Bullying has reached epidemic proportions in American schools. The National School Safety Center (NSSC) called bullying the most enduring and underrated problem in U.S. schools (Beale, 2001), and in a national survey, 22% of students age 12 to 18 report being bullied during the 2015 school year (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2015).
Frequently asked questions:
Q: What is bullying?
A: Bullying is physical, verbal, relational, or cyber aggression that involves:
(1) an intent by the perpetrator to cause physical or psychological harm to the victim,
(2) a power imbalance between the victim and the perpetrator that makes it difficult to receive assistance or report bullying, and
(3) repeated negative acts (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, 2015)
Q: Why do people bully?
A: Bullying is primarily maintained by peer attention. Research suggests that bystanders are present in over 80% of events (Craig, Pepler, & Atlas, 2000), providing reinforcement through laughter, joining in, standing around, or fighting back with victims. Victims can also provide peer attention in the form of fighting back, crying, or whining. In fact, in a study by O’Connell and colleagues (1999), the number of peers present was directly related to the duration of bullying episodes. The more peers around, the longer the incident lasted (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, 2015)
Q: What role do bystanders play in bullying?
A: Bystanders play a spectrum of roles in bullying depending on the environment and their relationships with perpetrators and the victims (Salmivalli, Lagerspetz, Björkqvist, Österman, & Kaukiainen, 1996). Reinforcement from perpetrators, reinforcement from victims and adults, and punishment from perpetrators or victims are all in competition, and each bystander’s response can be determined by the sum of those consequences. Resulting actions can range from joining-in to defending the victim (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, 2015)
Q: What are the most effective bullying prevention strategies that schools can implement?
A: Three strategies appear to be the most promising for addressing bullying in schools. First, schools can shift their culture so that students feel safe and empowered to stand up to for each other. Second, schools can teach specific strategies for peer recognition and the peer-based reinforcement of positive, stand-up behavior. Third, schools can teach all students (perpetrators, victims, and bystanders) simple strategies for standing up to bullying, which effectively removes peer attention from incidents rather than reinforcing it (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, 2015).
Q: What should I do if my child is being bullied?
A: If your child is being bullied, please contact the school social worker, teacher, or principal of your child’s school. The following discussion questions may help you and your child analyze a situation that involves bullying or aggression:
1) What are you thinking/feeling?
2) What do you think he or she (other child or children) was thinking/feeling?
3) Has this happened before? Is there a pattern?
4) What do you want to happen in this situation?
5) What ideas are you thinking of trying out or have worked for you before?
6) What do you plan to do now/next?
Listed Below are some additional helpful links: