Bullying And Intimidation

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Bullying and intimidation are a major social problem in many cultures. Since it is widely considered immature and mean to perpetrate violent or threatening acts, it is not surprising that incidents of bullying are usually found among young people where they gather to socialize. Schools are a hotbed of bullying activity, and many children are victimized. Bullying has two key components: repeated harmful acts and an imbalance of power. It involves repeated physical, verbal, or psychological attacks or intimidation directed against a victim who cannot properly defend him or herself because of size or strength, or because the victim is outnumbered or less psychologically resilient. Bullying includes assault, tripping, intimidation, rumor-spreading …show more content…

• Bullying of students with disabilities is another type of bullying with a focused target population. • Racist bullying is a third type of focused bullying that targets people of a specific race or cultural. • Religious bullying targets people who have specific religious beliefs. International research suggests that bullying is common at schools and occurs beyond elementary school; bullying occurs at all grade levels, although most frequently during elementary school. It occurs slightly less often in middle schools, and less so, but still frequently, in high schools. High school freshmen are particularly vulnerable. Most students do not report bullying to adults. Surveys from a variety of countries confirm that many victims and witnesses fail to tell teachers or even parents. As a result, teachers may underestimate the extent of bullying in their school and may be able to identify only a portion of the actual bullies. Studies also suggest that children do not believe that most teachers intervene when told about bullying. The same is true of student-witnesses. Although most students agree that bullying is wrong, witnesses rarely tell teachers and only infrequently intervene on behalf of the victim. Some students worry that intervening will raise a bully’s wrath and make him or her the next target. Many of the European and Scandinavian studies concur that bullies tend to be …show more content…

Most bullies victimize students in the same class or year, although 30 percent of victims report that the bully was older, and approximately ten percent report that the bully was younger. It is unknown the extent to which physical, mental or speech difficulties, eyeglasses, skin color, language, height, weight, hygiene, posture, and dress play a role in victim selection. One major study found the only external characteristics...to be associated with victimization were that victims tended to be smaller and weaker than their peers. One study found that nonassertive youth who were socially incompetent had an increased likelihood of victimization. Having friends, especially ones who will help protect against bullying, appears to reduce the chances of victimization. Victims of bullying suffer consequences beyond embarrassment. Some victims experience psychological and/or physical distress, are frequently absent and cannot concentrate on schoolwork. Research generally shows that victims have low self-esteem, and their victimization can lead to depression that can last for years after the victimization. Boys and girls who were bullied at least once a week experienced poorer health, more frequently contemplated suicide, and suffered from depression, social dysfunction, anxiety, and insomnia. Sociologist Robert Crosnoe in his book “Fitting In, Standing Out” provides

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