Home | Facts | What is Bullying | Parent Resources | Student Resources | Books | Contact Us
What is Bullying?*
Bullying is a conscious, willful, deliberate, hostile and repeated behavior by one or more people, which is intended to harm others. Below are the four major types of bullying, and examples.
Types of Bullying*
- Verbal Bullying: involves name-calling, antagonizing, gossip, teasing, put-downs, verbal taunts, threats and intimidation.
- Physical Bullying: involves hitting, kicking, punching or touching with an intended purpose to hurt/harm another person. Examples: physical violence and attacks, extortion or stealing of money and possessions.
- Cyber Bullying: involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated and hostile behavior by an individual group, that is intended to harm others.
- Emotional Bullying: this can be the most hurtful type of bullying. This is usually done in a group, and with a purpose of humiliation. Examples: exclusion from the peer group, intimidation, put-downs and name-calling.
Who is Bullied?*
- Studies show that between 15-25% of U.S. students are bullied with some frequency ("sometimes or more often") while 15-20% report that they bully others with some frequency.
- Boys are more likely than girls to bully others.
- Girls frequently report being bullied by both boys and girls, but boys are most often bullied only by other boys.
- What are the consequences of bullying? Children and youth who are bullied are more likely than other children to be depressed, lonely, anxious; have low self-esteem, feel unwell, and think about suicide.
- How aware of bullying are adults? Adults are often unaware of bullying problems. In one study, 70% of teachers believed they intervene "almost always" in bullying situations; only 25% of students agreed with this assessment.
Children Who Bully*
Many children engage in bullying everyday. Although each child is different, those who bully other young people do share some common characteristics. Here are some things to look for:
- Impulsive, hot-headed, dominant
- Easily frustrated
- Lack empathy
- Have difficulty following rules
- View violence in a positive way
- Boys who bully tend to be physically stronger than other children.
Why is Bullying Sometimes Hard to Detect?*
Unfortunately, although bullying can be very harmful to children, adults are often unaware of bullying problems. Why? Often, bullying takes place in areas of schools, homes, or communities that are not well supervised by adults. Even if bullying happens near adults, sometimes we miss it because bullying can be subtle or hard to detect (e.g., social exclusion, note-passing, threatening looks).
Adults also are often unaware of bullying because many children and youth don't report it. They may fear retaliation by children doing the bullying. They also may fear that adults won't take their concerns seriously or will act inappropriately to deal with the bullying.
Adults also are often unaware of bullying because many children and youth don't report it. They may fear retaliation by children doing the bullying. They also may fear that adults won't take their concerns seriously or will act inappropriately to deal with the bullying.
*Information provided by: www.stopbullyingnow.org
