Bullying... More Common Than We Think
Even through school violence has declined over the past several years, unfortunately, studies show that the incidence of behaviors such as bullying has increased.1 Between 15-25% of U.S. students are bullied with some frequency (“sometimes or more often”) while 15-20% report that they bully others with some frequency.2 As a result bullying has been identified as a major concern by schools across the U.S..
According to the American Psychology Association (APA), school bullying is “repeated negative, ill-intentional behavior by one or more students directed against a student who has difficulty defending himself or herself.” Most bullying occurs without any apparent provocation on the part of the student who is exposed.
Bullying can happen to anyone, says the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Some bullies pick on people who seem different, while others are bullied because they may have a disability.
The AAFP and the APA equally agree that boys are more likely to bully others. A relatively large percentage of girls have reported being bullied by boys. Girls bully also, but they tend to use more subtle and indirect ways of harassment such as excluding someone from a group, spreading rumors, and manipulating friendships.
Prevalence of bullying in schools
- According to the American Psychology Association (APA), bullying is a very common experience for kids in school.
- The APA reported that a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Vol. 285, No. 16) involving 15,000 U.S. students in grades six through 10, found that 17 percent of students complained that they were bullied “sometimes” or more often during the school year.
- In addition, the study indicated that approximately 19 percent of these students said they bullied others “sometimes” or more often, while another six percent reported both bullying others and being a victim of bullying.
Characteristics of a bully
- Strong need to dominate and subdue other students to get one's own way;
- Impulsive;
- Easily angered;
- Often defiant and aggressive toward adults, parents, and teachers;
- Shows little empathy towards students being victimized.
What adults can do
As an adult, one of best ways you can help stop or prevent bullying is to be educated about, and sensitive to, the issue. Bullying is NOT a rite of passage – an undesirable, but sometimes unavoidable, reality of growing up. Rather, bullying is a serious public health issue that affects countless young people everyday. Further, research shows that the effects of bullying can last well into adulthood.
Ways to stop bullying
According to the APA, many psychologists agree that in order to develop an effective bullying-prevention and intervention program, there needs to be a complete understanding that a child's tendency toward bullying is influenced by individual, familial, and environmental factors. Therefore the most effective strategies to stop bullying, should involve the entire school as a community, in order to improve peer relations and make the school a safe pleasant environment.
You can obtain additional information about bullying from the list of nationally recognized organizations below:
