Bullies & Victims
Introduction
By Dixie Jordan
© 2000 by Parents' Press
Chickens have
their pecking order, wolf packs their alpha males and females,
and middle schools have around the world, in cities, suburbs,
and rural areas their bullies.
Direct bullying
behavior peaks in the middle school/junior high years, researchers
say, and directly affects about 15 percent of all students, either
as bullies or victims.
Bullying behavior
has been studied in depth by social scientists, who say its key
component is "physical or psychological intimidation that
occurs repeatedly over time to create an ongoing pattern of harassment
and abuse."
Contrary to popular
belief, researchers say, bullies typically have a strong sense
of self-esteem and appear to "derive satisfaction from inflicting
injury and suffering on others." Their victims are often
anxious and insecure, physically weaker than their peers, and
unlikely to defend themselves effectively or to retaliate.
On the positive
side, effective anti-bullying interventions have been developed.
To work, these programs need to involve the entire school community,
including students, parents, teachers and administrators.
Since few schools
are taking the initial steps without prodding, it's time for
parents to put pressure on schools to implement strong anti-bullying
programs.
What Parents Should Know
This publication
was prepared by ACCESS ERIC with funding from the Educational
Resources Information Center, National Library of Education,
Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department
of Education, under Contract No. RK95188001. The opinions expressed
in this brochure do not necessarily reflect the positions or
policies of the U.S. Department of Education. This brochure is
in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole
or in part is granted.
What Should Parents and Teachers Know About Bullying?
Bullying in schools is
a worldwide problem that can have negative effects on the general
school climate and on the right of students to learn in a safe
environment without fear. Bullying can also have negative lifelong
consequences-both for students who bully and for their victims.
This brochure characterizes bullies and their victims, offers
advice on how schools and parents can prevent bullying and intervene
when it becomes a problem, and suggests sources for further information.
What Is
Bullying?
Bullying typically consists
of direct behaviors-such as teasing, taunting, threatening, hitting,
and stealing-that are initiated by one or more students against
a victim or victims. In addition to direct attacks, bullying
may also be indirect-such as spreading rumors that cause victims
to be socially isolated through intentional exclusion. Although
boys who bully typically engage in direct bullying methods, girls
who bully are more apt to use more subtle, indirect strategies.
Whether the bullying is direct or indirect, the key component
of bullying is physical or psychological intimidation that occurs
repeatedly over time to create an ongoing pattern of harassment
and abuse.
How Extensive
Is Bullying?
Studies have established
that approximately 15 percent of students are either bullied
regularly or are initiators of bullying behavior (Olweus, 1993).
Direct bullying seems to increase through the elementary school
years, peak in the middle school/junior high school years, and
decline during the high school years. Although direct physical
assault seems to decrease with age, verbal abuse appears to remain
constant. School size, racial composition, and school setting
(rural, suburban, or urban) do not seem to be distinguishing
factors in predicting the occurrence of bullying. Finally, boys
are more likely than girls to engage in bullying behavior and
to be the victims of bullies.
What Are
Some Characteristics of Bullies?
Students who engage in
bullying behaviors seem to have a need to feel powerful and in
control. They appear to derive satisfaction from inflicting injury
and suffering on others, seem to have little empathy for their
victims, and often defend their actions by saying that their
victims provoked them in some way. Studies indicate that bullies
often come from homes in which physical punishment is used, children
are taught to strike out physically as a way to handle problems,
and parental involvement and warmth are frequently lacking. Students
who regularly display bullying behaviors are generally defiant
or oppositional toward adults, are antisocial, and are apt to
break school rules. Bullies appear to have little anxiety and
to possess strong self-esteem. There is little evidence to support
the contention that bullies victimize others because they feel
bad about themselves.
What Are
Some Characteristics of Victims?
Students who are victims
of bullying are typically anxious, insecure, and cautious and
suffer from low self-esteem, rarely defending themselves or retaliating
when confronted by students who bully them. They may lack social
skills and friends and thus are often socially isolated. Victims
tend to be close to their parents and may have parents who can
be described as overprotective. The major physical characteristic
of victims is that they tend to be weaker than their peers; other
physical characteristics-such as weight, dress, or wearing eyeglasses-do
not appear to be significant factors that can be correlated with
victimization (Batsche and Knoff, 1994; Olweus, 1993).
What Are
the Consequences of Bullying?
A strong correlation
appears to exist between bullying other students during the school
years and experiencing legal or criminal troubles as adults.
Chronic bullies seem to continue their behaviors into adulthood,
negatively influencing their ability to develop and maintain
positive relationships.
Victims of bullies often fear
school and consider it to be an unsafe and unhappy place. As
many as seven percent of America's eighth-graders stay home at
least once a month because of bullies. The act of being bullied
tends to increase some students' isolation because their peers
do not want to lose social status by associating with them or
because their peers do not want to increase the risks of being
bullied themselves. Being bullied often leads to depression and
low self-esteem-problems that can continue into adulthood (Olweus,
1993; Batsche and Knoff, 1994).
What Are
Some Perceptions of Bullying?
Parents are often unaware
of the bullying problem and discuss it with their children only
to a limited extent. Students typically feel that adult intervention
is infrequent and ineffective and that telling adults will only
bring more harassment from bullies. Students report that teachers
seldom or never talk to their classes about bullying (Charach,
Pepler, and Ziegler, 1995). School personnel may view bullying
as a harmless rite of passage that is best ignored unless verbal
and psychological intimidation crosses the line into physical
assault or theft.
What Are Some Intervention Programs?
Effective intervention
must involve the entire school community and parents, not just
the perpetrators and victims of bullying. For example, Smith
and Sharp (1994) emphasize the need to develop whole-school bullying
policies; to implement curricular measures, such as role-playing
activities and classroom discussions; to improve the school's
environment; and to empower students through conflict resolution
programs, peer counseling, and assertiveness training.
Olweus (1993) details an anti-bullying
approach that involves intervention at the school, classroom,
and individual levels. It includes the following three components:
 Students, parents, teachers, and school
administrators can fill out an initial questionnaire distributed
by school officials. The survey should include questions designed
to assess the extent of the problem, the frequency of teacher
intervention, the knowledge of parents about their children's
school experiences, and so forth.
The results of the questionnaire
should be shared with all participants, perhaps at a school assembly
on bullying. The results can help students and adults become
aware of the extent of the problem, can help to justify intervention
efforts, and can serve as a benchmark to measure any changes
in school climate. Questionnaire results can be publicized in
school and community newsletters.
Parents can participate in an awareness
campaign, which can be conducted during parent-teacher conference
days, through parent newsletters, and at PTA meetings. The goals
are to increase parental awareness of the bullying problem and
to point out the importance of parental involvement in and support
of the school's anti-bullying efforts.
Teachers can work with students at the
classroom level to develop classroom rules against bullying.
Many programs engage students in a series of formal role-playing
exercises and related assignments that can teach the students
other methods of interaction besides bullying. These programs
can also show students how they can assist victims of bullying
and how everyone can work together to create a school climate
where bullying is not tolerated.
Other components of anti-bullying
programs can include individualized interventions with the bullies
and their victims; the implementation of cooperative learning
activities to reduce social isolation; and an increase in adult
supervision at key bullying times, such as recess or lunch. Schools
that have implemented Olweus's program have reported a 50-percent
reduction in bullying.
Conclusion
Bullying is a serious
problem that can affect a student's academic and social progress.
A comprehensive intervention plan that involves all students,
parents, and school staff can help ensure that all students can
learn in a safe and fear-free environment.
Where Can I Get More Information?
The following organizations
offer information on the topic of bullying as well as information
about early childhood education:
ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary
and Early Childhood Education
University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign
Children's Research Center
51 Gerty Drive
Champaign, IL 618207469
Toll Free: 8005834135
Phone: 2173331386
Fax: 2173333767
E-mail: ericeece@uiuc.edu
Web: http://www.ericeece.org
NPIN Web: http://www.npin.org
(National Parent Information Network)
Educators for Social Responsibility
23 Garden Street
Cambridge, MA 01238
Phone: 6174921764
Fax: 6178645164
National Association for the
Education of Young Children
1509 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 200361426
Toll Free: 8004212460
Phone: 2022328777
Web: http://naeyc.org/
Sources
References identified with EJ or ED are abstracted in the ERIC
database. EJ references are journal articles available at most
research libraries. ED references are documents available in
microfiche collections at more than 900 locations or in paper
copy and, in some cases, electronically from the ERIC Document
Reproduction Service at 1800443ERIC (3742). Call
1800LETERIC (5383742) for more details.
Ahmad, Y., and P. K. Smith. 1994.
Bullying in Schools and the Issue of Sex Differences. In John
Archer (Ed.), Male Violence. London: Routledge.
Batsche, G. M., and H. M. Knoff.
1994. Bullies and Their Victims: Understanding a Pervasive Problem
in the Schools. School Psychology Review 23 (2): 16574.
EJ 490 574.
Charach, A., D. Pepler, and S.
Ziegler. 1995. Bullying at School-A Canadian Perspective: A Survey
of Problems and Suggestions for Intervention. Education Canada
35 (1): 1218.
EJ 502 058.
Nolin, M. J., E. Davies, and
K. Chandler. 1995. Student Victimization at School; Statistics
in Brief. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
ED 388 439.
Olweus, D. 1993. Bullying at
School: What We Know and What We Can Do. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
ED 384 437.
Sjostrom, L., and N. Stein. 1996.
Bully Proof: A Teacher's Guide on Teasing and Bullying for Use
With Fourth and Fifth Grade Students. Boston, MA: Wellesley College
Center for Research on Women and the NEA Professional Library.
Smith, P. K., and S. Sharp. 1994.
School Bullying: Insights and Perspectives. London: Routledge.
ED 387 223.
Whitney, I., and P. K. Smith.
1993. A Survey of the Nature and Extent of Bullying in Junior/Middle
and Secondary Schools. Educational Research 35 (1): 325.
EJ 460 708.
You can call ACCESS ERIC at 1800LETERIC (5383742)
for additional free printed copies of this brochure ("What
Parents and Teachers Should Know About Bullying")while supplies
last.
This brochure is based on the 1997 ERIC Digest Bullying in Schools
written by Ron Banks of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary
and Early Childhood Education.
National Library of Education,
U.S. Department of Education
ACCESS ERIC: accesseric@accesseric.org
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