Peer Victimization Thesis

As more and more children go to school, the rates of bullying go up as time goes by. there are many times at which students suffer all the bullying that occurs within their lives. As more schools become aware of the magnitude of the bullying occurring right under their noses, there are rules created to aid the victim. There are various types of bullying and these are created to do one thing, instill superiority among the “stronger” and place a feeling of inferiority. Bullies are the ones who are detrimental to a child’s development.

In “Phoebe Prince: Should School Bullying Be a Crime?”, an article written by journalist Jessica Bennet addresses school bullying, the outcomes and the consequences that bullies deserve or not. Above all, this article aims the spotlight on bullying, a 15-year-old who took her own life due to harassment, torment, rumors, physical threats all leading it to being bullied by well-known good students. In any case, the process of being bullied has never been taken into consideration nor importance in the school system or by society in general. “It’s even gotten better over the past decade says Dan Olweus, a leading bullying expert”. However, bullying just does not disappear, it is still an issue that humankind does not have any diligence to the cause

Bullying has been a social problem for decades. Bullying started out with name calling, but today bulling comes in different forms. You find bullying in schools, texts, and social media to name a few. The following information provided in this research paper discusses the history of bullying and how the history has shaped bullying today. The paper will provide informative background information about bullying and the definition of bullying. This paper will discuss the roles and skills of the human service professional that works with the population that is affected by the social problem.

When a person is initiating bullying, it often refers to verbal or physical harassment such as fighting, calling names and even black mailing. In fact, researchers and bloggers have mentioned labeling kids, as ”victims and Bullies” does not help discard the situation. It is known to cause children to identify themselves as “victims” and “bullies” and patterns may be repeated. Nonetheless, although social roles such as “Victims and Bullies” can be negative as far as labeling, it has helps understand the source of warning signs and aggressive behavior so it can be managed properly. For example, Warning signs such as constantly speaking negative, getting into a lot of fights, being aggressive and even coming home with scars and bruises. Average shows that potential bullying may occurs during the 4th-12th grade. During these situations some schools have requested organizations and awareness taught during classes to help educate kids on he effects and possible consequences of bullying.

The present study concerns longitudinal research on bullying perpetration and peer victimization. A focus is on school factors of school climate and school identification which are conceptualized related but distinct constructs.

Over the past couple of decades, schools all across the nation have noticed a significant rise in the amount of bullying taking place among their students. “Two decades ago, bullying was often seen as a rare occurrence, where small groups of parents sought protection for their children with the school district”, stated by Vikki Healy Ortiz, writer of the article “New inclusive approach helps schools fight bullying”. However, the same cannot be said for our society in today’s world. Our modern world has advanced tremendously over the past few decades and there are even more opportunities for children to be susceptible to feeling isolated from others because they are simply unique. In today’s society, children have the potential to bully each other outside of the classroom as well.

There are various types of bullying that students are face with such as; physical bullying, this type of bullying involves hitting, shoving, pushing, tripping and any other kind of force. Verbal bullying involves the use of hurtful comments such as, name-calling and teasing. Social bullying involves using relationship to hurt someone, it involves excluding or ostracizing someone from a friend group, spreading rumors or the silent treatment. Cyber bullying happens over cell phone and the internet. School bullying is not subject to any particular gender both boys and girls are guilt of or victims of some form of bullying. However; bullying is likely to be missed by teachers, Johnson.pg 129 states “while teachers view bullying as a major problem, it is low on the list reported by students.” This quote explain that it is almost impossible to know whether a child is being bullied or the type of bullying that they experience. Therefore, in this essay I will claim that violence has increased in school as a result of bullying, and because of bullying student bringing weapons to school as a means of

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 conducting 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.

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

Many people do not realize how serious bullying has become. If you look at statistics suicides due to bullying have increased over just a few short years. This has become a very big problem for not only the victim but the bully as well as it affect both of them. School bullying is mentally destructive to not only the victims, but bullies because of the harmful words, harassment, and physical violence involved as well as the consequences for the bully.

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

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.

Moreover, special anti-bullying rules should be put into effect. To this end, the playground, corridors, and rest rooms should be monitored by the teachers, these areas being unsupervised in the majority of schools across the nation (Coy). Apart from the teachers, certain bodies of students, such as members of the student council, could be deployed as watching squad to observe any acts of bullying taking place and to report such acts to the authorities (Coy). In this regard, one factor which is often overlooked and which forms the basis of hesitation on the part of the students is the non-availability of anonymity when reporting such cases (Coy).

About twenty-eight percent of student’s ages 12-18 reported being bullied at school during the school year according to the Indicators of School Crime and Safety report, by the Bureau of Justice statistics. Across thirty-nine states survey, 7.2 percent of students admit to not attending school because they do not feel safe. The importance of bullying can’t be undermined. Teachers and parents must understand the importance of looking and listening for signs and behaviors of bullying. This will help tackle the issue before it gets serious and someone gets hurt.

Thesis: Bullying in its many forms affects all people no matter age, gender, and class, but the effects can be very dangerous and very hurtful.