours that are expressed on behalf of an individual or group towards one or more other people who consequently experience forms of mistreatment and associated sentiments of pain (this behaviour is generally associated with young adults and children). Albeit many younger students have neglected the genuine importance of this issue as a result of many unrealistic, specious clichés and stereotypes present within the media coupled with feelings of nonchalance and lethargy, the problem of bullying has only been aggravated through the inception of the Internet and the concomitant repercussion of cyberbullying: “2 in 5 parents report their child has been involved in a cyberbullying
Bullying is defined as the prolonged malicious act of harming peers by abusing their own--or an existing imbalance of--power, and has become one of the most common sources of trauma among adolescents. One report shows that one of three children were victims of bullying during some point in their life, and that 10-14% of all adolescents were victims of chronic bullying for at least six months prior to participating in the survey. Children who were victims of bullying are also found to be at a higher risk of diagnoses for anxiety disorders and depression during young and middle adulthood. These victims are reported to be more likely to have lower levels of general/physical health, and lower educational acquirements than young and middle-aged adults who were not bullied (Wolke & Lereya, 2015). Because bullying is such a prominent problem, citizens, policymakers, and social scientists alike, should feel or have some social and moral obligation to address, and hopefully avert bullying. The state of bullying, and how it is enacted, is constantly changing and adapting to social frameworks. Because bullies can adapt to social changes and regulations, we, as a society, should be equally adaptive in how we perceive, address, prevent, and punish bullying.
Bullying is bound to happen anywhere at any time but occurs mostly within school limits. Kathleen Winkler defines bulling in her book, Bullying, as “...any kind of ongoing physical or verbal mistreatment, done with the intent to harm, where there is an imbalance of power between bully and victim” (Winkler 14). Bullying has an extremely important impact on one’s everyday life and can affect their life negatively getting to the point where they can no longer take the blow. To try and prevent bullying from taking place in schools, one needs to know how bullying effects a person, what the role of each person involved in the situation is, and have knowledge of specific methods on how to prevent it. Bullying in schools is a serious problem and a handful of school do their part to prevent it; others, not as much, which means there is room for improvements.
Bullying is an undesirable form of aggression that is mostly seen in kids of school ages in which one of the parties is less powerful. The aggressive behavior is normally repeated over a period of time. It has the power to have devastating, lasting problems. The purpose of this article is to provide a coherent analysis of the most recent research on bullying and to address the issues that still exist even when school-based programs have been implemented in schools since the 1980s.
According to the article “Tales of Bullying,” students can become a bad bully because you might have your own group of friends you want to impress or try to show off for, or you might have something going on at home. According to paragraph 3 in “Meet the New Sheriff” kids may get bullied because of their hair and/or what they wear. All around the wonderful world good kids are ending their own good lives over bullying. A bad bully is far worse than a lazy bystander because mean bully’s cause suicides, bullies cause/have low self-esteem, not to mention they suffer a large amount of punishment.
Bullying among school-aged children is regarded as a widespread problem in the United States and there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the problem. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), over one third of students in elementary and middle schools are impacted by bullying (Klein, 2012). Bullying is defined as “unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time” (Klein,2012). Studies show that the consequences of bullying not only include students who are bullied, but the effects extend to those who bully and
In such a diverse society that encompasses of wide variety of socioeconomic statuses, ages, genders, sexual orientations, races, ethnicities, and education levels, bullying is unfortunately becoming more and more common. According to the American Psychological Association, on the most basic operational level, “Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior in which someone intentionally and repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort. Bullying can take the form of physical contact, words or more subtle actions” (Stop Office Bullying, p. 1). The root of bullying can usually be traced back to a power imbalance, often with the superior discriminating based
The results and consequences of bulling in all sorts of format (verbal, cyber or physical)
The phrase bullying has altered significantly over time. During the 18th and 19th centuries, bullying was mostly considered as physical or vocal harassment usually related to bereavement, strong segregation or extortion in school kids. Any form of aggressive behaviour was merely taken as naughtiness and a standard component of early days. Actually, bullying was considered to be a naive misadventure among school going boys (Smith & Myron-Wilson, 1998). Also, the expression bullying was not widely known until a renowned newspaper made a publication of such behaviour. During 1862, subsequent to approximately 72 years of publications the daily newspaper, The Times
Hoover, J.H., Oliver, R.L., and Thomson, K.A (1993). Perceived victimzation by school bullies: New research and future direction
Bullying can be hard to define, because research has shown that it comes in many forms which makes it difficult to find one set of characteristics that will describe a bully. Conclusively, studies have defined bullying as a set of repeated aggressive behavior that is intended to harm someone, which usually involves an imbalance of power between the victim and the perpetrator (Morgan, 2012, p. 174). Studies have shown that there are two distinct types of bullying, which is a direct form of verbal and physical aggression, and indirect, which often results in name calling, rumors and exclusion (Aluedse, 2006, p. 38). This form of peer victimization can have devastating effects on a child 's academic work and their physical and psychological well being (Limber, 2003, p. 23). In terms of gender, boys are more likely to be involved in physical bullying (direct) as for girls are more likely to be involved in indirect bullying (Wang et al, 2009, p. 371). Previous research indicates, that parents and friends are two important factors of social interaction associated with bullying and victimization among adolescences. Bullying is quite common among middle school children, because it is during this time that children go through puberty and hormonal changes. During this time students are looking to be accepted and fit into a specific group; however, when there is a lack of acceptance and esteem due to victimization, this can cause children to isolate themselves from those around them
Back in the past many have focused on drug and alcohol use in school students along with students carrying weapons to schools, and it seemed as if no one was recognizing the significance of school bullying. For victims of bullying, they go to school every day facing harassment, taunting, and humiliation. Kids today come home and kill themselves or never want to go back to school because of BULLYING. “Studies show that 25-35% of teens encountered some type of bullying in their lifetime (Nansel et al,).” Bullying is a form of violent behavior that happens not only in the schools but everywhere. Kids everywhere have been exposed to bullying in school for generations and ages . Although bullying has always been a factor the consequences for
Not only are bullied children anxious, depressed, and underachieving during the months and years of their torment, but even years later, they have lower self-esteem as well as painful memories. 7 The picture is somewhat different, but often more ominous, for bullies. Contrary to the public perception that bullies are actually insecure and lonely, at the peak of their bullying they usually have friends who abet, fear, and admire them, and they seem brashly unapologetic about the pain they have inflicted, as they often claim, "all in fun." But their popularity and school success fade over the years, and especially if they are boys, they run a high risk of ending up in prison. In one longitudinal study done by Olweus, by age 24, two-thirds of the boys who had been bullies in the second grade were convicted of at least one felony, and one- third of those who had been bullies in the sixth through the ninth grades were already convicted of three or more crimes, often violent ones. International research likewise finds that children who are allowed to regularly victimize other children are at high risk of becoming violent offenders as adolescents and adults. 8 Unfortunately, bullying during middle childhood seems to be universal: it occurs in every nation that has been studied, is as much a problem in small
School bullying and bullying as a whole has become a growing concern. The need for more intervention is more recognized, as incidents of bullying and inappropriate acts towards others occur in places outside of the classroom. This literature takes a closer look at bullying in schools. Olwesus (2013) states “the field of bullying research is to some extent plagued by problems, disagreements, and unresolved issues” (p.752). Whether if anyone will agree on the root of bullying, the fact remains that bullying has to be examined at its very core to remedy the matter before it becomes a bigger concern. There is a dire need for intervention based programs to be set in place to address the fact the act of bullying has lasting effects on the bully and the victim. When intervention programs are put into place to address bullying, the act of bullying decreases due to the gained understanding of the effects.