Childhood Bullying: What We Know

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Childhood BullyingWhat We Know and Can Do

• Stuart Green, DMH, LCSW, MA
• Behavioral Scientist/Medical Education, Overlook
  Hospital
• Associate Director, Overlook Family Medicine
  Residency
• Director, NJ Coalition for Bullying Awareness
• www.njbullying.org

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OLWEUS

• A tragedy driven field
• Dan Olweus, PhD

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TRADITIONAL VIEW

• Lord of the Flies
• normal, inevitable, 'rite of passage', the
  nature of children
• 'bad' families/communities, innocent schools

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MODERN VIEW

• Bullying at school (Willie Sutton)
• Environmental (school).
• Adults as primary factors.

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DEFINITION

• A pattern of negative acts toward a child by a
  peer, in which there is an imbalance of power so
  that the child who is bullied has a difficult
  time defending himself or herself, and there is
  an intent to harm on the part of those bullying.
• Direct (to the bullied child) e.g., hitting,
  name-calling, texting/emailing.
• Indirect (to others, impacting a targeted
  child) relational aggression, isolation,
  exclusion, rumors - emailing about, webposting
• Gender differences boys more

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THE BULLYING CIRCLE

• The bullying child/children
• The bullied child
• Bystanders
• o Active
• o Passive
• o 'Activated'

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PREVALENCE

• One of the most common serious problems of the
  school-age child
• Wide worldwide range
• Varies by gender
• Gender identify and expression, and obesity
  most targeted.
• Middle school years the peak
• Prevalence is 100?

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CYBERBULLYING

• Electronic/digital
• A 'better' way (for violence)
• o wider potential 'audience'
• o anonymity
• o easier, safer (for those bullying)
• o no escape (for the bullied)
• o no adults.
• New but growing (bigger than 'offline'?)

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CYBERBULLYING continued...

• Different than offline
• o more bully/victims
• o more girls
• o self-harm 'support'
• Same as it ever was
• o bullied offline and online
• o still mostly school-based

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EFFECTS (BULLIED CHILDREN)

• Added injury
• o obesity
• o (inhibited) gender identity and expression
• o race/ethnicity, immigrant status, lower SES,
  being new in a school
• o being shorter, less physical strength or
  agility/athleticism
• o developmental disorders/conditions (CP,
  autistic spectrum disorders)

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EFFECTS (BULLIED CHILDREN)continued...

• o shyness, less assertive, isolated, lonely, no
  buffer (friends)
• o more victimized or maltreated in the
  community or family
• o 'sensitive'/emotionally expressive
• o Tourettes, eczema, cleft lip and palate
• o chronic abdominal pain, IBS, IBD, special
  health needs
• o learning differences, ADHD
• o cancer

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EFFECTS (BULLIED CHILDREN)continued...

• Source of problems
• o school absence
• o anxiety (into adulthood), depression, low
  self-esteem (into adulthood)
• o suicidal thoughts
• o lower school performance
• o health symptoms and doctor visits
• o impaired diabetes self-management
• o worrying by parents and siblings

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EFFECTS (BULLIED CHILDREN)continued...

• Source of problems
• o lack of help-seeking/self-identification in
  hard- of-hearing youth
• o low body satisfaction
• o inactivity, obesity/disordered eating
• o gang affiliation, weapon-carrying at school
• o dysfunctional voiding - enuresis/ encopresis
• o PTSD

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BUT...

• stigmatization, isolation, decreased
  popularity
• developmentally normal or common
• difficult to change
• children without these
  characteristics also bullied.

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• BULLYING CHILDREN
• o alcohol and tobacco use
• o lower academic achievement
• o aggression and anti-social behavior
• o ADHD, impulsivity
• o less empathic
• o family problems (authoritarian)

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• BUT...
• good self-esteem
• adequate academics
• good social skills
• popular or leaders
• BULLY / VICTIMS
• Tend to have more problems

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SPECULATIONS

• o Garbarino - teen pregnancy as a 'side- effect'
• o bullying as a key negative impact on schools
• 'white flight'/adult-risk-taking

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WHAT WORKS - Overview

• Whole school - or 'systemic' - model
• Goal Change school climate
• All adults/groups involved, including
  parents
• Interventions at level of school, classroom
  and individual.
• Ongoing, at least 3 years.
• Increased support for vulnerable/targeted
  children.
• Activate positive bystanders.
• Efficacy 0 to 50 (!) (Rigby)

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WHAT CAN SCHOOLS DO?

• Change School Climate (prepare the soil)
• positive relations and shared understanding
  between staff
• increase positive staff-student interactions
• not favor some groups over others (e.g.,
  diverse clubs)
• staff-student/community 'match'
  (complementary diversity)
• clear/consensus expectations ('how we do things
  here').

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WHAT CAN SCHOOLS DO?

• Systematic Work/All Levels
• Schoolwide
• school survey, pre- mid- post -
• anonymous reporting system, ongoing
• effort to identify all incidents/relationships
• coordinating group/ staff discussions/
  training
• administrative support
• supervise high-risk areas/situations
  (schoolyard, lunchroom, locker room, team
  activities, school bus, cyberspace)
• consistent rules and sanctions well known
  (students, staff, parents).

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WHAT CAN SCHOOLS DO?

• Classroom
• regular meetings
• proactive work on relationships
• parent involvement (barriers/myths - kids
  don't want them? parent behav?)
• collaborative learning (jigsaw) (Aronson)
• topic integration (all subjects, classes).

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WHAT CAN SCHOOLS DO?

• Individual
• meeting with each child who bullies
• 4 questions did? harm? problem? plan!
• apply consequence (invariable/escalating/
  reasonable)
• call parent/s

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WHAT CAN SCHOOLS DO?

• meeting with each child bullied
• o call/see parent/s
• o apologize/take responsibility
• o absolve bullied child (DV)
• o commit to f/u.

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WHAT CAN SCHOOLS DO?

• increased support for targeted/at-risk kids
• proactive/creative
• activate child bystanders (eg.,
  friendship circles, telling)
• follow-up/protect - address retaliation

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Proactive, Preventive, Ongoing
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What can schools do about cyberbullying?

• Include cyberbullying in all anti-bullying
  programs/materials.
• Monitor computer/device use, restrict access/use.
  
• Establish an electronic anonymous reporting
  mechanism.
• Train staff and educate students.
• Accept that cyberbullying is a school
  responsibility.

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What can parents do about bullying?

• Good relations/communication with children.
• Inform yourself.
• Expect/ ask/ demand adequate school action.
• Expect/ ask/ demand that owners of social
  networking sites and internet providers address
  bullying.
• Ask your child how children treat other
  children at school (and how your child is
  treated) listening is more important than
  advice.

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What can parents do about bullying?

• When you hear children speak badly of another
  child, gently express discomfort, and empathy
  for the scorned child.
• Be present at your child's school don't wait to
  be invited, ask to volunteer.
• Take action with other concerned parents.
• Meet (as a group) with school leaders ask
  specifically about schools approach.

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What can parents do about bullying?

• Never ignore bullying, don't walk by if you
  can't intervene directly, report it.
• Support bullied kids in every possible way.
• Seek legal advice and government support.
• Don't accept leaders who bully, including
  teachers speak out, insist on change.
• Consider changing schools, if possible, as a
  last resort.

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What Can Pediatricians Do?

• Screen for bullying involvement, consider
  bullying as a factor or even cause of presenting
  problems.
• Call on the school for corrective action,
  emphasize support for child/family.
• Have a bullying-aware office.
• As community leaders, expect schools to address
  bullying, raise parental expectations.

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OLWEUS Our moral obligation to help bullied
children.
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KEY REFERENCESCyberbullying and
Cyberthreats, Nancy E. Willard, Research Press,
2007. http//cyberbully.orgSchools Where
Everyone Belongs Practical Strategies for
Reducing Bullying, Stan Davis, Research Press,
2003. www.stopbullyingnow.com, stopbullyingworld.c
omBullying at School, Dan Olweus, Blackwell,
1993. NJ Coalition for Bullying Awareness and
Prevention. www.njbullying.org. Stuart
Green.StopBullyingNow.org. HRSA. Susan
Limber.Arseneault L, Milne BJ, Taylor A, Adams
F, Delgado K, Caspi A, Moffitt TE.Being Bullied
as an Environmentally Mediated Contributing
Factor to Children's Internalizing Problems A
Study of Twins Discordant for VictimizationArch
Pediatr Adolesc Med, Feb 2008 162
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