Bullying
Bullying is the use of force,
threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or
aggressively dominateothers. The behavior is often repeated and habitual.
One essential prerequisite is the perception, by the bully or by others, of an
imbalance of social or physical power.
Behaviors used to assert such domination can include verbal harassment or threat, physical assault or coercion, and such
acts may be directed repeatedly towards particular targets. Rationalizations
for such behavior sometimes include differences of social class, race,
religion, gender, sexual orientation, appearance, behavior, body language,
personality, reputation, lineage, strength, size or ability.[1][2] If bullying is done by a
group, it is called mobbing.[3] "Targets" of
bullying are also sometimes referred to as "victims" of bullying.
Bullying can be defined in many different
ways. The UK has no legal definition
of bullying,[4] while
some U.S. states have laws against
it.[5] Bullying is divided into
four basic types of abuse –emotional (sometimes called
relational), verbal, physical, and
cyber.[6] It typically involves
subtle methods of coercion, such as intimidation.
Bullying ranges from simple one-on-one
bullying to more complex bullying in which the bully may have one or more
"lieutenants" who may seem to be willing to assist the primary bully
in his or her bullying activities. Bullying in school and the workplace is also
referred to as peer abuse.[7] Robert W. Fuller has analyzed bullying in
the context of rankism.
A bullying culture can develop in any
context in which animals interact with each other. This includes school,
family, the workplace,
home, and neighborhoods. In a 2012 study of male adolescent American football
players, "the strongest predictor was the perception of whether the most
influential male in a player's life would approve of the bullying
behavior".
Characteristics
Studies have shown that envy and resentment
may be motives for bullying.[13] Research on the
self-esteem of bullies has produced equivocal results.[14][15] While some bullies are
arrogant and narcissistic,[16] bullies can also use
bullying as a tool to conceal shame or anxiety or to boost self-esteem: by
demeaning others, the abuser feels empowered.[17] Bullies may bully out of
jealousy or because they themselves are bullied.[18]
Researchers have identified other risk factors
such as depression[19] and personality
disorders,[20]as
well as quickness to anger and use of force, addiction to aggressive behaviors,
mistaking others' actions as hostile, concern with preserving self image, and
engaging in obsessive or rigid actions.[21] A combination of these
factors may also be causes of this behavior.[22] In one study of youth, a
combination of antisocial traits and depression was found to be the best
predictor of youth violence, whereas video game violence and television
violence exposure were not predictive of these behaviors.
Bullying
may also result from a genetic predisposition or a brain abnormality in the
bully.[24] While parents can help a
toddler develop emotional regulation and control to restrict aggressive
behavior, some children fail to develop these skills due to insecure attachment
with their families, ineffective discipline, and environmental factors such as
a stressful home life and hostile siblings.[10] Moreover, according to some
researchers, bullies may be inclined toward negativity and perform poorly
academically. Dr. Cook says that "a typical bully has trouble resolving
problems with others and also has trouble academically. He or she usually has
negative attitudes and beliefs about others, feels negatively toward
himself/herself, comes from a family environment characterized by conflict and
poor parenting, perceives school as negative and is negatively influenced by
peers"
Contrarily, some researchers have suggested
that some bullies are psychologically strongest and have high social standing
among their peers, while their targets are emotionally distressed and socially
marginalized.[26] Peer groups often
promote the bully's actions, and members of these peer groups also engage in
behaviors, such as mocking, excluding, punching, and insulting one another as a
source of entertainment.[10] Other researchers also
argued that a minority of the bullies, those who are not in-turn bullied, enjoy
going to school, and are least likely to take days off sick.[27]
Research indicates that adults who bully have
authoritarian personalities, combined with a strong need to control or
dominate.[28] It has also been
suggested that a prejudicial view of subordinates can be a particularly strong
risk factor.
Effects
Mona
O'Moore of the Anti-Bullying Centre at Trinity College in Dublin, has written,
"There is a growing body of research which indicates that individuals,
whether child or adult, who are persistently subjected to abusive behavior are
at risk of stress related illness which can sometimes lead to suicide".[38] Those who have been the
targets of bullying can suffer from long term emotional and behavioral
problems. Bullying can cause loneliness, depression, anxiety, lead to low self-esteem and increased susceptibility
to illness.[39] Bullying has also been shown
to cause maladjustment in young children, and targets of bullying who were also
bullies themselves exhibit even greater social difficulties.
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