Bullying is a phenomenon that occurs in all cultures, all countries, all layers of society and at all ages.

Types of bullying

In general, bullying manifests itself in three ways: verbal, relational and physical. Boys mostly bully in a physical, direct way and girls by socially excluding others or by verbal humiliation. Also, boys bully most frequently.
Bullying worldwide consists of the following:

1. The bully wants to hurt or frighten the victim.
2. The victim is repeatedly the target of aggression.
3. The victim does not elicit the bullying by verbal or physical aggression.
4. Bullying takes place within known social groups.
5. The bully is more powerful (in reality or in the mind of the bully) than the victim.

Consequences

Both bullying and being bullied have detrimental consequences. Milder, but no less detrimental consequences of being bullied are sleeping problems, head- and stomach aches and bedwetting. In addition, a reduced self-confidence, a negative self-image, loneliness and exclusion by peers can be the consequences of being bullied.. The same goes for bullies. In the long term, those who are bullied have a greater risk of depression, anxiety disorders, low self-confidence and psychiatric disorders. The bullies themselves also have a greater risk of developing a number of serious problems, such as depression, psychiatric disorders, drug use, conduct disorder at school and criminality.

Possible causes of bullying

Bullying or being bullied are connected with several factors. Personal as well as environmental factors can lead to being involved in bullying. Research indicates that both victims and bullies are more often overweight and are often teased at home by their family members about their appearance. Students actively engaged in sports have also been shown to be more involved in bullying, but are less frequently themselves the victims. In addition, a negative psychosocial environment contributes to bullying behavior. The school environment can increase bullying when:

1. teachers care little about the students;
2. students have nothing to lose at school;
3. students are treated with little respect by the teachers;
4. students are selectively discriminated against;
5. punishments differ per student and/or
6. students feel less connected with school.

Not only the school environment contributes to bullying and being bullied. Children who experience problems in the neighborhood where they live are more likely to become victims of bullying. Moreover, certain factors such as child abuse and domestic violence have been shown to lead to more bullying behavior or more victimization by bullies.

School attitude and bullying or being bullied

It is important to know how students’ functioning at school is related to bullying and being bullied. Functioning here refers to the attitude toward school and students’ consequent performance at school.. This attitude toward school can be subdivided into motivation for learning and performing, satisfaction with school life and self-confidence regarding schoolwork. Several studies have shown that decreased school-related motivation, decreased school-related satisfaction and little school-related self-confidence are connected with decreased school performance.

The relation between attitude toward school and related school performance and bullying has been studied. It can be concluded from the research that bullying and/or being bullied can have negative consequences for those involved. They are less motivated for school, less satisfied with their life at school and victims, moreover, have lower self-confidence regarding their schoolwork than non-bullies. This poor attitude toward school in turn leads to a decrease in learning performance, causing these students to experience intellectual as well as social-emotional problems.

In line with this conclusion are the findings of a study on the relationship between the bully, the victim and their performance. Both bullies and victims exhibit poorer performance compared to non-bullies and non-victims. Furthermore, they view themselves as possessing few skills. Victims of bullying have less self-confidence, are less satisfied at school and are less motivated to perform at school. In addition, bullying has been shown to be more damaging to girls’ self-confidence than to boys’ self-confidence.

Dealing with bullying

Students have demonstrated different ways of dealing with bullying. They are able to limit or completely prevent the negative consequences of bullying by tackling the bullying situation as it arises (using different strategies for tackling the situation) or by seeking social support (by asking someone for advice on what to do). Both methods are reinforced when the student views the bullying situation as a challenge rather than a threat. These methods are most durable and effective in the long term. Although seeking social support is desirable in practice, it does not happen much because students are afraid of losing face or being bullied even more.

Wishful thinking Wishful thinking is used as a method against bullying when the bullying situation is viewed as uncontrollable. The bullying situation may also be ignored or avoided. Ignoring bullying mainly happens in the case of verbal bullying and avoidance in the case of physical bullying.. Students who are often bullied prefer these latter strategies, despite the fact that they are less effective.

Psychological resilience and bullying

The ability to deal with bullying differs from child to child. Whereas one child may hardly be able to cope with bullying, another may not let it get to him or her. Some children are very good at defending themselves against bullying, to the degree that it protects them against the worst effects of bullying. These children demonstrate psychological resilience.

Psychological resilience can be defined as the capacity to deal with stressful, risky or negative situations. Both intrinsic and extrinsic factors contribute to the development of psychological resilience. Intrinsic factors consist of an individual’s personal traits, such as empathy, self-confidence and self-efficacy. Extrinsic factors are parts of the social network, including a supportive family, the positive influence of peers and a caring school or community. It has been found that children who have little psychological resilience have more than twice the risk of becoming a victim of bullying. Children with a high degree of psychological resilience experience less or no psychological stress in stressful situations. They are more optimistic, are better able to deal with stressful situations and have a better relationship with their parents and peers. When a child belongs to a solid and social group, hurtful behavior is not experienced as a personal attack. However, a possible effect of such a close social group may be that it fosters bullying behavior.

Tackling and preventing bullying

The SVL can be used to give certainty in a situation where a student is suspected of bullying or of being bullied. Early detection enables early implementation of anti-bullying programs, because prevention is better than cure. Bullying behavior is not limited to school and its environs. Anti-bullying programs should therefore also be directed at the community and the family in order to examine how bullying arises and how it can be prevented. Only this way can the severe, long-term effects of bullying and being bullied be seriously tackled.

Olweus Bullying Prevention Program

One of the most well-known and most researched anti-bullying programs is the ‘Olweus Bullying Prevention Program’ (OBPP). The program was developed to improve student relationships and to create a safe and positive school environment by raising awareness of bullying among all participants in school life, among other things. Through group discussions and other activities students become familiar with the rules against bullying at school and are offered the opportunity to modify their attitudes and ideas about bullying.

The main components of the OBPP are :

1. get parents involved through discussions and education on the phenomenon of bullying;
2. hold meetings with both victims and perpetrators of bullying;
3. have students talk with their classmates on a regular basis to get to know each other and to promote empathy;
4. set clear schoolwide rules against bullying;
5. hold regular meetings about the (progress) of the anti-bullying program;
6. the school must establish an anti-bullying committee;
7. the school must organize trainings for staff and committee members;
8. the school must establish a well-coordinated supervisory system;
9. the school must administer an anonymous questionnaire among students which measures the prevalence of bullying;
10. the anti-bullying program must be evaluated yearly.

Conclusion and recommendations

In general, anti-bullying programs can have a positive effect. It reduces bullying behavior, increases satisfaction with school and improves school performance. The number of bullying incidents decreases when clear rules are set and when compliance and non-compliance are consistently rewarded and punished, respectively. Specially trained adults involving children in social activities also has a positive influence. An example is a physical activity during recess, where carefully selected groups play with each other.

The effectiveness of an anti-bullying program will increase when it contains the following components:

1. an extensive training for all staff members;
2. raising awareness among parents by holding workshops;
3. giving students positive strategies against bullying;
4. a schoolwide approach to maintain awareness among teachers, other school staff, parents and students;
5. researching the effectiveness of the anti-bullying program;
6. sharing the research outcomes with teachers, other school staff, parents and students.

Research into and adapting anti-bullying programs will always remain necessary. The goal of these programs is to create a safe and positive school environment for all children.

Useful links

www.pestweb.nl
www.omgaanmetpesten.nl
www.pesten.startpagina.nl