Determining the Cause of Bullying by Using Three Main Criminological Theories

890 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Explaining bullying with psychological theory

A number of studies that have been conducted concluded with the fact that school bullying has become a global concern regardless of cultural differences. In light of this fact, there have been few studies that have examined individual factors that affect bullying. The current study that will be discussed attempts to determine the cause of bullying by using three main criminological theories, which are general theory of crime, differential association theory, and general strain theory. Concentration will be placed on the conclusive data found from the use of general strain theory. Moon, Hwang, and McCluskey (2011) conducted a longitudinal study that consisted of analyzing data from two waves of questionnaires given out to three separate schools throughout South Korea. The three schools were chosen based on population size surrounding the schools. Two of the schools were located in cities with a population of over 2.5 million, whereas the third school represented the more rural parts of South Kaorea with a modest population of 600,000. The eighth graders from each school were asked to participate in the study. The first waves of 900 questionnaires were distributed, and out of those 787 were completed. After a year had passed the second wave of questionnaires were distributed and a total of 655 questionnaires were collected from students of the original study. Through these questionnaires, there were six types of strain that were measured. These types of strain were family conflict, emotional and physical punishment by parents and teachers, financial stress, examination-related stress, and criminal victimization (Moon, Hwang, and McCluskey, 2011). Agnew (2001) believed that these forms of strain were vital in showing chances o... ... middle of paper ... ...he student may want to represent themselves as nicer than what they really are, or that they do not remember the numbers of specific events like some of the questions are asking for. These are all reasons why the data from this test Works Cited Moon, B., Hwang, H., & McCluskey, J. D. (2011). Causes of School Bullying: Empirical Test of a General Theory of Crime, Differential Association Theory, and General Strain Theory. Crime & Delinquency, 57(6), 849-877. doi:10.1177/0011128708315740 Agnew, R. (2001). Building on the foundation of general strain theory: Specifying thetypes of strain most likely to lead to crime and delinquency.Journal of Researchin Crime and Delinquency,38, 319-361. Kim, E. J., Kim, I., & Jung, T. (2001). Psychological vulnerabilities victimization at school bullying. Korean Journal of Clinical Psychology,20, 245-257

Show More
Related

  • Merging Agnew's General Strain Theory and Hirschi's Social Bond Theory

    1899 Words  | 4 Pages

    The proposal of Robert Agnew’s General Strain Theory in explaining criminal deviance is based on three concepts. The first concept is that people are not naturally inclined to commit crimes. Rather, their transition towards deviant behavior begins when they experience strain. The second concept is that once strain is present, depending on the severity of the stain, a person becomes victim to their own negative emotions like anger, jealousy, and frustration. Their response to those negative emotions may expedite their transition. The third concept looks at a person’s ability to cope with the strain and negative emotions. If a person has poor coping abilities they tend to become overwhelmed by the strain and the negative emotions they are feeling as a result of strain. Poor coping abilities may cause someone to commit crime in hopes of rectifying their situation. (Agnew, 2011)

    Read More

  • Strain Theory And Strain Theory

    1691 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to Robert Agnew, “Strain Theory is based on the idea that delinquency results when individuals are unable to achieve their goals through legitimate channels, achievement or strike out at the source of their frustration in anger”. (Agnew, R. (1985). A Revised Strain Theory of Delinquency. Oxford journals. 64(1).151-166). The norms are violated to alleviate the strain that accompanies failure. When a good look is taken at the theories the strains might not only come from peoples frustrations with acquiring “ The American Dream”, but it becomes a mixture of strains such as economic deprivation, abuse, neglect, or the loss of a loved one. However, most people that experience strains do not commit crimes.

    Read More

  • Robert Agnew's General Strain Theory

    986 Words  | 2 Pages

    The General Strain Theory scope has an intention of providing a clear explanation for why and why not crime occurs across all levels of society, while maintaining that stress is a major cause of criminal involvement. When people experience negative emotions, such as anger, frustration, or depression, they are in result unhappy and upset, thus experiencing strains or stressors (Ganem, 2010). Crime is then a way of reducing or escaping from these strains, and it is their method of coping with their emotions. According to Agnew, “Strains refer to events or conditions that are disliked by individuals (1992,

    Read More

  • Structural Functionalist Approach To Bullying Essay

    514 Words  | 2 Pages

    When bullying is approached from a social conflict point of view statistical evidence such as surveys, interviews, and experiments are not only utilized to determine what groups of peopled are prone to bullying others but, they are also used to determine what group of people tend to be bullied. For example, 25% of African American students reported being bullied at school. “25% of African American students, 22% of Caucasian students, 17% of Hispanic students, and 9% of Asian students reported being bullied at school (National Center for Educational Statistics).” In other words, social conflict explains bullying in ways that is surrounded around the bullied or

    Read More

  • Social Disorganisation Theory And Strain Theory

    1235 Words  | 3 Pages

    In classic strain theory it is said that, Classic strain theory focuses on that type of strain involving the inability to achieve success or gain a middle class status. General Strain theory focuses on a broad range of strains, including the inability to achieve a variety of goals, the loss of valued possessions, and negative treatment by others. General Strain Theory has been applied to a range of topics, including the explanation of gender, race/ethnicity, age, community, and societal differences in crime

    Read More

  • Essay On Group Proposal

    1362 Words  | 3 Pages

    Bullying is a challenge, and it affects individual students, as well as the entire community. Bullying occurs along a continuum, with students assuming bully, victim, and bully-victim roles (Espelage & Horne, 2008) and is believed to create severe and long-term mental and physical consequences (Hawker & Boulton, 2000; Lunde, Frisen, & Hwang, 2007; Rigby, 2003; Smith, Ananiadou, & Cowie, 2003; Stassen Berger, 2007).

    Read More

  • Bullying: A Repetitious Epidemic

    1608 Words  | 4 Pages

    “New bullying statistics for 2010 revealed about one in seven students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade is either a bully or has been a victim of bullying” (“Bullying Statistics 2010”). How does a person detect whether someone is being bullied? “A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself” (Olweus). Bullying takes place more in middle school because they are trying to fulfill a strong need for power, fit-in with their peers, and satisfy their pain. “Fear of being excluded by peers leads to by-standing, if the teen is aware of a bullying situation and decides to stay away or not get involved” (Vassar 26). Bully victims are targeted due to their sexuality, gender, religion, disabilities, and interests. 71 percent of the victims report bullying as an on-going problem. The effects of bullying can be best understood through the types of bullying, consequences of bullying, and legal policies prohibiting all forms of bullying.

    Read More

  • Victimization And Victimization By Bullying

    1558 Words  | 4 Pages

    They are branded by the fear and the intimidation inflicted upon them has reduced them to a fractured spirit lacking determination. There is only a short amount of time before the victim begins to believe and consider the words, threats, and accusations of their tormentor and decide that a life of torment isn’t worth living. Bullying and suicide have become a common association in recent years as bullying has become prevalent among adolescents. “According to the 2005–2006 national Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) Survey, 34.4 % of U.S. students in Grades 6 through 10 reported bullying others in the past 30 days (Ha, 2015). However, rates of verbal bullying perpetration were higher (i.e., 37.4 %), while rates of relational bullying were slightly lower (i.e., 27.2 %; Wang, Iannotti, & Nansel, 2009). About 27.8 % of youth reported bullying victimization (School Crime Supplement; Robers, Kemp, & Truman, 2013), however rates of specific forms of victimization are higher (e.g., 41.0 % reported relational bullying victimization and 36.5 % reported verbal bullying victimization; Wang et al. 2009). Further, bullying is an international problem and in a sample of 202,056 youth from 40 countries, 26.9 % reported involvement in the bullying dynamic (Craig et al., 2009)” (Evans 365-375). Bullying is a widespread issue, causing harm to the social dynamic of today’s youth and impacting the way victims maintain

    Read More

  • Violence in Our Schools

    1256 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many instances of bullying behavior can be linked back to the climate in which a child was raised. Those who are raised in poverty or who have no good role models will frequently suffer due to the lack of examples of adults in productive roles. If the “coolest” guy in the neighborhood is a gang member, then his or her bullying behavior will be emulated by the children in the neighborhood, continuing the cycle of abuse. This pattern usually leads to other negative traits such as becoming easily provoked and developing an inability to solve problems effectively. When these traits are continued in the school system, they are compounded by peer-pressure and the lack of faculty support. The bullies soon learn that they are free to abuse whomever they wish, and although faculty and staff help when they can, there are simply not enough resources necessary to catch and prevent bullies from targeting their peers (Bennett-Johnson, June 2004 p199).

    Read More

  • Bullying

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bullying contributes to the nationwide dilemma of juvenile delinquency. Researching effects of all types of bullying can broaden our understanding of victimization from unimportant to grave in scope. While much victimization is during high school stages, it carries along into adulthood. There are correlations between bullying, juvenile delinquency, and criminal activity. Stopping bullying can lower the rates of juvenile delinquency and future criminal activity. This is why it is vital to understand the victimization process and effects.

    Read More

  • Why Being a Victim to Bullying can Lead to Future Problems in Life

    1462 Words  | 3 Pages

    As future law enforcement officials, we understand it is imperative for police officers to understand and know the law to be able to enforce it. It is also important for police officers to have an understanding of why people commit criminal and deviant acts. If they understood why the person committed the crime, they might be able to go to the root of the problem to try to prevent other people from committing similar crimes. There are many different theories developed by criminologists that try to pinpoint why people engage in criminal or deviant behaviour. This paper will use the strain theory to help us understand why being a victim to bullying can lead to future problems in life; such as, participating in criminal or deviant behaviours. Almost half of Canada’s youth have been exposed to bullying; therefore, understanding the repercussions of getting bullied is important. If the repercussions of bullying can be understood further, it will create an even bigger awareness around bullying and could help deter it in the future.

    Read More

  • Different Perspectives of Bullying

    1807 Words  | 4 Pages

    Everyone has been bullied or encountered someone being bullied at some point of their life. Whether it would be physically or verbally both can be exceedingly traumatizing and can have a long-term psychological influence on children’s development. Majority people may define bullying in a more physical term; nevertheless that’s not always the case. The act of bullying can occur in several ways and in reality affect the individual in the same way. Bullying is generally defined as repeated, negative, and harmful actions focused at target throughout a course of time, exhibiting a sense of power difference between the bully and the victim (Olweus, 1993; Limber & Mihalic, 1999 as cited from Douglas J. Boyle, 2005). A survey was conducted in the United States estimating that over six million children, about 30% in grade six through ten have experienced frequent bullying in a school environment (Nansel, 2001 as cited from Douglas J. Boyle, 2005). Many people might debate that bullying is something that every child goes through and is simply a part of growing up, although there are several damaging consequences that happens to the child’s brain. Bullying causes the child to feel upset, isolated, frightened, anxious, and depressed. They feel like they reason they are being picked on is because there is something wrong with them and may even lose their confidence feel unsafe going to school (Frenette, 2013 as cited from Douglas J. Boyle, 2005) Anthropologically, sociologically, or psychologically, bullying can be analyzed through different perspectives and several questions can be asked based on the topic:

    Read More

  • Strategies to Prevent Bullying in Schools

    566 Words  | 2 Pages

    A category of strategies to prevent bullying in schools is identifying the causes of bullying. One factor that may cause bullying is the students’s family life. The lack of love or approval and involvement from the parents or overly permissive parenting where there is a lack of supervision or no rules may initiate bullying as the child may feel insecure. Another factor that may cause bullying is peer pressure. Friends who are aggressive and hav...

    Read More

  • Essay About Bullying

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    Bullying among American elementary, middle and high school students is a growing problem. Bullying can be defined as the use of aggression, force, abuse, and intimidation to impose power or status over another person. More children are becoming victims of this often tragic problem today than ever before. In fact, one in seven students in grades K-12 is either a bully or a victim of bullying (MBNBD). It is estimated that 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of an attack or intimidation by other students (MBNBD). Bullying can be the result of prejudice based on race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, and appearance. Bullying is a problem because it affects a person’s self esteem and emotional health. Bullying can cause children or teens to feel tense, afraid, and can also affect an adolescent’s confidence.

    Read More

  • Preventing Bullying in School

    1443 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cook, C., Guerra, N., Kim, T., Sadek, S., Williams, K. (2010). Predictors of bullying and

    Read More

More about Determining the Cause of Bullying by Using Three Main Criminological Theories

Open Document