Prevalence of Bullying among Schoolchildren - Essay Example

? Bullying in School Children Zenab Tamer Advanced 01 Doctor Weger Introduction Although it may appear as an underground affair, bullying is indeed a nightmare to many students who suffer under the intimidation of older ones (Garby, 2013). The situation is especially so in teenagers who are still trying to identify with various situations and aspects of their lives. Essentially, bullying is an aggressive behavior that arises out of power imbalance with the perpetrator often intending to cause harm to their victims repeatedly (Srivastava, Gamble, & Boey, 2013). While it is true that bullying happens in most aspects of life ranging from the workplace, prisons, and even homes, perhaps it is important to note that it is also a serious concern in schools (Twemlow and Sacco, 2013). To this extent, it is vital to mention that there are several forms of bullying in schools ranging from verbal abuse, physical, social, and cyber bullying. In this regard, bullying may either take a direct or indirect form depending on the circumstances and the environment (Smith et al., 2012). In schools, bullying usually takes a direct form of both physical and verbal abuse although it may take the form of social bullying usually over the internet. In this case, the villain could use such gadgets as internet enabled cellphones or computers to intimidate their victims (Salmivalli, Kaukiainen, and Voeten, 2005). Usually, the older students bully the younger and less powerful ones. When it comes to consequences, bullying has tremendous ramifications on the victims’ emotional, physical, and mental performance and therefore should be dealt with accordingly (Twemlow and Sacco, 2013). In this respect, this paper discusses the causes, prevalence, consequences, and solutions to school based bullying, particularly that involving teenagers. Prevalence of bulling among schoolchildren Usually, bullying occurs when two or more members of a peer group with a negative agenda instill fear or try to cause harm to a younger victim who normally possesses less power or strength (Srivastava, Gamble, & Boey, 2013). In this respect, it is important to note that the prevalence of bullying more so in schools has been on the rise in the past decade owing to various societal influence and upbringing factors (James, Lawlor, Flynn, Murphy, Courtney, and Henry, 2006). The aggravating factor in a bullying situation is the fact that the victim is normally defenseless although there ought to be policies in place to punish such acts (Twemlow and Sacco, 2013). With the definition of bullying taking various angles across the board, the prevalence of the criminal act as it may be called, ranges between 8% and 54 %. Additionally, these statistics normally vary due to the geographical and linguistic differences that may project varying definitions to the act of victimization (Packman, Lepkowski, Overton, and Smaby, 2005).. Although the collection and analysis of data pertaining to the prevalence of bullying in schools took place in Finland, it is appropriate to state that age plays a role in determining whether an act of victimization amounts to bullying (Garby, 2013). While there is no significant difference in the prevalence of bullying perpetrated by peers and those perpetrated by others in terms of percentage, it is important to note that the menace is on an upward trend that is raising concerns across the education spectrum (Srivastava, Gamble, & Boey, 2013). The most affected groups are the teenage peers who due to some misconceived ideas or simply revenge oppress their fellow students (Raaska et al., 2012). In this regard, it is understandable that teenage students who undergo the torment of bullying are highly likely to perpetrate the same vice to their victims (Garby, 2013). Besides, the boys are the major culprits when it comes to the identification of the bullies while the victims are indiscriminate. Normally, the percentages of the bullying predominance range from 10 – 30 % with gender playing a determining role (James et al., 2006). The older adolescents in this case do not normally become culprits or fall victim to the act of bullying due to their significant levels of experience and maturity (Srivastava, Gamble, & Boey, 2013). Causes of bullying According to Srivastava, Gamble, and Boey (2013), a number of factors surface ranging from aggressive behavior to inappropriate upbringing when it comes to the causes of bullying. Indeed, bullying has been around for ages now but it has particularly caught the attention of parents, teachers, and the government authorities because of the extreme suicidal acts by some of the victims who could not take it anymore (Garby, 2013). Perhaps it is proper to bring into attention the fact that schools present cross-cultural personalities that sometimes may clash. This being the case the students at schools, especially the teenagers, it is advisable that parents, teachers, and the local community be in touch with the adolescents in order to refine their thoughts and ultimately, their behavior (Twemlow and Sacco, 2013). Perhaps the main cause of bullying for both the bullies and the victims is poor child upbringing. When this occurs to children, they tend to grow up with preconceived violent minds particularly if their parents were in an abusive relationship. This perhaps molds them as they try to ape the dominant member of the family who is usually the father (Srivastava, Gamble, & Boey, 2013). Additionally, the contemporary society is one marred with moral decadence that involves violent scenes both in films and in the community problems (James et al., 2006). In real sense, the actions that people witness in schools are a reflection of what actually happens with in the respective communities from which they hail (Srivastava, Gamble, & Boey, 2013). Thus, the main cause of bullying in schools is the negative influence that the community project to the little ones. This is especially so when the young adults especially the teenagers try to emulate what they see in their community and end up being abusive to those who are defenseless or powerless (Packman et al., 2006). Another cause of bullying is the fact that adults tend to victimize the children when they experience hardships and in this case, the children grow up in an unsafe environment (Twemlow and Sacco, 2013). In the process, the children end up violent in nature, as the act of developing a bully attitude is a process that takes years to manifest (James et al., 2006). In most cases, kids who do not experience love in their childhood tend to develop a tendency of being oppressive in nature and particularly to those they can manipulate. This leads to extreme cases of abuse that could lead to suicidal attempts (Garby, 2013). Consequences of bullying Certainly, bullying has extreme ramifications that may be physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and mental, depending on the extent and the people involved (Srivastava, Gamble, & Boey, 2013). The term ‘consequences’ is broad and basically encompasses both the long-term and short-term consequences (Twemlow and Sacco, 2013). In this regard, it is important to note the fact that the consequences of bullying in schools affect the bully himself, the victim, and the bystander. Since the repercussions of bullying be grave in nature, it is advisable that they be classified into short-term and long-term (Garby, 2013). Short-term complications of bullying More often than not, the bullied children feel too hurt to tell anybody or feel embarrassed to tell others, which eventually make them feel nervous and anxious (Srivastava, Gamble, & Boey, 2013). In a recent study, the victims revealed a number of serious psychological problems, which were represented as ‘adjustment problems’ (Garby, 2013). The adjustment complications essentially entailed the challenges that the victims faced in their attempt to resume to their normal lifestyles and ranged from symptoms of “depression, feeling of rejection, negative self-concept, withdrawal, loneliness, helplessness, to a sense that they deserved to be bullied” (Hampel et al. as cited in Cooper & Nickerson, 2013, p. 526). Long-term consequences When it comes to the long-term effects of bullying, the psychological effect is perhaps one of the most dangerous consequences, as the trauma tends to stick in the minds of the victims for long periods (Twemlow and Sacco, 2013). These psychological issues can persist and bullied kids would become future psychiatric patients or even future criminals (Garby, 2013). Ttofi and Farrington (2012) stated that “bullying victimization was a significant risk factor for later depression” (p. 88). Perhaps the most serious consequence of bullying to school going children and teenagers in particular is suicide (Anderson, 2007). For instance, Phoebe Prince committed suicide in 2010 after months of suffer of bullying from her school classmates (Garby, n. d., p, 448).However, other experts disagree with this claim and they consider bullying as part of developmental process” and “those school experiences said to prepare children for the grown-up world”. (Ttofi and Farrington, 2012, p. 85).Undoubtedly, the children and teens who had been bullied have greater risk for anxiety, panic disorders, depression, and suicide. Solutions Due to the increasingly rampant cases of bullying in modern schools, it is advisable for all the concerned parties to formulate workable solutions to deter or even reduce such cases through justifiable punishments (Smith, Kupferberg, Mora-Merchan, Samara, Bosley, and Osborn, 2012).. In this regard, the solutions so needed boil down to the government roles, school roles, and the anti-bullying websites that would help mitigate the prevailing situation (Salmivalli, Kaukiainen, and Voeten, 2005). Governmental laws As far as the responsibilities by the federal government are concerned, several anti-bullying laws have been formulated and passed (Srivastava, Gamble, & Boey, 2013). As a consequence of its serious effects which can even end with a tragic death, bullying is considered a crime, so many governments have enacted laws which are either explicitly address this issue as Anti-bullying laws or indirectly implicate bullying in other laws as one of solutions to minimize the negative impacts of this pervasive behavior (Smith et al., 2012). One example of Anti-bullying laws is Illinois State Statutes against school bullying, which encourage the implementation of Anti-bullying policy in all schools. An additional example of these laws is the one passed in New Jersey in 2011 as “Anti-bullying Bill of Rights” (Garby, n.d., p. 448) one year after suicide of freshman Tylor C (Salmivalli, Kaukiainen, and Voeten, 2005). School role When it comes to the school roles, one of the most important interventions to prevent bullying is school anti-bullying programs that aim to improve the relationship between students and make school safe learning place (Salmivalli, Kaukiainen, and Voeten, 2005). These programs are based on interventions through curriculum, school stuff, and parental involvement and awareness (Garby, 2013). This is because the schools is the most common place for bullying between children and thus, the most effective anti-bullying interventions focus on managing bullying within school settings through curriculum based policies, adults intervention, and students intervention programs (Smith et al., 2012). In this regard, The most effective and widely applicable program is developed by Olweus in 1980s which applied to all Norwegian schools and involve the whole school population teachers, parents and students (Casbeer, 2012, p.168). Consequently, Olweus (1994) found evidence that “this program is associated with several positive outcomes, including significant reduction in bullying” (Casbeer, 2012, p.168). Websites (Anti-bullying websites) Although technology has been contributed in spread of bullying complications through cyber-bullying, it provides an easily accessible source to overcome bullying in terms of increasing the parental awareness of this serious problem and providing a reference for children in offering advices and expertise consultations as well as opportunity in participating in bullying prevention campaigns (Garby, 2013). They are bullies or victims. Finally, another solution for this issue is Anti-bullying websites such as ‘Stop Bullying’ and ‘National Bullying Prevention Center’ (Salmivalli, Kaukiainen, and Voeten, 2005). Conclusion In summary, the topic of bullying should become part of the national agenda, as bullying significantly determines the character of the future leaders and citizens. Those who experience the negative impacts of bullying are likely to develop into unruly citizens or even dictators if appropriate measures are not taken to counsel them. In addition, the concept of bullying ought to be integrated into criminological research since t is not only a school phenomenon. Perhaps an important risk marker of a more general anti-social development ought to be contracted, as this has implications for prevention and intervention. References Anderson, G. (2007). The impact of bullying in school on the adolescent’s sense of self. 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