School bullying causes significant harm to victims, bullies and bystanders

By Lisa Rayner
Tea Party Publisher

Eight percent of Flagstaff Uunified School District high school students say on the pilot survey that they are “frequently” subjected to “verbal abuse, physical threats or cruel teasing” at school.

Some people still consider bullying to be a normal part of growing up, rather than as a form of abuse similar in its effect on victims to other forms of child abuse and to domestic violence, rape, harassment and assault among adults.

NEA President Bob Chase says,  “The consensus among leading researchers such as pediatric psychologist Dorothea Ross is that bullying today is more frequent — and much more vicious — than it was 10 to 15 years ago. … If we adults continue to insist that bullying is a normal part of growing up, even a ‘character building’ experience, then, to be blunt, we have never listened — I mean really listened — to a child who has been victimized by persistent bullying. For children who are constantly picked on, ridiculed, threatened, harassed or robbed, school becomes torture. They will even consider suicide as the only way of making their torment stop. … Bullying exacts a terrible toll on children. Their school work suffers, their physical and mental health suffers, and the scars can last a lifetime.”

Many bullied children turn their psychological pain inward and become socially withdrawn. From a child’s point of view, frequent ridicule, ostracization or assault by peers can be devastating. A child’s peers constitute her social world. Many bullied children have a hard time making friends due to social rejection. Their “outsider” status impedes the development of their social skills, making them more of a target. Some victims skip classes or drop out of school to avoid being bullied. Other victims may instead become more rebellious.

The physical and psychological injury caused by bullying is proportional to the frequency and severity of bullying, and the number of years a student is bullied.

Victims of physical and sexual assault may receive bruises, lacerations, broken bones and internal injuries.

Psychological injuries include anxiety, embarrassment, guilt, loneliness, loss of self-esteem, depression, psychosomatic, sleep, speech and dissociative disorders, panic attacks, paranoia, obsessive compulsive disorder, self-mutilation, and delays in physical, mental and emotional development. The most severely bullied students develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, like many domestic violence and child abuse victims.

Research indicates a strong correlation between bullying and suicide. For example, three studies by Dr. Ken Rigby and associates in Australia between 1993 and 1996 found that suicidal thoughts and self-harm were significantly associated with bullying. A further 1997 study found that “adverse peer relations” at school contribute significantly to suicidal ideation after controlling for negative parental influences and low levels of social support. Rigby points to the “growing number of accounts of children committing suicide following a history of peer victimisation. It is difficult not to conclude that severe bullying for some children can be devastating.”

The psychological harm continues into adulthood. Psychologist Dan Olweus found in his study Bullying at School that former bulling victims have higher levels of depression and poorer self-esteem at the age of 23 years, despite the fact that they may no longer be harassed or socially isolated. “Those who have been bullied may view such treatment as evidence that they are inadequate and worthless and may internalize these perceptions.” Bullying victims are also more likely to become victims as adults.

Bullies also show poorer psychosocial functioning than their peers. The Journal of the American Medical Association study on bullying reports that bullies “demonstrate higher levels of conduct problems and dislike of school.” Alcohol use, smoking and poorer academic achievement are also associated with bullying others. Some bullies appear to be victims of abuse at home (See Page 3).

The JAMA study found that bullies “reported greater ease in making friends, indicating that bullies are not socially isolated. … It is likely that these youth have friends who endorse bullying and other problem behaviors, and who may be involved in bullying as well.” However, “Olweus describes a small subset of bullied youth he terms “provocative victims,’ individuals who demonstrate both anxious and aggressive behavior patterns and who are known for starting fights and engaging in disruptive behavior.”

Students who are both bullies and victims have the poorest psychosocial functioning, with a higher risk of depression and suicidal thoughts than other children.

 Olweus reports that 60 percent of boys identified as bullies in middle school had one criminal conviction by age 24. In addition, childhood bullies often grow up to become workplace bullies.

Student bystanders are also affected by witnessing bullying incidents. There are four types of bystanders:

·         Those who enjoy watching the harassment without being directly involved.

·         Those who “set up” the conflict and may encourage the bully.

·         The “victim” bystander, who is too fearful to intervene.

·         The “avoidant” bystander, who denies there is a problem.

The first two types of bystanders may have psychological commonalities to bullies, or may be bullies themselves at other times. The other two bystander types are “accessory” victims. Research on child witnesses to domestic violence shows that they develop psychological problems merely from watching domestic violence incidents. At the very least, witnessing repeated bullying at school desensitizes students, allowing them to dismiss bullying as a normal part of growing up.