Bullying: How Victims Are Affected and Supported By

Their Families and Measures for Prevention

What is Bullying?Olweus (1993) defined bullying as “a behavior that leaves a child exposed, repeatedly and over time to negative actions on the part of one or more other students” (as cited in Powell & Ladd, 2010).

Bullying can be done verbally- i.e. name calling, teasing, or threats- physically through shoving, pushing, hitting, punching, etc. (Powell & Ladd, 2010).

How Are Victims Affected?Depressive Mood (Owusu, Hart, Oliver, & Kang,

2011; as cited in Menesini, Modena, & Tani, 2009; Fredstrom, Adams, & Gilman, 2011)

Low Self-Esteem (as cited in Menesini et al., 2009;

Fredstrom et al., 2011)

Suicide Ideation (Owusu et al., 2011; Skapinakis et al., 2011)

How Are Victims Affected? Con’t…

Anxiety (as cited in Menesini et al., 2009; Fredstrom et al., 2011)

Loneliness (Owusu et al., 2011)

Supportive Families Cohesive families enable children/adolescents victimized by bullies to cope and build resiliency.

Resiliency in children, especially those who are victims of bullying, allows them to function better (Bowes, Maughan, Caspi, Moffitt, and Arseneault, 2010).

A loving family environment essentially establishes a safe haven for the children which assists in emotional and behavioral adjustments (Bowes et al., 2010).

PreventionBatsche and Knoff (1994) suggested:

promoting facts regarding bullying dismissing beliefs about aggressive behavior surveying schools about bullying providing counseling for bullies and victims parent involvement in the intervention process implementation of intervention strategies for children with

aggression accountability and evaluation

ConclusionVictim’s health and well-being is affected by bullying.

Warm and positive family life could safeguard the victims from any lingering bullying scars.

Bully prevention and intervention programs at schools are helpful but have not stopped the escalating problem.

Conclusion con’t…More programs should be established teaching children better coping skills, self-esteem, and how to handle bullies in a non-violent manner.

Bowes et al. (2010) indicated that children with “resiliency…function better than would be expected given their experience of bullying.”

Further research should be considered in this area as it would not only help victims but also minimize the prevalence of bullying.

References

Batsche, G. M. & Knoff, H.M. (1994). Bullies and their victims: Understanding a pervasive problem in the schools. School Psychology Review. 23(2), 165-174. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.wf2dnvr13.webfeat.org/ehost/detail?sid=1fc81d81-61d9-4ad7-9c3b-8bf5a4384974%40sessionmgr12&vid=2&hid=8&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=afh&AN=9501303824.

Bowes, L., Maughan, B., Caspi, A. Moffitt, T. E. & Arseneault, L. (2010). Familiespromote emotional and behavioural resilience to bullying: Evidence of an environmental effect. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51(7), 809-817. Abstract retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.wf2dnvr13.webfeat.org/docview/742884734/abstract?source=fedsrch&accountid=34899.

References con’t…

Fredstrom, B. K., Adams, R. E. & Gilman, R. (2011). Electronic and school-based victimization: Unique contexts for adjustment difficulties during adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(4), 405-415. Abstract retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.wf2dnvr2.webfeat.org/docview/858659863/abstract?source=fedsrch&accountid=34899.

Menesini, E., Modena, M. & Tani, F. (2009). Bullying and victimization in adolescence: Concurrent and stable roles and psychological health symptoms. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 170(2), 115-33. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.wf2dnvr2.webfeat.org/docview/228460339/abstract?accountid=34899.

Owusu, A., Hart, P., Oliver, B., & Kang, M. (2011). The association between bullying and psychological health among senior high school students in Ghana, West Africa [Abstract]. Journal of School Health, 81(5), 231-238. doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2011.00590.x.

Powell, M.D. & Ladd, L.D. (2010). Bullying: A review of the literature and implicationsfor family therapists. American Journal for Family Therapy, 38 (3), 189-206. doi: 10.1080/01926180902961662.

References con’t…

Skapinakis, P., Bellos, S., Gkatsa, T., Magklara, K., Lewis, G., Araya, R., ... Mavreas, V. (2011). The association between bullying and early stages of suicidal ideation in late adolescents in Greece. BMC Psychiatry, 11(1), 22-30. doi:10.1186/1471-244X-11-22.

Ttofi, M. M. & Farrington, D. P. (2011). Effectiveness of school-based programs to reduce bullying: A systematic and meta-analytic review. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 7(1) 27- 56. Abstract retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.wf2dnvr13.webfeat.org/docview/852324202/abstract?source=fedsrch&accountid=34899.