Bullies and the Bullied: The Nature of Bullying in Schools

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Bullies and the Bullied The Nature of Bullying
in Schools

• Lisa DeSouza
• Academic and Professional Tutor, University of
  Nottingham
• And
• Joint Acting Principal Educational Psychologist,
  Nottingham City
• February 2007

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Learning Outcomes

• Definitions of bullying in schools
• Prevalence of bullying in schools
• Effects of bullying
• Characteristics of those who bully and those who
  are bullied
• Influence of bystander behaviour
• Homophobic and racist bullying
• Interventions used in schools to tackle bullying
• The role of parents
• The role of educational psychologists

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What is bullying?

• No universal definition
• Direct physical aggression
• Direct verbal aggression
• Indirect aggression/relational bullying

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What is bullying?

• We say a child or young person is being bullied,
  or picked on when another child or young person,
  or a group of children or young people, say nasty
  and unpleasant things to him/her. It is also
  bullying when a child or a young person is hit,
  kicked threatened, locked inside a room, sent
  nasty notes, when no-one ever talks to them and
  things like that. These things can happen
  frequently and it is difficult for the child or
  the young person being bullied to defend
  himself/herself. It is also bullying when a
  child or young person is teased repeatedly in a
  nasty way. But it is not bullying when two
  children or young people of about the same
  strength have the odd fight or quarrel.
• (From Whitney Smith, 1993 and Olweus, 1989,
  1993, 1999)

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Prevalence of Bullying in Schools

• Rates of bullying vary depending on type of
  approach used to measure its extent
• Main measures used
• Childrens self report
• Teacher reports
• Observational studies
• Parental reports
• Peer nominations

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Prevalence of Bullying in Schools

• Physical and verbal bullying in primary schools
  estimates range from 8 to 46 (based on
  self-reports)
• Lower proportions of pupils reported bullying in
  secondary schools
• Reporting less likely in schools perceived as
  being tolerant of bullying
• Inaccurate figures due varying definitions of
  bullying

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Why Children are Bullied Potential Risk Factors

• Difficulties with social skills/social competence
  and self-esteem
• Lack of social support systems
• Children with special educational needs

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Effects of Bullying on Victims

• Academic achievement
• Mental Health
• Physical Health
• Adverse effects in adulthood

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Characteristics of Those who Bully

• Being victimised/bullied
• Two groups socially skilled vs. socially
  unskilled
• More aggressive, lack of empathy
• Home backgrounds-less affection, more violence

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Effects of Bullying on Bullies

• Increased risk of depression
• Higher risk of criminal activity

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Responses to Bullying

• Aggressive response
• Passive unconstructive response
• Passive constructive response
• Assertive response
• (From Sharp Cowie, 1994)

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Bystander Behaviour

• Bullying occurs in groups
• Bystanders key in either sustaining or preventing
  bullying
• Bystanders often afraid of becoming involved

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Bystander Behaviour

• Perhaps the most important factor in combating
  bullying is the social pressure brought to bear
  by the peer group rather than the condemnation of
  individual bullies by someone in authority
  (Herbert, 1989 pp79-80)

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Role of Bystanders

• Assistants
• Reinforcers
• Outsiders
• Defenders
• (Salmivalli, 1996, 1999)

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Bystander Behaviour

• 9 - bystanders supported victim
• 6 - bystanders attempted a resolution
• 55 - bystanders made no response to help
• 7 - bystanders smiled/laughed
• 24 - bystanders supported bully
• (Tapper Boulton, 2005)

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Homophobic and Racist Bullying

• Little research in this area
• Higher risk of being bullied if from an ethnic
  minority
• Clear relationship between individualised racial
  bullying and institutional racial bullying

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Homophobic and Racist Bullying

• Homophobia has increased rather than decreased
  over last 20 years
• 30-50 of young people attracted to others of
  same sex have experienced homophobic bullying in
  secondary schools (Warwick et al 2004)
• Bullying long term, systematic and carried out by
  groups of peers as opposed to individuals

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Strategies to tackle Homophobic and Racist
Bullying

• Support by school staff to victims of
  racist/homophobic bullying
• Schools open to discuss matters of sexual
  orientation
• Staff aware of issues re psychosexual development
  in childhood and adolescents
• Training/awareness raising for staff
• Clear procedures in place to challenge racism and
  homophobia

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The Involvement of Parents/Carers

• Assisting their children to develop social
  competence
• Parental alertness to possibility of bullying
• Awareness of schools anti-bullying policy
• Training workshops for parents/carers

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Anti-Bullying Interventions

• Peer support approaches
• Co-operative group work
• Circle Time
• Befriending/Buddy Schemes
• Circles of Friends
• Conflict resolution/mediation
• Peer Tutoring
• Peer Counselling
• Peer mentoring

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Anti-Bullying Interventions

• Pikas Method of Shared Concern
• Stage 1 Meeting with group members
• Stage 2 Meeting with person who has been
  bullied
• Stage 3 Further Meetings with group members
• Stage 4 Further meeting with all the group
  members
• (Pikas, 1987)

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Anti-Bullying Interventions

• The No-Blame Approach
• Interview bullied pupil
• Arrange a meeting for all pupils who are involved
• Explain the problem
• Share responsibility
• Identify solutions
• Let pupils take action themselves
• Meet them again
• (Maines Robinson, 1992)

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Anti-bullying Interventions

• Assertiveness Training for bullied pupils
• Body Language and eye contact
• Assertive Statements
• Resisting manipulation and threats
• Responding to name calling
• Enlisting support
• (From Sharp et al, 1994)
• Assertiveness training for bystanders

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Anti-Bullying Interventions

• Developing a whole-school anti-bullying policy
• Government initiatives used in schools
• Dont Suffer in Silence (DfEE, 1994)
• Promoting Emotional Health and Wellbeing (Healthy
  Schools, 2004)
• SEAL Materials Social and Emotional Aspects of
  Learning

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Role of the Educational Psychologist

• Supporting the implementation of anti-bullying
  interventions
• Supporting schools in designing appropriate
  anti-bullying policies
• Providing training and awareness raising
  programmes on bullying to staff, pupils and
  parents

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Key References

• DECP (2006) British Psychological Society
  Submission to the Education and Skills Select
  Committee Inquiry into Bullying www.bps.org.uk
• Olweus, D. (1993) Bullying at School What we
  know and what we can do Blackwell
• Reid, P., Monsen, J. Rivers, I. (2004)
  Psychologys Contribution to Understanding and
  Managing Bullying within Schools Educational
  Psychology in Practice Vol 20, No 3 pp 241-268

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Key References

• Rigby, K. (2002) New Perspectives on Bullying
  Jessica Kingsley Publishers
• Smith, P.K. Sharp, S. (Eds) (1994) School
  Bullying Insights and Perspectives London
  Routledge