What is Bullying? THE PSYCHOLOGY, Causes, Effects, Statistics and SOLUTION
So Steemians....
Ever looked over your shoulder for the one person that has been taunting you? Or maybe it's been happening over your phone by someone pretending to be someone else.
What is BULLYING?
Bullying is unwanted aggressive behaviour (particularly among school aged children; however, it can happen to anyone).
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What does bullying typically INVOLVE?
(a) a real or perceived power imbalance (by the sufferer)
(b) is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated over time
(c) THREATS, RUMOURS, PHYSICAL OR VERBAL ATTACKS, and purposely excluding someone from a group
Challenges in IDENTIFYING BULLYING:
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Challenge 1:
Is the behavior unwanted aggression or rough play?
Unwanted aggression is when a teen uses intentional harmful behavior – threatened or actual against another target.
Challenge 2:
Is it repetitive behavior?
The sufferer must experience multiple incidents of aggression or a strong likelihood of a single aggressive behavior being followed by similar incidents.
Challenge 3:
What are the characteristics of power imbalance?
(a) Physical characteristics (b) Popularity (c) Background- minority group, socioeconomic status (d) Abilities and skills (e) Access to Money and resources (f) Being outnumbered (g) Weapon possession
Typical behaviours seen associated with bullying in young people:
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There isn't a very significant difference in the degree of bullying seen between boys and girls. However, the way they are bullied can vary:
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It can also vary according to age:
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Risk Factors for bullying include:
The kind of (a) Peers (b) Family (c) School (d) Community
EFFECTS of Bullying:
(a) Bullying leads to internalisation of problems. Issues like low self-esteem, loneliness, anxiety, depression can crop up as result of bullying.
(b) In fact, having some of these can INVITE FURTHER BULLYING!
(c) Bullying can even lead to psychosomatic problems.
(d) Academic consequences are seen as well. Avoiding attending school and poor school performance along with adjustment issues tend to occur.
(e) Those who bully are more likely than others to engage in other anti social behavior like substance abuse, dropping out of school , weapon possession, violent beliefs etc.
(f) Those who are bullied, rarely come out and seek help.
What's the SOLUTION TO BULLYING?
The best treatment for bullying is to start by understanding whether you are a victim. Very often we find ourselves at the receiving end of such behaviours and whether we should report our suffering to others. It is important to realise that it is okay to seek help and BUILD YOUR AWARENESS. Find out who are those in power whom you can rally to get involved, like healthcare professionals, educators, community and youth leaders, parents and caregivers, human resources etc. If it is a social problem, it needs to be tackled at the legal level.
It can be worked out by a professional in the following stages:
(1) Early identification
(2) Learning how to become a Parental Coach or Support Coach
(3) Community Advocacy
So what would it take to actually BEAT BULLYING?
(a) Organizations dedicated to Positive youth development (b) Sustained youth leadership and training of Teen mentors (c) Community outreach programs
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Sources: Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (in Preparation), Klomek et al (2008) Hinduja and Patchin (2010).
Image Sources : [1](https://libertyworks.org.au/anti-bullying-campaigns-victimhood-culture/), [2](http://unstick.me/identify-the-presenting-problem-in-coaching/), [3](stopbullying.gov)