The current study focused on evaluating the association between bullying and school satisfaction among El Salvadorian primary school children. Participants within the study were asked to provide an understanding of bullying without prior explanation of the meaning or definition. Researchers DeSouza and Ribeiro state that “international definitions vary from culture to culture…it is important minimize socially desirable responses” (DeSouza & Riberio, 2005 p.13). The survey questions were presented in manner that would allow the participants to assess if they have ever been bullied or bullied other students. Espelage & Holt, 2001 argue that “questions presented that enable superiority rather than subjectivity prohibit the responder to associate bullying as being a mechanism of harm to the individual” (p.). The survey instrument administered illustrated similarity to the Bostworth et al (1999) study. In the Bostworth et al, the study found that 81% of the U.S. students in middle school reported at least one act of bullying; the current study found 30% indicated that they had been bullied at least once in the last year. The difference between the outcomes may potentially be relayed back to the interpretation of bullying across cultures. Although the primary objective did not conclude statistically significant results, studies have shown that bullying should be considered when examining school satisfaction. Verkuyten & Thijs (2002) state, “children perform better educationally when they are satisfied with school that involves minimal victimization” (p.222).
Findings of this study did not show significant secondary outcome measures of bullying versus quality of life. Although quality of life was measured with a participant ever being...
... middle of paper ...
...ture studies should explain the cultural definition of the term bullying/bullied or fighting for El Salvador, which would allow for reduced bias to occur in the data instrument. Other limitations of the study included obtaining data through a cross-sectional methodology rather than longitudinal. In addition, the sample population was derived from two schools rather than several schools within El Salvador. The data obtained inhibits the ability for the results to be generalized among a larger population, specifically when compared to past research that found more than one statistically significant outcome. The research instrument also presented limited answer choice responses, which in turn prohibited a thorough collection of data. Improvement of the instrument collection tool would aid in achieving the necessary outcome measurements at baseline with reduced bias.
Bullying has become a major problem facing the United States today. The American Psychological Association reports that roughly 40% to 80% of children are involved in bullying on some level during their time in school. (APA, 2014) The magnitude of the problem can be observed in the statistics. In the United States, a total of 4,080,879 children between the ages of five and 18 have been the victims of bullying compared to 3,892,199 who have reported that they have engaged in bullying someone else. Additionally, 851,755 said that they have been both the victim and the bully. That's a whopping 8,824,833 people in the United States that have been involved in bullying behavior on one level or another. (High, B., 2000 Census)
Bullying has been the getting more and more attention in research for the past few years, because many individuals have been seriously hurt physically, damaged psychologically, and even killed literally due to bully-ism. Since bullying is brought about by an imbalance of power is it fair to say, bullying is a systematic tool of violence used to intimidate and maintain dominance (Coloroso, p.
Many people find the word “bullying” hard to define. In fact, the definition of the word has changed greatly within the last ten years. The current definition of bullying, according to stopbullying.gov, is “unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is reappeared, or has the potential to be repeated over tim...
Bullying in school arises as a global issue, and people are becoming more aware of its essence and its consequences. Going to school should be like a second home, a safe, compliant place, but for some student, school can be a social nightmare. Some may view bullying as a harmless act, but it is in fact a dangerous act. Students that have been bullied tend to be emotionally unstable, depressed, loss of interest in school and they have a higher risk of becoming drug addicts and school dropout. Bullying does not only affect the person being bullied, but also the bully himself. Persons who are bullies are usually the ones with the most problems and they use bullying as a mask to hide all their problems. Students who bully are more prone to abuse alcohol and drugs, they usually engage in risky sexual activities and are more likely to grow up as criminal
Srabstein, Jorge C., and Bennett L. Leventhal. "Prevention of bullying-related morbidity and mortality: a call for public health policies." Bulletin of the World Health Organization. June 2010: 403. Global Issues In Context. Web. 24 Oct. 2011.
Imagine a society overrun by bullies. It would be awfully frightening if it was true, but it is. The Bully Society, by Jessie Klein discusses the many stories kids who are entangled with issues regarding bullying and how they are struggling to cope. Before Klein began writing her book, she worked for years as a high school teacher, a social worker, and a conflict resolution coordinator. Klein writes many scholarly journals, articles which have appeared in many well-known media organizations. One of her main goals as described on her website, www.JessieKlein.com, is “I hope to help schools build compassionate communities leading to more peaceful and productive education environments.” Klein is a very diligent and hardworking woman. She tries to emphasize the need for improvements whether it is about education or communities. She strives as an influential role model to possibly many of her past students and those she has encountered.
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:
In a CNN study by Chuck Hadad he states “That bullying is pervasive even though the schools have anti-bullying programs from kindergarten through 12th grade, assemblies throughout the year, and a peer-to-peer program where older students talk to younger students about the dangers of bullying” (Hadad). Robert Faris, a sociologist found that bullies and victims are generally the same person. Whe...
Bullying is a growing concern in a society where status and exercising power over another human being are increasingly important in developing one’s social circles. Dan Olweus (Norwegian researcher and founder of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program) defines it as an “aggressive behaviour that is intentional and that involves an imbalance of power. Most often, it is repeated over time” (Violencepreventionworks.org). School victimization is an especially delicate matter that has only really been in the public eye for the past half century, as more and more researchers and psychologists pointed out its short- and long-term negative effects on targeted individuals. It has since been widely investigated and numerous programs have been developed in an effort to address and prevent the many forms of bullying that exist today. The negative effects of such an abusive behaviour are various and can greatly differ from individual to individual. However, there are three main consequences that can be associated with school bullying, which are: school avoidance, depression/anxiety and even suicidal attempts.
Bullying has been a part of schooling for as long as children have been congregating. To some it seems like a natural, though uncomfortable, part of life and school experience, while to others it can mean terrifying experiences which spoiled and characterized otherwise happy years in school. Dan Olweus, a pioneer in bully behavior research documented that 2.7 million children are affected as victims, and that 2.1 children act as bullies (Fried, 1997, as cited in Aluedse, 2006). With bullying cited as the reason for violent, gun-related crime in the past few years, school districts as well as national governments have put anti-bullying policies in place. Bullying is a complicated phenomenon, involving more than one child demanding lunch money from a smaller child. It is a worldwide epidemic hitting schools everywhere. Virtually everyone has seen or experienced bullying. With technological advances, bullying is even hitting the internet. Parents, teachers, students and governments agencies alike are attempting to put a stop to bullying practices.
Bullying is a devastating issue that threatens the well-being of today’s youth. Those who are most likely at risk are those who; have a learning or physical disability i.g., autism or ADHD, are underweight or overweight, are gay/lesbian/transgendered, or speak a different language. Of course, there are no specific guidelines of who will become victims of bullying. Children who are bullied experience lower self-esteem, greater loneliness, greater anxiety, and more depression in addition to the already stressful adolescent years. The longer the bullying occurs the more profound the symptoms can become. As a low-level, subtle form of violence, bullying creates an unsafe school environment and can lead to more serious types of violence among students (Whitted & Dupper, 2005).
Cook, C., Guerra, N., Kim, T., Sadek, S., Williams, K. (2010). Predictors of bullying and
Bullying has always been present within the United States. Although the issue has been around for a long time, it continues to grow and become more of problem. It is said that about 160,000 children within the United States are refusing to go to school because of bullying. Another statistic is that within American schools alone, there are an estimated 2.1 billion bullies and 2.7 billion victims (Dan Olewus, MBNBD). The numbers presented here are outrageous and although there are organizations to stop bullying, obviously there needs to be a new set of solutions. Any type of bullying presents problems to children, “Suicide, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, trouble with the law, poor performance in school and work, and lack of involvement in socially accepted activities are some of the difficulties resulting from bullying (Austin, Reynolds, Barnes, Shirley). Of course, there is more than just a single type of bullying. Feeding ground for bullies can range anywhere from text-message or cyberbullying to physical bullying in schools. Also, bullies can begin to strike at a young age and could also be; teenage, middle-age, or even the elderly. Even though there are these many versions of problematic bullies, the largest bullying problems take place within the school setting: a place that is supposed to be safe for children rather than harmful. Although it seems impossible to completely get rid of bullying, these are a few suggested solutions; making the school informed on bullying issues, schools implementing rules on bullying, and having students positively use electronics to stop bullying.
Bullying is something that is not something new and is actually something that society continues to face. Over the years, bullying has been looked at as being so ordinary in schools that it is continuously overlooked as an emanate threat to students and has been lowered to a belief that bullying is a part of the developmental stage that most young children will experience then overcome (Allebeck, 2005, p. 129). Not everyone gets over the extreme hurt that can come as an effect from bullying, for both the bully and the victim. Because of this, we now see bullying affecting places such as the workplace, social events and even the home. The issue of bullying is not only experienced in schools, but the school environment is one of the best places
Bullying can also be considered as a major problem in the teenager bracket. This can occur in any social environment not just schools as mostly portrayed. Bullyi...