Bullying -- and Victims
Summary of Important Facts on Page 502 of the Text
About 10 to 20% of today's children are bullies and up to 30% of children are victimized over and over. About a third to a half of victims are also aggressive and they do fight back. There are interventions available for victims and the best way to reduce bullying is to promote sports and other recreational activities, and basically to change the school environment.
how do children become bullies and how do bullies develop aggressive behaviors toward others? Bullies show very little "anxiety" and rarely are insecure, and they have a "strong desire" to be a dominant force over others -- notably their peers (Carter, 2011, 99). In fact those children who become bullies "derive entertainment" from their aggressive acts against others, and they rarely experience "remorse and empathy" for those unfortunate children who have been picked on (Carter, 99). How do they become bullies? Many bullies come from families where aggression is "modeled and valued" -- in other words, parents that are aggressive become role models for their children, who follow in their footsteps.
Children who have higher levels of "callous and unemotional traits" and children who generally have disorders in their daily conduct tend to become bullies, Carter explains (99). Those children who become bullies can be identified as having "elevated risks" in peer relationships, and in parent domains, Carter mentions. But according to the article "Bullies and Their Victims" some bullies are "high-status youngsters" who may be good in sports and develop strategies of aggression off the playing field (502).
Also, victims of bullying tend to be "more withdrawn, more isolated, less cooperative, less sociable, and frequently had no playmates" (Perren, 45). Also, and this seems rather obvious, bullying victims in the research used by these authors have "problems defending themselves" and are short on leadership behavior, Perren continues (46).
The trait that victims demonstrate consistently is being withdrawn and internalizing their behavior problems -- which may include anxiety and depression (Perren, 46). It is also true (based on the findings from the study of 345 children) that victims are not always passive and submissive, but in fact they have skills "…that are usually considered central to peer relationships" (Perren, 52).
According to page 502 of the text (Infants, Children, and Adolescents), victims of bullies tend to "give in, cry, and assume defensive postures"; and victims tend to have been subjected to "overly controlling child rearing, and maternal over-protection" (502). The kind of parenting that tends to produce victims "prompts anxiety, low self-esteem, and dependency," and this style of parenting can result in a child that is vulnerable to bullying (502). Trying to adjust to being the target of a bully, a child will tend to avoid school, have trouble making adjustments, and even…
