Understanding Bullying
Your Complete Guide to Understanding Bullying in the Modern Age
Bullying can cause serious physical, emotional and mental negative effects for the short term, but these effects can also last a lifetime. Bullying can be experienced by children and adults alike. For help in Understanding Bullying, please read on.
What is bullying?
Bullying is an aggressive form of behavior that is repeated and intentional, and creates an imbalance of power. Unlike friendly teasing, bullying behaviors are pre-planned, destructive and persist for long periods of time (weeks, months or years). Victims find it difficult to defend themselves.
- What Are the Most Common Types of Bullying? Bullying is all about power and dominance; it also doesn’t happen among social equals. Bullies target others who they perceive to be “unequal” and to gain admiration, status and/or dominance. The most common types of bullying are:
- Physical: This form of bullying involves physical contact such as taking belongings, pushing, hitting, punching, tripping or spitting.
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- Emotional: This type of bullying involves threatening, insulting, name calling, teasing or inappropriate sexual or racial comments.
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- Social: This form of bullying involves spreading rumors, excluding someone to make them feel “left out”, encouraging others to bully and making comments meant to cause embarrassment.
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- Cyberbullying: When a person is harassed online (via the internet, mobile devices, email and social media sites).
- Who Is Impacted by Bullying?
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- Bully by Gender:
- Boys are more likely to commit bullying as well as be the victims of physical bullying.
- Girls are more likely than boys to experience other forms bullying, such as teasing or rumors.
- Girls and sexual minority (LGBTQ) youth have a higher prevalence of overall bullying and cyber-bullying compared to boys and heterosexual peers.
- Bully by Gender:
12% – Public Schools That Report Weekly Bullying Incidents
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Bully by Grade Level
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Bullying is one of the most commonly recorded discipline problems in public schools. Approximately 12% of public schools reported that a bullying incident occurs at least once a week. Bullying reports by different grade levels include:
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- Middle Schools 22%
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- High Schools 15%
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- Combined Schools 11%
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- Primary Schools 8%
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In-school bullying can negatively impact a student’s education as well. A 2013 research study found that almost 13% of high school students missed one or more days of school due to safety concerns related to in-person bullying in the past 30 days. Adding together students who miss school due to cyber-bullying safety concerns, the number jumps up to more than 21%.
- What Is a “Bully Group” and How Is it Different?
- A bully group, also called collective bullying, occurs when a number of people band together to commit physical, verbal, social or cyber-bullying. Rather than having to face one bully, the victim has the added experience of being “ganged up on” from a group of bullies. Examples of bully groups are:
- Mob or mobbing: A group, whether it be family members, co-workers, peers, or people in a neighborhood or community, that come together to force someone out of the family, job, peer group, neighborhood or community.
- A bully group, also called collective bullying, occurs when a number of people band together to commit physical, verbal, social or cyber-bullying. Rather than having to face one bully, the victim has the added experience of being “ganged up on” from a group of bullies. Examples of bully groups are:
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- Trolls or trolling: People who bully online sometimes band together and make an organized effort to harass a target or targets.
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What Are Risk Factors for Bullying in Youths?
There are factors for children who are at risk for being bullied, as well as risk factors for children who are likely to be (or become) bullies.
- Children at Risk of Being Bullied Children at risk for being bullied generally have one or more of the following risk factors:
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- They are seen as being different from their peers. This includes kids who are too overweight or skinny, wear glasses or different clothing, are new to school, or can’t afford what kids consider “cool”.
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- Children with birth defects or developmental disorders.
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- Kids who are regarded as unable to defend themselves.
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- Children who are anxious, depressed or have low self esteem.
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- Children who have few friends and are regarded as less popular.
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- Children who are perceived as annoying, provocative or who seek attention by antagonizing others.
- Children More Likely to Be Bullies There are two types of children who are at higher risk for bullying other kids:5
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- Type 1: Some kids who have social power, strong peer connections and are highly focused on their popularity. They like to boss others around and dominate their peers.
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- Type 2: Kids who are depressed, anxious and have low self esteem. They are not strongly connected to their peers (isolation), are less involved in school, and can be easily pressured by their peers to bully. They may not be empathetic of the feelings of others.
Additional risk factors:
- Easily frustrated or aggressive
- Think badly of others
- Hang out with kids who bully others
- Find it hard to follow rules
- View violence positively
- At home: less parental involvement or issues are occurring
- Children who use power imbalance (strength, intelligence or popularity) to bully others.
- See also: