Facts About Bullying

The number one fact about bullying is that it is real, and it’s not getting any better, in fact bullying is on the rise among children. Although bullying is not limited to any age or demographic, it poses a significant problem for schools and parents of children. An age which we typically think should be carefree and stress free can become a time of torment and anguish sometimes leading to serious actions, such as suicide. This torment is something that no parent should have to witness their child going through.

According to Peplar and Craig 1997 from Queens University Department of Psychology, “Bullying is the assertion of power through aggression. Its forms change with age: school playground bullying, sexual harassment, gang attacks, date violence, assault, marital violence, child abuse, workplace harassment and elder abuse”

Here are some other facts about bullying:

· For many children bullying is something they live with every day.

· Parents and teachers are often not aware it is happening or don’t recognize it.

· Bullying has serious immediate and long term psychological effects for those being bullied. They are more prone to adjustment disorders.

· Most bully victims will not report it to either parents or teachers for fear of retaliation from their tormentors.

· Children who are bullied are ashamed of it, and fear being ridiculed for not being able to handle it on their own. They concurrently feel that adults can do nothing to help them.

· Victims of repeated bullying report feelings of depression and loss of interest in activities. Suicidal ideation is not uncommon in victims of bullying as well as the bullies themselves. Research done by Kumak, Sourander and Gould, May 2010, published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry states “there is a positive correlation between bullying victims and suicide, with girls more strongly affected than boys”

· Victims most often are unable to stop the bullying without seeking help from an outsider.

· According to the National Education Association there are 160,000 children every day who miss school as a result of bullying. That is a 15% absentee rate and studies show both victims and the bullies are at risk for low grades, poor attitudes about school and poor functioning levels.

· In the American school system there are approximately 2.1 million bullies and 2.7 million victims.

· In any given playground bullying happens every 7 minutes and in the classroom every 25 minutes.

· In a study done by Leonard Eron, and Rowell Huesman, University of Michigan psychologists, they found children who bully in school have a 1 in 4 chance of having a criminal record by the time they reach 30 years of age. Olweus’ Bullying Prevention Program at Clemson University found that 60 % of boys in elementary school who bully others had criminal records by the time they were 24 years old.

The facts and data from various research and studies are staggering and disturbing and make it painfully obvious that intervention is critical. Parents, primary caregivers, teachers or anybody in a role for responsibility and care of children need to be aware of the signs and symptoms in both those being bullied and those who are doing the bullying. They must become proactive in finding solutions to the problem of bullying and protect those who can’t protect themselves.