The Aspect of Bullying in Different Contexts of Human Interaction - Literature review Example

BULLYING Name Institution Date Bullying Introduction Bullying intimidates victims by use of force and deny them their physical power and within the society. According to the National center for injury prevention and control (2011), Bullying involves some kind of violence and intentional acts that aim at instilling fear and physical or verbal harm or making victims miserable. Discrimination, threats and assaulting another party in terms of gender, people’s abilities, races and religion can also amount to bullying. Laws and regulations have been implemented by many countries like the Unites States to control and prevent bullying cases in places of work, schools and within families. Bullying has great negative impact victims especially when it happens in a school setting. A victim is likely to be rebellious, depressed or totally withdrawn from the rest and at times suicidal attempts if not addressed on time. This paper explores the aspect of bullying in different contexts of human interaction; impacts of bullying and how bullying can be controlled. The paper analyses ways in which governments have tried to manage bullying in different areas and ways in which it can be prevented. Contexts of bullying Bullying occurs in schools work places and even within families where an individual is discriminated to the extent of attempting suicide. School bullying occurs in almost all schools locally and internationally against students of a nation and international students. In such a case, isolation and harassment of one student makes a number of other students become bystanders since they fear getting involved and becoming victims too. According to Lines (2008), school bullying might start from teasing and provoking another student and lead to physically bullying a targeted student. Sexual bullying is a common aspect of bullying based on people’s gender and sexuality. A common ground for sexual bullying is the internet where people use technology to intimidate other people sexuality and affect their personality. According to Duncan (2012), sexual bullying can take the form of gestures, comments and intentional attention with the aim of intimidating another person’s sexuality and gender.People’s perspectives on gender issues are affected by aspects such as class, gender, age, sexuality, ethnicity, geography and culture. People tend to favor their respective genders in defining their perspectives of gender. Most males tend to acknowledge their gender as the superior gender while female feel intimidated and inferior to men. Key aspects of social arrangement, social status and the roles allow organization of people’s lives in anticipated and reliable ways. Families are also avenues for bullying which happen to both parents and children. A couple might bully each other verbally and physically, especially to women. According to DiMarco & Newman (2011), children can also be bullied by their siblings or parents. Bullying among sisters and brothers in a family is mostly associated to sibling rivalry and may arise from favor treatment by parents. Adopted children are likely to be bullied by parents and siblings since they are not biologically part of the family. her cases include illegitimate children in a marriage who are harassed by legitimate children and a the parent who is not their biological parent. However, the law requires that these children are protected just like other children in the family. Castillo (2013) reported at the CBS news that individuals are being discriminated at their work places on basis of their personality and appearance. Bullying is majorly from co-workers who describe their appearance, utter hurtful things and mistreatment. The reported news indicated that in the United States, at most 35% of the workforces who are an average of 53.5 Americans confess bullying at their places of work. Bullying at places of work does not take a physical form like school bullying unless in very rare cases but occurs within the policies, rules and regulations established in the society or organization. Intimidation occurs even in blue collar jobs like mechanic or machinery jobs and oil rigging, and people fail to report as a result of fear retribution. Keashly and Neuman (2010) state that bullying is rampant in the academia sector since it is ignored. Different professions, careers and institutions are facing aggression and bullying but is not adequately addressed. Behaviors and experiences in the faculty play a major role in designing a culture and environment of the organization. Bullying in schools is also evident among international students who leave to study abroad where they might not have a good understanding of some local language or cultures. Local students might engage in teasing and discriminating new students and as a result cause discomfort, turmoil and anxiety. China is one of the countries hosting international students in its universities like the Wuhan University. Akhtar& Bo (2010, p.1714) state that foreign students find it very challenging to adapt to the Chinese culture which they are not familiar with and other challenges in the foreign country like food. Other than the student’s age and attitudes towards their education, courses or learning institutions, students’ satisfaction with their academic environment plays a major role in their performance Stavredes (2011). Students from other countries practicing Western culture and from other religions apart from Muslim also find it a great challenge to adapt to the UAE Islamic culture. Since majority of students are locals, the needs for foreign students in adapting to new cultures tends to be ignored or not taken care of. Increasing rates of depression cases among students has also increased the need to investigate the topic of anxiety as a cause of depression among international students. Communication barrier is a major basis for bullying among international organizations. Cyber bullyingBullies do it when they are face to face with a victim or via technological devices. This can take the form of text messages, via social networks, emails or websites. Since parents’ supervision and other authoritative supervision is limited in use of technological devices, cyber bullying thrives even more. According to the science daily news of May 2013, cyber bullying is reported to be rising among students in High school. Most of these students engage in computer and video games at least three hours daily. The study by the pediatric Academic societies (PAS) illustrated that the self-esteem, social standing, emotional welfare and development of youth is affected by bullying. Kowalski et al (2012) states that, the old age phenomena of bullying has transformed compared to the current age due to technology. Bullying can result when a child is not given enough attention and therefore engage in bullying activities so as to be noticed. This might be a decision that is consciously made but in involves psychological deformities. Lester (2013), states that, children desire that attention from parents, and when they lack it, they tend to seek it somewhere else. Bullying can also be as a result of rebellion against certain issues. An individual who has been bullied before is likely to turn out to be a bully as a result of revenge. Confusion and frustration make people behave a way that they could not have, normally which is intimidation and discrimination of other parties. People with disability as prone to abuse and bullying based on their disabilities (Quarmby, 2012). Impacts of bullying At the end of bullying acts, all parties, the individual bullied, the bully and a bystander all happen to be victims. In some cases, bullies become addicts or get involved in other rebellious behaviors like smoking and drinking in the long run which affects their academic achievements. They become enslaved to such acts as adults if they are not helped in time. The rising criminal cases in different countries are also as a result of bullying behavior and delayed intervention. Harris (2009) states that, bullies are likely to turn into criminals in future that end up to be convicted by the law. Those who are bullied face anxiety, depression and loss confidence in oneself. Some targets react by being rebellious and engaging in criminal acts. Bystanders are affected by fear or loss of self-confidence and end up to be victims too. A friend can be a bystander since they fear to be targets and this might develop to adulthood (Lester, 2013).  According to Nakamoto, J. & Schwartz (2009), victimization is directly and indirectly related to performance of a student. For instance cultural and social anxiety among international students is common due to changing environment especially when nationals bully then on basis of their culture, language barrier or status. These students performance deteriorate compared to previous performance while they were in their respective countries. Cultural anxiety is a feeling of discomfort when an individual is subjected to foreign cultures and need to adapt to the new culture. Anxiety is likely to be caused and enhanced by bullying of a target. Anxiety involves feelings of inner turmoil, unrealistic feelings and at times fear that something will happen and might result to restlessness, lack of focus and limited concentration. According to Schroeder (2010), schools and academic institutions are likely to impart social anxiety when the students are exposed to a different social environment in which they are judged or assessed by others who belong to that environment.Students from other countries studying in the UAE are forced to acclimate to the Islamic norms and practices in such societies and if not, might be referred to as ‘Haram’ meaning something against their belief or wrong. Such aspects include socialization and dressing like locals of UAE. Bullying can result to depression of individuals. According to Roy (2005), depression starts from the mind where a patient’s attitude is affected and might develop negative thinking.Suicide attempts in most cases result from high levels of depression. In such a case, a suicidal situation arouses feelings of sympathy and at the same time understanding. Depression and suicidal attempts occur precisely because the target of bullying or at times the bully does not realize their value and develop a negative thinking of them. Therapy helps in transforming this negative attitude into positive thinking. For instance an individual who is being teased about their appearance will lose confidence in themselves and might end up withdrawing from the rest simply because they think they are no better. When someone thinks that their lives has lost its meaning, suicidal attempts and rebellion might be a result (Lines, 2008). Another effect of bullying is involvement in criminal issues. Targets of bullying might decide to resolve to smoking, drinking or criminal acts that are against the law. If it is a student, they may rebel against school rules to have the feeling of fulfillment among their peers. Such acts can also be attributed to an attempt to rebel or deal with frustration that turns out to destroy them (Lines, 2008). The bullied might result to be bullies in the future. Lester, (2013) state that, some people internalize things they are told by bullies and this develops negativity in them. Bullying develops anger among some individuals who start seeking revenge or desire to bully those who have not hurt them, therefore resulting to bullying of others. Anti-bullying interventions The American psychological association (APA) has long incorporated measures of preventing bullying into its program of violence prevention since bullying involves violence and violation or imbalance of power which results to defenselessness. According to Harris (2009), the association’s 2004 resolution also provided a funding resolution which encourages agencies in both the private and the public sector dealing in to provide funding for bullying related and anti-bullying intervention research that is environmentally valid and culturally subtle and is applicable to date. Another initiative that APA has engaged into and incorporated in its resolutions is partnership with government units, other interested parties and other associations. These partnerships help in propagating relevant information on bullying and its prevention to parents, children, professionals in the mental health sector, school administrators and staff and the youth. The APA resolution main focus was children and youth but applies to adults too. Other than providing information, the association, APA, also seeks to assess procedures within the school, beyond the school and other program settings employed to prevent bullying in schools and general communities. Effective programs for preventing bullying and other interventions are encouraged by APA through implementation and propagation in the society and schools. Families are advised to improve communication by discussing children experiences, socially and online experiences. This must be done regularly and unsure that children open up genuinely. The topic of bullying can be introduced during family moments and expound to the children about bullying. Bullying among siblings is stopped through knowledge of bullying and discouraging such acts by punishment. Parents should ensure A parent’s concern with their children school, social and online experiences provide a favorable environment for children to open up. There are regulations that protect children harassment by parents which is also associated to bullying, couples in marriage especially women and illegitimate and adopted children (Carpenter, 2009). In the case of bullying of foreign students, learning institutions should make an effort of helping foreign students adapt to their cultures and practices more easily. Bullying is prohibited in all institutions both by the federal government and institution regulations, and penalty is implemented for those who breach such regulations. To avoid loneliness, institutions should implement programs and departments that support foreign students in terms of engagement. Such departments can provide guides and student partners to orient the students into the new systems and facilitate easier networking to enable easier adaptability. Lines (2008) states that, language classes can also be provided to new students to teach them new languages used in the institutions and general host country. Higher learning institutions have formulated students associations including those for foreign students from specific countries represented in the institution. These associations defend the rights of such students and communicate any challenges that they face to the administration to be addressed. Interaction with other students from their countries’ builds confidence among the students and solves the problem of fear. School activities such as forensics, drama and music incorporated into the school syllabus helps kids who are bullied to get their minds off what they have been told and the stress. According to Yeutter-Brammer (2012), bullying can only be prevented or minimized if all stakeholders including parents, teachers, other workers in schools and the government become responsible and proactive in dealing with bullying. In work places, engaging in other activities and interactions with other staff that are friendly might work well to prevent depression as a result of bullying. According to Anwei (2011), English is of greater importance in the education sector other than the other sectors. English is encouraged in colleges and lower education levels in most countries for efficiency purposes and to improve communication which is among the many causes of bullying in schools and learning institutions. It is also embraced so as to facilitate international power especially when people from different parts of the world meet and English is the only common language of communication. Other than ability to communicate in the international realm, English as a medium of instruction in higher learning institutions enable leaners to secure high quality jobs and scientific information access at a student level. Top universities attracting most international students such as institutions based in Canada, New Zealand and United states use English as first language and in issuing instructions. Conclusion Bullying is a worldwide issue raising concern among the societies and to the government. It occurs in different aspects of the society such as education and schooling, places work and via cyber and networking sites. There are different aspects surrounding people that can provoke them to be bullies. Targets of bullying have a high chance of becoming bullies due to revenge and desire to treat others the same way they were treated even when those people were not involved in their suffering. Failure of parents to give their children adequate attention can make them bullies to have such attention from others sources for wrong reasons. Intimidation and discrimination of power in work place might result from people’s appearances and personalities where individuals are teased and taunted. Bullying has negative implications on the bullied, the bully and bystanders. Regulations by the government and institutions have been put in place to intervene and solve and prevent bullying. References Lines, D. (2008). The bullies: Understanding bullies and bullying. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Schroeder, D. (2010). TRAUMATIC EFFECTS OF BULLYING:Even bystanders who witness bullying experience trauma comparable to firefighters, police officers and paramedics during an earthquake.Windber research institute. DiMarco, J. E., & Newman, M. K. (2011). When your child Is being bullied: Real solutions for parents, educators & other professionals. Poughkeepsie, NY: ViviSphere Pub. National Centre for Injury Prevention and Control. (2011). Understanding bullying. NCIPC Carpenter, D. (2009). The everything parent's guide to dealing with bullies: From playground teasing to cyber bullying, all you need to ensure your child's safety and happiness. Avon, Mass: Adams Media. Akhtar, N & Bo, S. (2010).Cultural Anxiety and Its Impact on Students’ Life: A Case Study of International Students in Wuhan University.World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology. Yeutter-Brammer, K. (2012). No room for bullies: Lesson plans for grades 5-8. Boys Town, Neb: Boys Town Press. Harris, M. J. 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M., Limber, S., & Agatston, P. W. (2012). Cyberbullying: Bullying in the digital age. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. Read More