Bullying is a subcategory of aggressive behavior characterized by hostile intent, imbalance of power and repetition over a period of time.
Dan Olweus, a Swedish-Norwegian researcher, says bullying occurs when a person is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons
, and that negative actions occur when a person intentionally inflicts injury or discomfort upon another person, through physical contact, through words or in other ways
.
Types
Individual
Individual bullying tactics are perpetrated by a single person against a victim or victims. Four categories of Individual bullying include the following below:
Physical
Physical bullying is any bullying that hurts someone's body or damages their possessions. Stealing, shoving, hitting, fighting, and intentionally destroying someone's property are types of physical bullying. Physical bullying is rarely the first form of bullying that a victim will experience. Often bullying will begin in a different form and later progress to physical violence. In physical bullying the main weapon the bully uses is his/her body, or some part thereof; or an object as a weapon when attacking his/her victim. Sometimes groups of young adults will target and alienate a peer because of some adolescent prejudice. This can quickly lead to a situation where they are being taunted, tortured, and "beaten up" by their classmates. Physical bullying will often escalate over time, and can lead to a detrimental or fatal ending, and therefore many try to stop it quickly to prevent any further escalation.
Verbal
Verbal bullying is one of the most common types of bullying. This is any bullying that is conducted by speaking, other use of the voice, or some form of body language and does not involve any physical contact. Bullying usually begins at this stage.
In verbal bullying, the main weapon the bully uses is voice. In many cases, verbal bullying is common in both genders, but girls are more likely to perform it. Girls, in general, are more subtle with insults than boys. Girls use verbal bullying, as well as social exclusion techniques, to dominate and control other individuals and show their superiority and power, often to try to impress someone they idolize. Many boys are subtle enough to use verbal techniques for domination when they want to avoid the trouble that can come with physically bullying someone else.
Relational
Relational bullying (sometimes referred to as social aggression) is the type of bullying that uses relationships to hurt others. The term also denotes any bullying that is done with the intent to hurt somebody’s reputation or social standing which can also link in with the techniques included in physical and verbal bullying. Relational bullying is a form of bullying common among youth, but particularly upon girls. Social exclusion (slighting or making someone feel "left out") is one of the most common types of relational bullying. Relational bullying can be used as a tool by bullies to both improve their social standing and control others. Unlike physical bullying, which is obvious, relational bullying is not overt and can continue for a long time without being noticed.
Cyberbully
Cyberbullying is the use of technology to harass, threaten, embarrass, or target another person. When an adult is involved, it may meet the definition of cyber-harassment or cyberstalking, a crime that can have legal consequences and involve jail time. This includes bullying by use of email, instant messaging, social media websites (such as Facebook), text messages, and cell phones. It is stated that Cyberbullying is more common in secondary (middle or high school) school than in primary (elementary) school. The internet provides people with limited accountability and no filter. Bullying can feel easier and less restrictive through the use of the internet, The online disinhibition effect. The use of technology for bullying can be detrimental to someone’s online reputation. The information put out online will stay there forever, unless taken down by the person who put it out there or by the platform and sometimes not even then.
Future employers and people with access to the internet will be able to see others' digital footprint and how you treated others. Another problem with cyberbullying is that other people can get involved. Technology, especially the use of social media, allows others to repost or share content whether it is positive or negative.
Collective
Collective bullying tactics are employed by more than one individual against a victim or victims. Collective bullying is known as mobbing and can include any of the individual types of bullying. Trolling behavior on social media, although generally assumed to be individual in nature by the casual reader, is sometime organized efforts by sponsored astroturfers.
Mobbing
Mobbing refers to the bullying of an individual by a group, in any context, such as a family, peer group, school, workplace, neighborhood, community, or online. When it occurs as emotional abuse in the workplace, such as "ganging up" by co-workers, subordinates, or superiors, to force someone out of the workplace through rumor, innuendo, intimidation, humiliation, discrediting, and isolation, it is also referred to as malicious, nonsexual, nonracial/racial, general harassment.
Characteristics
Studies have shown that envy and resentment may be motives for bullying. Research on the self-esteem of bullies has found a varying range of possibilities. While some bullies are arrogant and narcissistic, they can also use bullying as a tool to conceal shame or anxiety or to boost self-esteem; by demeaning others, the abuser feels empowered. Bullies may bully out of jealousy or because they themselves are bullied. Psychologist Roy Baumeister asserts that people who are prone to abusive behavior tend to have inflated but fragile egos. Because they think too highly of themselves, they are frequently offended by the criticisms and lack of deference of other people and react to this disrespect with violence and insults.
Researchers have identified other risk factors such as depression and personality disorders, 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. A combination of these factors may also be causes of this behavior. 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.
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. 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. 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.
Research indicates that adults who bully have authoritarian personalities, combined with a strong need to control or dominate. It has also been suggested that a prejudicial view of subordinates can be a particularly strong risk factor.
In a recent study, bullies showed lower school performance-related self-esteem than non-involved students. They also showed higher social self-esteem than victims of traditional bullying. Brain studies have shown that the section of the brain associated with reward becomes active when bullies are shown a video of someone inflicting pain on another.
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." Those who have been the targets of bullying can develop long-term emotional and behavioral problems. Bullying can cause loneliness, depression, anxiety, lead to low self-esteem and increased susceptibility to illness. 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. A mental health report also found that bullying was linked to eating disorders, anxiety, body dysmorphia and other negative psychological effects. Both victims and perpetrators have been shown to exhibit higher levels of loneliness.
Even though there is evidence that bullying increases the risk of suicide, bullying alone does not cause suicide. Depression is one of the main reasons why kids who are bullied die by suicide.
According to the suicide awareness voices for education, suicide is one of the leading causes of death for youth from 15 to 24 years old. Over 16 percent of students seriously consider suicide, 13 percent create a plan, and 8percent have made a serious attempt.
