Bullying - More than a Schoolyard Phenomenon
Bullying has become a serious social problem around the globe. It takes place in schools everywhere, occurs online and frequently is seen in the workplace.

In the United States, the American Association of School Psychologists reports that over 160,000 children miss school every day for fear of being bullied. Similar statistics are offered from countries around the world such as Spain, Australia, Japan, Britain and Finland indicating that this is a worldwide concern.

Unfortunately, many people believe that bullying is a normal part of childhood development and fail to recognize the impact that this problem has on our children and society at large.

Youth Bullying and Related Violence
To illustrate that point, consider that youth between the ages of 8 to 15 now rank bullying as more of a problem in their lives than other forms of violence. Bullying has been associated with severe depression and even suicide. Several studies have linked bullying behavior in children to violence and criminality later in life.

A 2001 study noted this connection and concluded that more than one-third of boys who were characterized as bullies in grades six through nine had been convicted of at least three officially registered crimes by the age of 24.

Finally, concern with school shootings has highlighted the issues of retaliation, noting that victims have an increased likelihood of acting out their repressed anger through acts of violence.

There have been definitive links made among violent crime in students who were bullied. One study conducted in 2002 stated that the majority of teenagers involved in deadly school shootings reported being “seriously bullied.”

What is “Bullying?”
Most experts define bullying as repetitive and persistent patterns of verbal and/or non-verbal behavior directed at others with the intention to inflict physical, verbal or emotional abuse when a real or perceived power differential exists (Coloroso, 2003).

The key words are “intentional, repetitive, and perceived or real power differential” and these are critical because they help define and identify the problematic behavior.

By contrast, teasing is defined as a “set of verbal and/or non-verbal behaviors occurring among peers which is generally intended to be humorous and playful, but may be annoying to the recipient.”

Power Plays
The issue of power is important and it includes physical power, positional power (such as perceived popularity in childhood groups) and emotional or intellectual power.

In bullying, it is the real or perceived power imbalance that makes action so difficult for the victim, who often fears accelerating the abuse if he or she reports it or tries to confront the bully directly. This definition holds true whether the bullying takes place in the school, workplace, online or at home.

Types of Bully Behavior
Bullying usually occurs as verbal, physical, or exclusionary behaviors.

Verbal bullying is the most common form and accounts for approximately 70% of all reported cases. It includes name calling and the use of racially- and sexually-abusive slurs. Verbal bullying is typically the easiest to get away with and is often permitted or tolerated by authority figures. This form of abuse is more common among girls.

Physical bullying may include hitting, punching, biting, scratching and stealing or destroying the victim’s property. Boys are more likely to engage in physical bullying. Interestingly, there is little difference among the frequency of being bullied between youths from urban, suburban and rural areas. Bullying, it seems, crosses geographic and socioeconomic lines.

Bully Bystander, Victim or Accomplice?
The bystander plays an important role in bullying. They often create the audience for the drama to take place and as such act as the supporting cast who aid the bully through acts of omission or commission.

Many experts believe that the bystander is perhaps the greatest untapped source in addressing the problem, but has often been left out of the interventions. Research from Rollins College in 2007 by Easton and Aberman showed several reasons why bystanders did not or would not intervene in bullying behavior:

• Bystanders were afraid of getting hurt themselves or of becoming the next target
• Bystanders were afraid they might aggravate the situation
• Bystanders did not know what to do
• Bystanders did not want to get someone else in trouble
• Bystanders believed it’s better to be in the in-group than to defend the outcast
• Bystanders think it’s too hard to do something and nothing happens anyway
• Bystanders often are chastised by adults as being tattletales and are told “to mind their own business”

Bully Victims
Victims of bully behavior also typically stay silent and do not report the abusive behavior.

When victims were asked why they did not report being bullied, they gave the following reasons:

• Victims felt ashamed or unworthy of respect because they were unpopular
• Victims were told they should take care of the problem and stand up for themselves (note: boys were less likely to report being bullied than girls)
• Victims feared retaliation and more severe bullying if they told someone
• Victims didn’t think anyone could/would help anyway
• Victims believed they deserved to be bullied because they bought into the bullying message
• Victims believe adults are part of the problem
• Victims have been taught not to tell on others

Identifying Bully Behavior
Experts consistently agree that bullying most often takes place among children in unstructured places when adult supervision is absent or less formal. The most common places include playgrounds, hallways, lunchrooms, bathrooms, locker rooms and bus stops.

A study published in 2003 offers the following warning signs that might indicate a child has become a victim of chronic bullying:

• Refuses to attend or shows an abrupt lack of interest in school
• Takes an unusual route to school
• Suffers a drop in grades when he/she has historically been a good student
• Withdraws from family and school activities and wants to be left alone
• Is hungry after school and says he/she lost the lunch money
• Is taking parent’s money and making lame excuses for where it went
• Goes directly to the bathroom when arriving home because he/she has been avoiding the bathrooms in school
• Is sad, sullen or angry after receiving a phone call or reading an email
• Stops talking about everyday activities and interactions with peers
• Has disheveled, torn or missing clothing
• Has physical injuries that can’t be explaine
• Has stomachaches, headaches or panic attacks

What to Do
First, review the definition of bullying and remember that it is 1) repetitive, 2) intentional and 3) there is a perceived power differential. If all three things exist, then immediate intervention is suggested.

If possible, give the bully a chance for resolution and reconciliation. For example, to return or repay money or property, apologize and accept responsibility for negative behavior without giving excuses, and have a plan for appropriate behavior in the future. Reinforce that the act, not the person, is bad and try to leave the victim’s dignity intact.

Follow-up is also important. Monitor future behavior carefully to reinforce good behavior and create opportunities to act in a socially-responsible way.

Empathy and Friendship
Children are less likely to be bullied if they possess a strong sense of self, enjoy being a friend to others and report having at least one good friend. By helping them nurture empathy and learn friendship skills, they will simultaneously be developing self esteem and personal confidence.

Skills include knowing how to gain entrance to a group or use communication skills that help deal with initial bully encounters, such as “Yikes! I’m not up for this. I’m out of here!” Other suggestions include using a buddy system, especially with younger children and siblings and in areas identified as potentially unsafe.

School Programs
School programs that work best use system-wide approaches that involve students, teachers, parents, school safety officers and school staff (cafeteria, bus drivers, etc.) and administrators.

Successful school programs involve several integrated actions:

• The school principal should be actively involved in the anti-bullying efforts
• A strong positive statement of promoting positive peer relationships
• A clear definition of bullying
• Adequate supervision of high risk areas (hallways, playgrounds, cafeterias) with a clear plan of action and intervention
• A way to encourage anonymous reporting, such as a “bully box” (similar to a comment box) to alert teachers and administrators to potential concerns
• A declaration of student rights and responsibilities as good citizens
• A statement of the responsibility of bystanders
• A consistent response from school personnel based on a structured plan
• A plan to evaluate the policy in the future

Interventions and school approaches that do not work are those that trivialize the problem instead of dealing with the complex system itself. Some of these may include:

Overly simplistic programs or “program of the day” approaches with little preparation or follow up.

Peer mediation approaches often transfer the responsibility to others who have less knowledge and may cause more trauma for those involved.

“Zero tolerance” policies. These policies are about efficiency and placing blame, not about creating holistic systems for breaking the cycle of violence.

Simply advising victims to “stand up to bullies.” This can be unproductive or even dangerous without adequate adult support to prevent bullying in the schools.

In Brevard County
PREVENT! Of Brevard Is a non-profit organization that provides youth prevention, intervention, treatment and support services. Working with Brevard schools, the organization offers the following programs: Safe Schools, Bully-Proofing, Youth Crime Watch and Peer Mediation. For information, visit online at www.preventofbrevardinc.net.

The Olweus Program
The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program is the most researched, evaluated and recognized program on bullying, which provides an excellent example of the above criteria for programs that work.

This program was first developed in Norway and has now been implemented in several hundred schools in the United States and around the world and has been proven to reduce bullying by as much as 50 percent when implemented correctly.

Additionally, the program notes significant reductions in antisocial behavior such as vandalism, fighting, theft, alcohol use and truancy.

Other school programs can be equally successful if they adhere to the guidelines of strategic planning and inclusion of all stakeholders.

For all its complicated factors, one thing about bullying is clear: it’s a complex problem that stretches beyond cultural and societal boundaries, often resulting in criminal outcomes. Because of this, bully behavior demands careful examination and protracted and preventive measures whenever possible.

Susan S. Easton, Ph.D., is a professor in the Communications Department at Rollins College in Winter Park, FL, and President of Easton & Associates, an Organizational Development consulting company. Her research interests include group dynamics, virtual teams and intercultural/global communication. Reach her by e-mail at seaston@rollins.edu.