Studies of bullying suggest that there are short- and long-term consequences for both the perpetrators and victims of bullying. On those who are bullied, Olwuess (1993) reported that being victimized in the middle school feels more isolated than their peers, who often reject them out of fear than they too will become a target of bullies if they are seen with targeted students. Being bullied often leads to eventual retaliation by victims. According to Suderman et al (1996), victims of bullying typically become very unhappy children who suffer from fear, anxiety, and low self-esteem as a result of bullying. They may try to avoid or escape from situations that may lead to bullying. In a follow-up study by Olwuess (1993), the results show that the former male victims who had a positive social adjustment in their early twenties were more likely to be depressed, and had lower self-esteem than a comparison group who had not been bullied. Victims often fear school and consider school to be an unsafe and unhappy place. In other serious cases of bullying, victims have even attempted or committed suicide in order to escape the torment. (Bullying, 1996) Olweus (1993) found several instances of suicide by boys, who had been severely bullied in Norway in the early 1980’s. In UK, at least 16 children kill themselves because they are being bullied at school (www.bullyonline.org). Specifically, victims of relational aggression affect the foundation of an adolescent’s sense of self. Feelings of insecurity may persist throughout life. Moreover, trust in the external world, is thwarted if not destroyed (Relational Aggression, 2007)
The perpetrators of bullying incidents also experience short-term problems such as depression, anxiety, loneliness, suicidal thoughts, and difficulties with school work. Some more extreme long-term effects for the bully are equally disturbing; which include other antisocial behaviors (NASBE, 2003). As established by studies in Scandinavian countries, a strong correlation appears to exist between bullying other students during the school years and experiencing legal or criminal troubles as adults. By the age of twenty-three, about 60 percent of identified male bullies in middle school are reported to have at least one conviction of crime and 35 percent to 40 percent male bullies had three or more convictions (Olwuess, 1994). The findings have been confirmed by other researchers such Robins (1978) & Loeber & Dishion (1983). Chronic bullies seem to maintain their behaviors into adulthood, negatively influencing their ability to develop and maintain positive relationships (Oliver, Hoover, & Hazler, 1994). Chronic bullying maybe related to delinquency problems. There is good evidence that bullying patterns begin in early childhood (Conger & Miller, 1966; Conger, Miller, & Walsmith, 1965, Lerman1968 as cited in Bartol, 1986: 111). Early signs of bullying that may lead to later delinquency which includes behaviors like being; less friendly, less considerate in dealing with others, negative to people in authority; and more impulsive and generally less responsible. Those who would become eventually delinquents showed poor academic records. (Bartol, 1986:114) All children, including the bystanders, are negatively affected by bullying. Those who witness bullying incident, neither victims nor perpetrators may also experience anxiety or fear. The entire climate of a school can be affected by bullying behaviors if they go unchecked; threats and intimidation associated with bully behaviors can create a negative atmosphere for all students (Hoover & Hazler, 1991as cited in Espelage, D.L et al 2000). Given these serious consequences for students who bully, for their victims, and for the impact on the school environment, prevention and intervention during early adolescence is extremely important to minimize these risks.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Causes of Bullying
Bullying and violent behavior are not a result of one factor alone. There are several factors that have contributed to bullying. This includes the familial/home factors, school community factors, individual factors, and peer influence.
Familial/home factor
Family discord is the major factor that contributed to bullying. Parents who display aggressive behaviors at home produce bullies. They unconsciously teach their children anti-social behavior (Honrejas, 1999). In Loeber & Stouthamer-Loeber (1986) studies, lack of attention and warmth to the child, aggressive modeling at home, and poor supervision of the child have been found to cause an opportunity for bullying behavior to occur. Aggressive behavior in children tends to increase if they witness violence done by the father toward the mother (Jaffe, Wolfe & Wilson, 1990). The above findings support Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, which states that behavior is a reflection of people observing and imitating others. Children learn criminal behavior by associating others and imitating their behaviors (Regoli, R.M. et al, 2000).
The modeling of behavior includes verbal and physical aggression by parents towards each other. The home is known to be the most violent place in the United States (Straus, 1994). Children from violent homes are three to four times more likely to become bully. In Duncan’s (1999) finding, children from harsh home environments engage in more bullying behaviors (as bullies and /or victims) than children from nurturing home (as cited in Gubler, R. & Croxall, K., 2005).
Parenting styles plays a vital role in the early socialization of children regarding behavior. Students identified, as bullies were 1.65 times more likely to come from homes with an authoritarian style of child rearing compared to a participatory style (Baldry A.C. & Farrington D.P., 2000 as cited in Dake et al., 2003). A significant correlation existed between victimization of the child and high levels of demanding attitudes by parents. Parents who allowed the child few opportunities to control social circumstances may foster a passive orientation that could become problematic for the child (Ladd G.W. & Ladd B.K, 1998 as cited in Dake et al, 2003).
Early socialization of children also plays a role in the likelihood of becoming involved in bullying behavior (Swhartz D., Dodge K.A; Dake et al., 2003). Significant relationship was found among socioeconomic status and involvement in bullying. Students of lower socioeconomic status were more likely to become involved in bullying others or become the victims of bullying than non lower socioeconomic status students (Wolke, D. et al., 2001; Dake, et al., 2003). Furthermore, family composition is found to be associated with either bullying or victimization. Victimized children were 1.5 times more likely to come from separated or divorced families than from intact families (Bond et al., 2001 as cited in Dake et al., 2003)
School Community Factor
Just as low levels of supervision in home are associated with the development of bully problems, so too, are low levels of supervision in school, particularly in the playground or schoolyard, and in the hallways (Suderman, 1996). A negative school climate where negative behavior gets most of the attention encourages the formation of cliques and bullying (Espelage, et al, 1999). Schools located in neighborhood with high turnover also have more bullying (Johnson & Johnson, 1995). Weak school leadership and disorganization, low emphasis on academics, lack of support for students, and unclear rules and norms correlate with higher rates of school violence (Dusenbury, et al., 1997).
In the school environment, bullying is often unnoticed or ignored and supervision in the schools is many times inadequate. The amount of adult supervision is directly tied to the frequency and severity of bullying in schools (Saunders, 1997). Crowded conditions, such as school playgrounds, encourage bullying. Bystanders who admire the exploits of bullies serve as models for others and may reinforce the increase of bullying behavior (Sullivan et al: 2004:19). Findings on links between teacher-attitude and bullying problems reported teachers’ involvement to negative school climate. In Olweus (1993) research, 25 percent of teachers see nothing wrong with bullying and put-downs and some teachers threaten, tease, shame or intimidate students to maintain control of their classroom.
Individual Factor
Not only do adolescents undergo ravages of physical and emotional change. They also bring with them their conditioning, their innate sense of self, and their temperaments. Temperament has been known to be the best-documented individual child factor in bullying. Temperament refers to basic tendencies by children to develop certain personality styles and interpersonal behaviors (Suderman et al., 1996). Suderman found that children who have impulsive and active temperament might be more inclined to be bullies. With boys, physical strength may serve as a characteristic associated with bullying. Bullies often have attachment disorders (Weinhold, 1995). White et al (1990 as cited in Giller, Hagell, & Ruller 1998:145) found that “lack of control” was the dimension most strongly related with externalizing behavior, which is being disruptive and antisocial. According to Olwuess (1993) bullies are those who like to be in charge, dominate and assert power. They like to win at any costs. They crave attention, so they show off and act tough in order to get it from peers (Olweus, 1994). They lack empathy for their victims and have difficulty feeling compassion (Olweus, 1993a).
Tracing the patterns of the bullies’ individual characteristics is Alfred Adler’s concept of social interest. Adler defines social interest as an innate need to live in harmony and friendship with others and to aspire toward development of perfect society. (Hergenhahn, B.R. & Olson, M.H., 1999:105). Adler concluded that the extent to which individuals experienced feelings of inferiority directly affected their capacity to "show interest in the interests of others” (Guttenberg, R., 2005). Bullies are motivated by the false belief that having power over others will give them a sense of significance and belonging. Thus, their low level of social interest, or concern for others, decreases their capacity for empathy (Guttenberg, R., 2005).
Several individual characteristics seem to link with violence. These include; student’s low commitment to education, poor school performance, and belonging to a negative peer group. Other personal characteristics related to violence include; impulsiveness, low self-control, & rejection by peers prior to adolescence. (Gottfredson, 1997; Dusenbury, et al., 1997)
Peer Influence
During early adolescence, the function and importance of the peer group change dramatically. It is during adolescence that peer groups become stratified and issues of acceptance and popularity become increasingly important. Research indicates, for example, that toughness and aggressiveness are important status considerations for boys, while appearance is a central determinant of social status among girls. (Espelage, D., 2003 ) The social nature of bullying often includes most peers in the class or group who either actively involved or passively aware of the bullying process (Finger, et al., 2003) Bullies may continue bullying in an attempt to gain further reinforcement or non-punishment from their peers (Parada, 2002a as cited in Finger et al., 2003). Moreover, individual’s social identity is an integral and important part of that person’s self-concept. As a result, they may heighten their use of bullying because they believe these behaviors are acceptable in their peer group (Hinkley, Marsh, Craven, Mcineary, and Parada, 2002).
Important findings by Parker and Asher (1987 as cited in Giller, et al 1998:148) revealed that aggression was established as predictor of later delinquency and later studies had confirmed its association with antisocial behavior, which also tended to show that the strongest association was found among aggression and peer rejection. Peer rejection at a younger age predicts antisocial behavior and delinquency at a later age. (Coie et al., 1992, as cited in Giller, 1998:149)
Among the issues of school violence, school bullying – has turn great attention among the media, educators and legislators most specifically in America. Definitely, bullying is a serious problem especially because victims of bullying are at risk of experiencing academic, emotional, social and behavioral difficulties. (Bear, G. 2005: 13)
Familial/home factor
Family discord is the major factor that contributed to bullying. Parents who display aggressive behaviors at home produce bullies. They unconsciously teach their children anti-social behavior (Honrejas, 1999). In Loeber & Stouthamer-Loeber (1986) studies, lack of attention and warmth to the child, aggressive modeling at home, and poor supervision of the child have been found to cause an opportunity for bullying behavior to occur. Aggressive behavior in children tends to increase if they witness violence done by the father toward the mother (Jaffe, Wolfe & Wilson, 1990). The above findings support Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, which states that behavior is a reflection of people observing and imitating others. Children learn criminal behavior by associating others and imitating their behaviors (Regoli, R.M. et al, 2000).
The modeling of behavior includes verbal and physical aggression by parents towards each other. The home is known to be the most violent place in the United States (Straus, 1994). Children from violent homes are three to four times more likely to become bully. In Duncan’s (1999) finding, children from harsh home environments engage in more bullying behaviors (as bullies and /or victims) than children from nurturing home (as cited in Gubler, R. & Croxall, K., 2005).
Parenting styles plays a vital role in the early socialization of children regarding behavior. Students identified, as bullies were 1.65 times more likely to come from homes with an authoritarian style of child rearing compared to a participatory style (Baldry A.C. & Farrington D.P., 2000 as cited in Dake et al., 2003). A significant correlation existed between victimization of the child and high levels of demanding attitudes by parents. Parents who allowed the child few opportunities to control social circumstances may foster a passive orientation that could become problematic for the child (Ladd G.W. & Ladd B.K, 1998 as cited in Dake et al, 2003).
Early socialization of children also plays a role in the likelihood of becoming involved in bullying behavior (Swhartz D., Dodge K.A; Dake et al., 2003). Significant relationship was found among socioeconomic status and involvement in bullying. Students of lower socioeconomic status were more likely to become involved in bullying others or become the victims of bullying than non lower socioeconomic status students (Wolke, D. et al., 2001; Dake, et al., 2003). Furthermore, family composition is found to be associated with either bullying or victimization. Victimized children were 1.5 times more likely to come from separated or divorced families than from intact families (Bond et al., 2001 as cited in Dake et al., 2003)
School Community Factor
Just as low levels of supervision in home are associated with the development of bully problems, so too, are low levels of supervision in school, particularly in the playground or schoolyard, and in the hallways (Suderman, 1996). A negative school climate where negative behavior gets most of the attention encourages the formation of cliques and bullying (Espelage, et al, 1999). Schools located in neighborhood with high turnover also have more bullying (Johnson & Johnson, 1995). Weak school leadership and disorganization, low emphasis on academics, lack of support for students, and unclear rules and norms correlate with higher rates of school violence (Dusenbury, et al., 1997).
In the school environment, bullying is often unnoticed or ignored and supervision in the schools is many times inadequate. The amount of adult supervision is directly tied to the frequency and severity of bullying in schools (Saunders, 1997). Crowded conditions, such as school playgrounds, encourage bullying. Bystanders who admire the exploits of bullies serve as models for others and may reinforce the increase of bullying behavior (Sullivan et al: 2004:19). Findings on links between teacher-attitude and bullying problems reported teachers’ involvement to negative school climate. In Olweus (1993) research, 25 percent of teachers see nothing wrong with bullying and put-downs and some teachers threaten, tease, shame or intimidate students to maintain control of their classroom.
Individual Factor
Not only do adolescents undergo ravages of physical and emotional change. They also bring with them their conditioning, their innate sense of self, and their temperaments. Temperament has been known to be the best-documented individual child factor in bullying. Temperament refers to basic tendencies by children to develop certain personality styles and interpersonal behaviors (Suderman et al., 1996). Suderman found that children who have impulsive and active temperament might be more inclined to be bullies. With boys, physical strength may serve as a characteristic associated with bullying. Bullies often have attachment disorders (Weinhold, 1995). White et al (1990 as cited in Giller, Hagell, & Ruller 1998:145) found that “lack of control” was the dimension most strongly related with externalizing behavior, which is being disruptive and antisocial. According to Olwuess (1993) bullies are those who like to be in charge, dominate and assert power. They like to win at any costs. They crave attention, so they show off and act tough in order to get it from peers (Olweus, 1994). They lack empathy for their victims and have difficulty feeling compassion (Olweus, 1993a).
Tracing the patterns of the bullies’ individual characteristics is Alfred Adler’s concept of social interest. Adler defines social interest as an innate need to live in harmony and friendship with others and to aspire toward development of perfect society. (Hergenhahn, B.R. & Olson, M.H., 1999:105). Adler concluded that the extent to which individuals experienced feelings of inferiority directly affected their capacity to "show interest in the interests of others” (Guttenberg, R., 2005). Bullies are motivated by the false belief that having power over others will give them a sense of significance and belonging. Thus, their low level of social interest, or concern for others, decreases their capacity for empathy (Guttenberg, R., 2005).
Several individual characteristics seem to link with violence. These include; student’s low commitment to education, poor school performance, and belonging to a negative peer group. Other personal characteristics related to violence include; impulsiveness, low self-control, & rejection by peers prior to adolescence. (Gottfredson, 1997; Dusenbury, et al., 1997)
Peer Influence
During early adolescence, the function and importance of the peer group change dramatically. It is during adolescence that peer groups become stratified and issues of acceptance and popularity become increasingly important. Research indicates, for example, that toughness and aggressiveness are important status considerations for boys, while appearance is a central determinant of social status among girls. (Espelage, D., 2003 ) The social nature of bullying often includes most peers in the class or group who either actively involved or passively aware of the bullying process (Finger, et al., 2003) Bullies may continue bullying in an attempt to gain further reinforcement or non-punishment from their peers (Parada, 2002a as cited in Finger et al., 2003). Moreover, individual’s social identity is an integral and important part of that person’s self-concept. As a result, they may heighten their use of bullying because they believe these behaviors are acceptable in their peer group (Hinkley, Marsh, Craven, Mcineary, and Parada, 2002).
Important findings by Parker and Asher (1987 as cited in Giller, et al 1998:148) revealed that aggression was established as predictor of later delinquency and later studies had confirmed its association with antisocial behavior, which also tended to show that the strongest association was found among aggression and peer rejection. Peer rejection at a younger age predicts antisocial behavior and delinquency at a later age. (Coie et al., 1992, as cited in Giller, 1998:149)
Among the issues of school violence, school bullying – has turn great attention among the media, educators and legislators most specifically in America. Definitely, bullying is a serious problem especially because victims of bullying are at risk of experiencing academic, emotional, social and behavioral difficulties. (Bear, G. 2005: 13)
Bullying in the Philippine Setting
In the Philippines, there had been few studies on bullying despite the obvious importance of the subject. While there are a lot of things that can be learned from foreign researches, it must be noted that the concept of bullying as it has been often studied in other countries is practically a foreign social concept. It could be that the use and understanding of the word in the country is largely consistent with the available literature. This, however, should not stop anyone from studying bullying as conceptualized by different social groups in the country.
Honrejas (1999) investigated incidence of school bullying in 186 schools in the Philippines. Her findings from these schools reported 2,096 cases of bullying. Forty percent occurred in the second year level, 29 percent came from the fist year level, and few cases came from different grade levels in elementary and secondary schools with varying intensity. Additionally, she documented on the forms of bullying mostly indulged by students. She reported that excessive teasing, extortion (food, money and belongings), physical injuries, use of ball pen and pencils to stab the victim is common in elementary level.
Miguel-Baquilod (2004) of the Department of Health Manila made a nationwide survey on secondary students’ health. Included in the survey is violence among youth. It has been reported that of the students surveyed, half of them were involved in physical fight, and second year students are significantly likely to get involved and victimized than third year and fourth year students. One third of students were bullied one or more times in a one-month period. And about three in ten of the victims reported that they were most often physically bullied. Boys were significantly more likely than girls to have experienced such.
A specific study on relational aggression which is otherwise related to indirect bullying was investigated by Carvalho Filho et al. (2004). The effects of different social environments, degrees of friendship, and individual sociability on students’ usage of different types of relational aggression were explored. Their study reported that indirect aggression such as spreading of rumors and silent treatment were more likely being adopted in school than in the workplace. In addition, links between types of relational aggression and levels of sociability were found to have marginally significant effect, the result showed that individuals with low sociability reported that they are as likely to spread rumors, and likely to use backstabbing compared to individuals with high sociability.
Bullies were identified to come from poor families. However, socio-economic status of a family has not been consistently found to be the cause of aggression among children. Similar to Miguel-Baquilod’s findings, the most vulnerable ages for bullying are the early adolescents, ages 11-14 (Honrejas, 1999).
Consistent with the findings in other countries, Honrejas’ study also reported family discord as the major factor that contributed to bullying. Misconception on the true nature of bullying was also found. It was seen as a natural part of growing up among children and therefore thought of as not deserving any serious consideration. School authorities admitted that they thought bullies took initiative because they were just joking.
Duba (1985:349), author of Guidance in Philippine Setting, presented a closely opposite meaning of bullying behavior; he uses the term mental hygiene, which refers to the unwholesomeness or healthfulness of the human mind. It involves a consideration of all conditions or influences, which lead to the establishment, and preservation of mental health. According to Liam as cited by Duba, (1985), students with good mental health will bring happiness to themselves and to others. If they behave badly, mental health is considered poor. Furthermore, children are considered maladjusted. Children who are maladjusted are characterized by failure to achieve their potentialities and meet socially accepted standards. They would show aggressive behavior, rudeness, stealing, and other similar acts of antisocial behavior.
An interesting study by Lopez (1981 as cited in Puyat 1999) which is related to the concept of bullying is his study on aggression. He identified Filipino terms like paladabog, palaaway and palatsismis, which he refers to aggressive behaviors used by a person to attack another person. Duba (1985: 361) identified bullying as one of the disciplinary problems that spring down from personality make-up of individual. A boy with feelings of inferiority may develop anti-social behavior. Those who tend to feel small would tend to fight other classmates who are bigger than themselves to achieve feeling of equality. Those who are slow learners may become bully who finds satisfaction in maltreating his classmates who are fast learners (Duba, 1985: 361). To account for this is Alfred Adler’s concept of inferiority complex. He explains that children who don’t feel accepted, competent, or to belong to desired groups they developed bad feelings about themselves, become frustrated and may result to misbehavior in their drive towards competence (Hergenhahn, B.R. & Olson, M.H., 1999: 104).
Honrejas (1999) investigated incidence of school bullying in 186 schools in the Philippines. Her findings from these schools reported 2,096 cases of bullying. Forty percent occurred in the second year level, 29 percent came from the fist year level, and few cases came from different grade levels in elementary and secondary schools with varying intensity. Additionally, she documented on the forms of bullying mostly indulged by students. She reported that excessive teasing, extortion (food, money and belongings), physical injuries, use of ball pen and pencils to stab the victim is common in elementary level.
Miguel-Baquilod (2004) of the Department of Health Manila made a nationwide survey on secondary students’ health. Included in the survey is violence among youth. It has been reported that of the students surveyed, half of them were involved in physical fight, and second year students are significantly likely to get involved and victimized than third year and fourth year students. One third of students were bullied one or more times in a one-month period. And about three in ten of the victims reported that they were most often physically bullied. Boys were significantly more likely than girls to have experienced such.
A specific study on relational aggression which is otherwise related to indirect bullying was investigated by Carvalho Filho et al. (2004). The effects of different social environments, degrees of friendship, and individual sociability on students’ usage of different types of relational aggression were explored. Their study reported that indirect aggression such as spreading of rumors and silent treatment were more likely being adopted in school than in the workplace. In addition, links between types of relational aggression and levels of sociability were found to have marginally significant effect, the result showed that individuals with low sociability reported that they are as likely to spread rumors, and likely to use backstabbing compared to individuals with high sociability.
Bullies were identified to come from poor families. However, socio-economic status of a family has not been consistently found to be the cause of aggression among children. Similar to Miguel-Baquilod’s findings, the most vulnerable ages for bullying are the early adolescents, ages 11-14 (Honrejas, 1999).
Consistent with the findings in other countries, Honrejas’ study also reported family discord as the major factor that contributed to bullying. Misconception on the true nature of bullying was also found. It was seen as a natural part of growing up among children and therefore thought of as not deserving any serious consideration. School authorities admitted that they thought bullies took initiative because they were just joking.
Duba (1985:349), author of Guidance in Philippine Setting, presented a closely opposite meaning of bullying behavior; he uses the term mental hygiene, which refers to the unwholesomeness or healthfulness of the human mind. It involves a consideration of all conditions or influences, which lead to the establishment, and preservation of mental health. According to Liam as cited by Duba, (1985), students with good mental health will bring happiness to themselves and to others. If they behave badly, mental health is considered poor. Furthermore, children are considered maladjusted. Children who are maladjusted are characterized by failure to achieve their potentialities and meet socially accepted standards. They would show aggressive behavior, rudeness, stealing, and other similar acts of antisocial behavior.
An interesting study by Lopez (1981 as cited in Puyat 1999) which is related to the concept of bullying is his study on aggression. He identified Filipino terms like paladabog, palaaway and palatsismis, which he refers to aggressive behaviors used by a person to attack another person. Duba (1985: 361) identified bullying as one of the disciplinary problems that spring down from personality make-up of individual. A boy with feelings of inferiority may develop anti-social behavior. Those who tend to feel small would tend to fight other classmates who are bigger than themselves to achieve feeling of equality. Those who are slow learners may become bully who finds satisfaction in maltreating his classmates who are fast learners (Duba, 1985: 361). To account for this is Alfred Adler’s concept of inferiority complex. He explains that children who don’t feel accepted, competent, or to belong to desired groups they developed bad feelings about themselves, become frustrated and may result to misbehavior in their drive towards competence (Hergenhahn, B.R. & Olson, M.H., 1999: 104).
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