Bullying:

1
Bullying What We Know Stuart Green, DMH,
LCSW Behavioral Scientist, Overlook Medical
Center, Atlantic Health System NJ Coalition for
Bullying Awareness and Prevention www.njbullying.o
rg
2
Olweus
3
Traditional view 'boys will be boys', 'girls are
mean' its a dog-eat-dog world life is cruel
rite of passage people are like that you
have to get tough competition builds character
you can handle it life isnt always fair
inevitable, the nature of children/people, growth
experience, strengthening S. Green,
www.njbullying.org
4

• Modern view bullying is created by adults
• modeling of bullying behavior
• acceptance of bullying as normal
• inaction when bullying occurs
• exposing persons to social systems in which
  bullying is rewarded or implicitly accepted.
• S. Green, www.njbullying.org

5

• NJ Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights HIB Definition
• HIB means any gesture, any written, verbal or
  physical act, or any electronic communication,
  whether it be a single incident or a series of
  incidents, that
• Is reasonably perceived as being motivated
  either by an actual or perceived characteristic,
  such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national
  origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender
  identity and expression, or a mental, physical or
  sensory disability, or by any other
  distinguishing characteristic
• Takes place on school property, at any
  school-sponsored function, or on a school bus or
  off school grounds
• Substantially disrupts or interferes with the
  orderly operation of the school or the rights of
  other students and that
• A reasonable person should know, under the
  circumstances, will have the effect of physically
  or emotionally harming a student or damaging the
  students property, or placing a student in
  reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm to
  his person or damage to his property or
• Has the effect of insulting or demeaning any
  student or group of students or
• Creates a hostile educational environment for
  the student by interfering with a students
  education or by severely or pervasively causing
  physical or emotional harm to the student.

6

• DEFINITION OF BULLYING
• A person is being bullied when
• he or she is exposed repeatedly to negative acts
  by a peer or peers
• there is intent to harm
• there is an imbalance of power so that the
  person who is being bullied has a difficult time
  defending himself or herself.
• S. Green, www.njbullying.org

7

• Bullying may involve either
• direct actions (e.g., hitting, name-calling,
  texting)
• indirect actions (e.g., avoiding, social
  exclusion, spreading rumors, texting others,
  altering a website)
• S. Green, www.njbullying.org

8
BEHAVIORS Made fun of, called names,
insulted Subject of rumors Pushed, shoved,
tripped, or spit on Threatened with harm
Excluded from activities on purpose Tried to
make them do something they did not want to
do Property destroyed on purpose (School year
2008-2009, range 18-3) SOURCE U.S.
Department of Education, Institute of Education
Sciences, National Center for Education
Statistics, Student Reports of Bullying and
Cyber-Bullying Results From the 2009 School
Crime Supplement to the National Crime
Victimization Survey Web Tables (NCES 2011-336).
9

• Among students ages 12-18 who reported being
  bullied at school during the 2008-2009 school
  year (40 gr 6, 20 gr 12)
• 47.2 percent of students reported being bullied
  in a hallway or stairwell.
• 33.6 percent of students reported being bullied
  in a classroom.
• SOURCE U.S. Department of Education, Institute
  of Education Sciences, National Center for
  Education Statistics, Student Reports of
  Bullying and Cyber-Bullying Results From the
  2009 School Crime Supplement to the National
  Crime Victimization Survey Web Tables (NCES
  2011-336).

10
Teasing/Normal Conflict Bullying
Variability in roles (negative acts in both directions) Always the same target
Primary goal is not to harm. Intent to harm
Playful or limited in extent, because participants equal in power Harmful, directed at vulnerabilities, negative acts increase with targets distress
Relationship valued for mutual benefit, concern for other Seeking power, control or material gain as primary motive for relationship
Remorseful, takes responsibility, makes effort to address problem No remorse, blames victim, discounts targets point of view

Modified from schwablearning.org orig. Bullying at School, D. Olweus

11

• Bullying Remains Pervasive
• 7 million (28) U.S. students 12-18 bullied at
  school 20082009 school year
• 1.5 million (6) reported being cyber-bullied
  at/away from school

n/a
n/a
Data Source 2009 School Crime Supplement (SCS)
to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
12

• Prevalence
• most common serious problem of the school-age
  child
• wide world occurrence
• middle school years peak period
• in U.S., 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)
  indicated that 20 of students had experienced
  some form of bullying on school property during
  the survey year
• 10-40 of youth reported being victims of some
  form of cyberbullying
• 20 admitted to cyberbullying others
• 27 of youth who were victims of cyberbullying
  had also carried a weapon to school
• Youth cyberbullied much more fearful
• S. Green, www.njbullying.org

13

• PREVALENCE
• The range of American high school students who
  report being bullied to be between 19 and 47.
  U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 2011
• 87 of school staff reported witnessing bullying
  and 43 of teachers stated they would categorize
  bullying in their school as a moderate to major
  problem. National Education Association
  (Bradshaw, Waasdorp, Obrennan, Gulemetova,
  2011)
• 32 of youth ages 12-18 report having been
  bullied in the last school year. U.S. Bureau of
  Justice Indicators of School Crime and Safety
  (Robers, Zhang, Truman, Snyder, 2010)
• Findings from a large nationally representative
  U.S. sample of 6th -10th graders, found the
  following prevalence rates 20.8 physical
  bullying 53.6 verbal bullying 51.4
  relational bullying 13.6 cyberbullying (Wang et
  al., 2009).
• Review of 7 studies 2004-2010 found lifetime
  cyberbullying victimization rates for youth of
  20-40 (Hinduja Patchin, 2010)

14
Bullying by Grade Level
Percent of all students ages 12-18 who reported
being bullied during the 2008-2009 school year,
by grade level
Percentage of Students
36.3 of bullied students reported that they
notified a teacher or some other adult at school.
IMPLICATIONS?
SOURCE U.S. Department of Education, Institute
of Education Sciences, National Center for
Education Statistics, Student Reports of
Bullying and Cyber-Bullying Results From the
2009 School Crime Supplement to the National
Crime Victimization Survey Web Tables (NCES
2011-336).
15
Specific Bullying Behaviors
Percent of students ages 12-18 who reported being
bullied at school during the 2008-2009 school
year, by type of bullying
SOURCE U.S. Department of Education, Institute
of Education Sciences, National Center for
Education Statistics, Student Reports of
Bullying and Cyber-Bullying Results From the
2009 School Crime Supplement to the National
Crime Victimization Survey Web Tables (NCES
2011-336).
16
Cyberbullying Fear and Avoidance
A higher percentage of students ages 12-18 who
reported being cyber-bullied anywhere during the
2008-09 school year
What is the basic message in this data?
SOURCE U.S. Department of Education, Institute
of Education Sciences, National Center for
Education Statistics, Student Reports of
Bullying and Cyber-Bullying Results From the
2009 School Crime Supplement to the National
Crime Victimization Survey Web Tables (NCES
2011-336).
17

• What Do We Know About Cyberbullying?
• Variable estimates of U.S. offending and
  victimization
• Nationally representative sample of 2,051
  adolescents (ages, 10-17) as part of the National
  Survey of Childrens Exposure to Violence (2008)
• 6 reported a past-year and 9 lifetime online
  victimization, and 96 of those reported offline
  victimization, mainly sexual in nature
• Online victims also reported elevated rates of
  trauma symptomatology, delinquency, and life
  adversity. (Mitchell et al., 2011)
• Review of 7 studies 2004-2010 found lifetime
  cyberbullying victimization rates for youth of
  20-40 (Hinduja Patchin, 2010)

18
(No Transcript)
19
Pew Research Center November, 2011 Report Teens,
Kindness and Cruelty on Social Network Sites
http//pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Teens-and-soci
al-media.aspx
20

• Bullying Experiences of Particular Groups
• Student with disabilities tend to experience
  more bullying than students without disabilities
  (verbal, physical, exclusion)
• 2009 GLSEN national school climate survey found
• Nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students (middle/high
  school) experienced harassment at school in past
  year and nearly two-thirds felt unsafe because of
  their sexual orientation.
• For 2008-2009 school year (age 12-18), bullied
  rates for white/black ( 29) Hispanic ( 25)
  Asian ( 17) NCES
• For 2008-2009 school year (age 12-18), rates of
  being bullied 29.5 for females versus 26.6 for
  males NCES

21

• All persons affected (the Bullying Circle)
• as bullying or bullied
• as bystanders (active, passive, activated)
• feel afraid, powerless, guilty, diminished
  empathy
• tension, numbing, fears of openness and
  self-expression
• wide range of lasting negative effects
• S. Green, www.njbullying.org

22
There is evidence that bullying is harmful
(mainly to those targeted) in the following
ways Added injury In children already
suffering or at risk from a wide range of
illnesses, conditions and characteristics,
bullying increases their vulnerability and
suffering. A source of problems children may
not have developed certain problems or developed
the problems as severely if bullying had not
occurred. A sign of problems indicates that
other serious problems are present, in the child
and in the school/setting. S. Green,
www.njbullying.org
23
academic performance, accidents and
injury adolescent HR-QOL, adult workplace
bullying, alcohol/tobacco and other drug use,
animal abuse, Asperger's (and other dev dis),
binge eating disorder, body dysmorphic disorder,
childhood eczema, cleft lip/palate, poor diabetes
self-management, feeling unsafe at school, gang
involvement, IBD, lack of help-seeking and
self-identification in hard-of-hearing youth,
learning differences, low self-esteem, obesity,
inhibited physical activity (including in youth
who are obese), substance use, stuttering,
psychosis, anxiety / depression, voiding
problems, obesity, recurrent abdominal pain,
suicide, weapon-carrying and school shootings
(Varese et al, Childhood adversities , Schiz
Bull, 2012) (even more associated w
cyberbullying) S. Green, www.njbullying.org
24

• School Climate Matters Psychological Well-Being
• Being bullied and related victimization
  experiences produce psychosocial adjustment
  problems such as
• depression
• anxiety
• attentional problems
• social withdrawal
• which in turn lead to school avoidance and
  reduced motivation to engage in learning
  activities

(Arseneault et al., 2006 Bierman, 2004 Buhs,
Ladd, Herald, 2006 Cornell Mayer, 2010
Juvonen, Witkow, 2005 Ladd, 2003 Mayer
Furlong, 2010 Nansel et al., 2001 Mayer, 2010
Schwartz, Gorman, Nakamoto, Toblin, 2005)
25
School Climate Matters Analogy To Child Neglect

• Severe physical child abuse is analogous to
  school shooting
• Severe harm
• High profile and obvious
• Quick, visible systemic response
• Long-term child neglect is analogous to long-term
  bullying, intimidation, and incivility in
  schools toxic school environments
• Harm is real, substantial
• Not so obvious
• Marginal systemic response
• Long-term harassment, intimidation, and bullying
  in schools that remain under addressed
  constitutes a form of systemic educational
  neglect (Mayer Furlong, 2010)

26

• Gender (and other) differences
• males more likely to bully (males, females)
• males more likely to be bullied by males than
  females.
• in females, 'relational aggression' more common
  (manipulating relationships for negative effects
  on a peer) (males also engage in this)
• lgbt students more likely to be victimized)
  (Nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students (middle/high
  school) experienced harassment at school in past
  year and nearly two-thirds felt unsafe because of
  their sexual orientation.)
• S. Green, www.njbullying.org

27

• Those who bully
• difficult relationships with peers and at home
• more alcohol and tobacco use
• more authoritarian parenting
• but
• have good self-esteem
• adequate academic performance
• good social skills
• and are often popular
• Bully/Victims
• A small number of children both bully and are
  bullied
• And tend to have more problems
• S. Green, www.njbullying.org

28
School Climate Matters Psychological
Well-Being Children who bully are at higher risk
of subsequent involvement in the criminal justice
system and of continuing bullying in adult
life.
(Arseneault et al., 2006 Bierman, 2004 Buhs,
Ladd, Herald, 2006 Cornell Mayer, 2010
Juvonen, Witkow, 2005 Ladd, 2003 Mayer
Furlong, 2010 Nansel et al., 2001 Mayer, 2010
Schwartz, Gorman, Nakamoto, Toblin, 2005)
29

• Characteristics targeted for bullying
• 1. looks (e.g., obesity/shortness/)
• 2. race
• 3. gender identify and expression
• 4. poverty (family income)
• 5. religion
• 6. disability (e.g., learning differences,
  special health needs)
• 7. other characteristics (shyness, emotional
  expressiveness, less strength/athleticism, family
  conflict)
• (ref Youth Voices Project, Stan Davis, Charisse
  Nixon)
• Any perceived difference.

30
(from MSNBC.com, 4-19-12) 4.2 million
settlement for student paralyzed by bully
Rosenstein family Sawyer Rosenstein with his
father, Joel, and mother, Cheri, on a family
vacation in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 2011. By
Miranda Leitsinger, msnbc.com   When Sawyer
Rosenstein was 12, a punch from a bully changed
his life forever, leaving him paralyzed, and at
times, near death from the complications of his
condition. Now, six years after the assault, the
New Jersey school board in the district where he
was a student has agreed to a 4.2 million
settlement. It feels really great to finally
have just a sense of closure that this really
difficult part of my life is behind me,
Rosenstein, an 18-year-old freshman majoring in
communication at Syracuse University, told
msnbc.com. I can actually focus on all of the
successful things that I am doing now and all of
the successful plans that I have for my future.
When Sawyer Rosenstein was 12, a punch from a bully changed his life forever, leaving him paralyzed, and at times, near death from the complications of his condition. Now, six years after the assault, the New Jersey school board in the district where he was a student has agreed to a 4.2 million settlement.