WHENVICTIMSTURNINTO BULLIES

SANDRAL.BLOOM,M.D. EMAILFROMAMERICA,THEPSYCHOTHERAPYREVIEW,2(2): 5960.FEBRUARY2000.

Whenisthelasttimeyouthoughtaboutwhatitwasliketobebulliedasa child?Maybeyouhaveyourownclearmemoriesoftheboydownthestreet whotormentedyou,orthegirlatschoolwhotoldtalesaboutyouthatwere untrue.Maybeitsyourownchildwhoisbeingtortureddailybythatolderkid whosavorshispositionofpowerovertheyoungerstudents.Maybeitwasthe lastguywhocutyouoffasyouweretryingtogetontheM5thatbrings bullyingtoyourimmediateattention.Ormaybe,bullyingcametomindthelast timeyouwatchedaParliamentarydebate.Regardlessofyourownparticular associations,fewofusgetthroughlifewithoutsufferingfromtheunwanted attentionsofsomeabusiveotherandmanyofuswouldarguethatthebasisof nationalandinternationalrelationshipsisbullying. Bullyingdescribesdirectbehaviorssuchasteasing,taunting,threatening, hittingandstealingthatareinitiatedbyoneormorestudentsagainstavictim. Raciallyorethnicallybasedverbalabuseandgenderbasedinsultsarealso foundinbullyingsituations.Inadditiontodirectattacks,bullyingmayalsobe moreindirectbycausingastudenttobesociallyisolatedthroughintentional exclusion.Thekeycomponentisthatthephysicalorpsychologicalintimidation occursrepeatedlyovertimetocreateanongoingpatternofharassmentand abuse(Banks,1998;Sudermann,JaffeandSchiek,1996). AccordingtoNorwegianresearcher,Olweus,approximately15%ofstudents areeitherbulliedregularlyorareinitiatorsofbullyingbehavior(Olweus,1993). Observationsofchildrenontheplaygroundsandinclassroomsconfirmthat bullyingisfrequentonceevery7minutesontheplaygroundandonceevery 25minutesinclass(CraigandPepler,1997).Thisbehaviorisclearlynot innocuouschildhoodbehaviorthatwilldisappearwithouttrace.The Scandinavianstudiesindicatethatthereisastrongcorrelationbetween bullyingotherstudentsduringtheschoolyearsandexperiencinglegalor criminaltroublesasanadult60%ofthosecharacterizedasbulliesingrades6 9hadatleastonecriminalconvictionbyage24(Olweus,1993). Thereisalsoacorrelationbetweendomesticviolenceandbullyingbehavior. Sincebullyingisanissueofpowerandcontrol,menwhoareparticularly

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sensitivetoexperiencesofhelplessnessandlossofcontroloutsidethehome oftencomehometoexertasenseofpowerandcontrolovertheirlovedones. Andthesepatternsalsodonotbegininadulthood.Boyswhoaregoingto becomebatterersoftenbegintheirpatternofcontrolling,coerciveand ultimatelyviolentbehaviorasadolescents.Inastudyofmidwesternhigh schoolstudents,15.5%offemalesreportedsexualviolence,15.5%reported physicalviolenceand9.9%reportedbothintheirdatingrelationships. (Bergman,1992).AccordingtotheWashingtonStateParentTeachers Associationwhohavedevelopedateenviolenceprogram,28%ofyoung peopleexperiencedatingviolenceaboutthesamerateasadultdomestic violence.And70%ofpregnantteenagersareabusedbytheirpartnerafact largelyoverlookedintherhetoricaboutthesexualprofligacyofteenagegirls. Therearemanyreasonsforoursocialfailuretoaddresstheproblem.Inthe firstplace,asinsomanyotherareasofabusivepower,wehavehadasocial tendencytoblamethevictimsratherthanidentifyandaddresstheproblem behavior.Mostchildrendonottelladultstheyarebeingbullied.Thereasons includefeelingsofshame,fearofretaliation,andfearthatadultscannotorwill notprotectthemwhenandwherethebullyingtakesplace(Sudermann,Jaffe andSchiek,1996).Thisreluctancetoconfronttheproblemcontinuesinto adulthoodwherefewpeoplearewillingtoconfrontbulliesanywhereat home,atwork,atschool,inourneighborhoods,onourplayingfields,inour corporations,orinourgovernments.Infact,ourmostidealizedentertainment iconsareoftenthosewhoarethemostsuccessfulatbullying,albeitbullying badguys.Regardlessofthetarget,thebehavioritselfissetupasan acceptableevensoughtaftersocialnorm. Anotherpartoftheproblemisintheveryresultsthatbullyingbehaviorbrings. Victimsofbullyingsufferfromfear,anxiety,andlowselfesteem.Theyare oftenavoidantofschoolandothersocialsituationsandareoftensocially isolated.Theymayhaveparentswhoaredescribedasoverprotective.They tendtobephysicallyweakerthantheirpeers.Theyfrequentlybecome depressed,loseinterestinactivities,andmaybecomesuicidal.Bullies,onthe otherhandappeartohavelittleanxietyandtopossessstrongselfesteem (Olweus,1993).Thismaybeinpart,abiochemicaleffect.Ithasbeennoted amonggroupsoftraumatizedchildrenthatsomeofthemdeveloppredatory aggressivebehaviorsthatproduceacalmingeffectontheirheightenedlevelof physiologicalarousal(Perry,1995).Itmaybethatthisisafarmorecommon phenomenonthanwehavepreviouslyrecognized,butbecausetheresultsof sociallyadaptivebullyingbringssomuchpositivesocialregard,thereal character,nature,andresultsofthebehaviorarelargelyignored. Whatcanbedonetostopbullyingatitsroots?Forthesakeofinterventionand prevention,programstoaddressbullyingintheschoolsneedtobeactively createdbytheschoolcommunitywiththefullsupportofschooladministrators

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andincludeconsultationwithmentalhealthprofessionals.Theschoolkillingsin Columbine,Coloradoindicateamongotherthingsthepotential consequencesfornotdealingwithbullyingsituations.IntheU.S.,theNational CrimePreventionCouncilreleasedguidelinesin1997pointingoutthat probablythemostimportantinterventionthataschoolcandoistotakethe problemseriouslytomakeitabundantlyclearthatbullyingisnotacceptable behavior.Playgroundbehaviorneedstobefarmorecloselymonitoredthanit usuallyisandbullyingincidentsmustbeconsistentlyaddressed.Theentire schoolstaffneedstobetrainedtorecognizeanddealwithbullying.Parents mustbeinformedabouttheproblemandgivenguidanceanddirectionasto howtomanagetheproblem.Peersmustbeencouragednottobesilent bystandersbuttointervenewhensomeoneelseisbeingvictimized.Theschool communitymustalteritssocialnormssothatbullyingbehaviorwillnotbe toleratedandtheadultshavetobeconsistentrolemodelsforsuchachange. Andwhatabouttheadults?Mightitnotbetimeforgrownupstotakesome cuesfromourschools?Behaviorthatisunacceptableontheplaygroundsand inthestreetsshouldnotbeunquestioninglyacceptedjustbecauseitis occurringintheBoardRoomorinthehallsofgovernment.Butasinaschool, theappropriateresponsemustcomefromaconcertedcommunityeffortto establishadifferentsetofnormsandthesechangednormsmustbeappliedto everyone.

R EFERENCES
Banks,R.(1998).Bullyinginschools.http://www.kidsource.com BergerL.(1992).Datingviolenceamonghighschoolstudents.SocialWork 37(1):2127. Bergman,A.,Larsen,R.M.andMueller,B."ChangingSpectrumofSeriousChild Abuse."Pediatrics,77(1),1986

CraigWandPeplerD.(1997).Naturalisticobservationsofbullyingand victimizationontheplayground.LaMarshCentreforResearchonViolenceand ConflictResolution.YorkUniversity.Unpublishedreport. OlweusD.(1993).BullyingatSchool:WhatWeKnowandWhatWeCanDo. Oxford,UK:BlackwellPublishers. PeplerDJ,CraigW,OConnellR,ConnollyJ,AtlasR,SedigdeilamiF,SmithC, andKentD.(1997).PrevalenceofbullyingandvictimizationamongCanadian elementaryandmiddleschoolchildren.Manuscriptinpreparation.

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Perry,B.1995.IncubatedinTerror:NeurodevelopmentalFactorsintheCycleof violence.InChildren,YouthandViolence:SearchingforSolutions.EditedbyJoy. D.Osofsky,TheguilfordPress,NewYork,NY Sudermann,M,JaffePG,SchiekE.(1996).Bullyinginformationforparentsand teachers.http://www.lfcc.on.ca/bully.htm Republishedbypermission:ThePsychotherapyReview,IanG.JonesHealey Editor,POBox14TeddingtonTW118YYUK

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