Bullying And Bullying

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Bullying is a social problem that can affect everyone; those who are bullied, those who bully, and those who witness bullying. It is commonly defined as repeated aggressive behavior in which there is an imbalance of power between the parties (CITE). Aggressive behavior can take place in the form of physical, verbal, psychological or electronic abuse. Social workers should utilize an ecological framework to prevent and treat bullying among adolescents. Ecological theory, with its acknowledgement that individual, familial, community and societal factors interact to increase or decrease the likelihood of child maltreatment, represents the most commonly accepted theory of bullying ( CITE -Daro & McCurdy, 2007). Parental education and support group programs are effective in addressing the risk factors associated with adolescent bullying and violence in the schools. Adolescents can be less vulnerable to this worldwide problem if they are exposed to safety education programs that address decreasing bullying incidents. This social problem is linked to several negative outcomes including impacts on mental health, substance abuse, and suicide. Adolescents who are bullied and those who bully also perform poor in their academics, which can contribute to violent and risky behaviors in adulthood.
Adolescents experience some type of bullying at some point in their lives and it is more common in the school environment. Statistics indicate approximately 43% of middle school and 22% of high school students experienced bullying during the 2005-2006 school year (Hammig & Jozkowski, 2008). Bullying can cause embarrassment, pain or discomfort due to the imbalance of power. Physical bullying refers to aggressive physical contact that results in hurting ...

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...mmunication media, parents can be educated about the existence of bullying and its potential effects on victims and bullies. Given the frequency of electronic bullying, children, parents, and school personnel need to become more aware of what electronic bullying is. As social workers we must strongly advocate to teach our communities how to help prevent bullying and teach effective interventions to decrease the violent incidents. School administrators should work to educate students, teachers, and staff about electronic bullying its dangers, and what to do if it is suspected. Instead of ignoring, suspending or expelling those students who bully they should focus on advocating for safety programs that can teach our children at an early age about the effects of bullying. They also should ensure that school rules and policies related to bullying include cyber bullying.

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