| Beware of the In Crowd Aug. 13, 2000 By MICHELE ORECKLIN It's possible that all these years we've been blaming the wrong kids for stealing our milk money. The image of the schoolyard bully as a disaffected social outcast or a hulking denizen of shop class is a familiar one and a staple of teenage lore. But as researchers and teachers grow increasingly sensitive to the issue of school violence, they are studying bullying more closely and finding that the stereotypes are often misleading. In fact, bullies are likely to be among the most popular kids in school, admired by peers and teachers alike, according to a report presented last week at a meeting of the American Psychological Association (A.P.A.). "These are the kids that other students look up to, the ones everybody wants to hang out with," says Dorothy Espelage, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who co-authored the study. It defines bullying as persistent teasing, name calling or social exclusion; Espelage did not include overt physical acts, since she found they were rare and typically used by students with more serious problems. Espelage focused on students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grade, when the problem is most acute. "As kids transition into middle school, they are negotiating new settings, establishing power within peer groups," she says. In this confusing period, denigration of others often proves a successful route to prominence. In boys this generally manifests itself through taunting or threats of violence, while girls are more apt to spread rumors or inflict social ostracism. The study shows bullying tapering off as kids advance into the eighth grade. William Pollack, a psychologist who examines bullying in his book Real Boys' Voices, agrees that intimidation is too often rewarded. "Aggression, homophobia and violent behavior are looked up to in boys," he says. "Being artistic or musical is not." He cautions, however, that not all child bullies are the cool kids--some are among the most depressed students in a class and may be reacting to being bullied themselves. Pollack is also worried that the phenomenon is on the rise, partly because families spend less time together, which leaves boys fewer outlets for productive communication. "It's a national epidemic," he says. "Both the amount of teasing and the intensity of it have increased over time, and the stakes are higher. We're talking AK-47s now, not just a shove." While Espelage acknowledges that it is difficult to know whether bullying is growing more common, she says that recognition of its consequences is certainly on the rise. Both agree that while bullying has been around since the one-room schoolhouse, it should no longer be dismissed as a mere adolescent rite of passage. An estimated 160,000 children each day miss school for fear of being picked on, according to the National Association of School Psychologists. Typically, these students are different in dress or appearance or seem unlikely to defend themselves. In addition to academic failings, they suffer such physical ailments as stomachaches and headaches as well as psychological troubles that in extreme cases include suicidal tendencies. Though bullies commonly have high self-esteem, they tend to be victims of psychic damage as well. Most come from homes in which discipline is administered inconsistently or through physical means. They often fail to learn effective methods of problem solving, and by some estimates 1 in 4 chronic bullies will have a criminal record by age 30. Awareness of the dangers is spurring school systems across the U.S. to implement antibullying programs, which have proved effective in other countries. In Massachusetts, the Executive Office of Public Safety has set aside $1 million in federal money to help schools identify potential bullies and aid their victims. Beginning this fall, teachers statewide will use a curriculum created at Wellesley College that tackles bullying as early as kindergarten. Administrators at Liberty Middle School in Ashland, Va., started a similar program last year. Each week teachers meet with a group of 14 students and perform activities designed to promote interpersonal skills. Administrators have also created zero-tolerance disciplinary guidelines. A major objective of these efforts is to encourage bystanders to speak out. "If you target one kid, you're missing the point," says Espelage. "So much enabling is given by bystanders who remain passive." Espelage also suggests eliciting the support of peer-group leaders. "If they take a stand," she says, "the rest will fall in behind. They have leadership skills that could be rechanneled." Evidence of this comes from another study presented at the A.P.A. conference last week, which found, perhaps not surprisingly, that some of our best Presidents, including F.D.R., were not above "bullying and manipulating" if necessary. With reporting by Rebecca Winters |
| Bullies are likely to be popular |
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| Brain scans show bullies get pleasure from watching pain |
| Brain Scans Show Bullies Enjoy Others' Pain Neurological 'reward centers' lit up as they watched injuries occur, study found November 7, 2008 HealthDay News Bullies may actually enjoy the pain they cause others, a new study using brain scans suggests. The part of the brain associated with reward lights up when an aggressive teen watches a video of someone hurting another person, but not when a non-aggressive youth watches the same clip, according to the University of Chicago study, published in the current Biological Psychology. "Aggressive adolescents showed a specific and very strong activation of the amygdala and ventral striatum (an area that responds to feeling rewarded) when watching pain inflicted on others, which suggested that they enjoyed watching pain," researcher Jean Decety, a professor in psychology and psychiatry at the University of Chicago, said in a university news release. "Unlike the control group, the youth with conduct disorder did not activate the area of the brain involved in self-regulation (the medial prefrontal cortex and the temporoparietal junction)." The study compared eight 16- to 18-year-old boys with an aggressive conduct disorder to a group that didn't show unusual signs of aggression. All participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while watching videos in which people endured pain accidentally, such as when a heavy bowl was dropped on their hands, and intentionally, such as when a person stepped on another's foot. |
| [Blogger's comment: Perhaps teachers should be required to take a brain scan before they get a credential--to see if they enjoy causing pain.] |
| Aggression on Job More Harmful Than Sexual Harassment Study finds bullied workers had more stress, less commitment and higher levels of anxiety 3/8/08 HealthDay News Persistent criticism, belittling comments, bullying and other forms of workplace aggression may inflict more harm on employees than sexual harassment, according to a Canadian study. "As sexual harassment becomes less acceptable in society, organizations may be more attuned to helping victims, who may therefore find it easier to cope. In contrast, non-violent forms of workplace aggression such as incivility and bullying are not illegal, leaving victims to fend for themselves," lead author M. Sandy Hershcovis, of the University of Manitoba, said in a prepared statement. In their work, the researchers reviewed 110 studies conducted over 21 years. They found that both workplace aggression and sexual harassment create negative work environments and unhealthy consequences for workers, but aggression has more severe consequences. Workers faced with bullying, incivility or interpersonal conflict were more likely to quit their jobs, have a lower level of well-being, be less satisfied with their jobs, and have less satisfying relationships with their bosses than workers who were sexually harassed, the researchers concluded. In addition, bullied employees reported more job stress, less job commitment and higher levels of anger and anxiety. "Bullying is often more subtle and may include behaviors that do not appear obvious to others," Hershcovis said. "For instance, how does an employee report to their boss that they have been excluded from lunch? Or that they are being ignored by a co-worker? The insidious nature of these behaviors makes them difficult to deal with and sanction." The study was to be presented Saturday in Washington, D.C., at the International Conference on Work, Stress and Health, co-sponsored by the American Psychological Association, the U.S. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, and the Society for Occupational Health Psychology. |
| US Dept Health and Human Services So, you aren't someone who bullies others, and you haven't been bullied yourself. But if you see it happening to others, you can help put a stop to it. In order to stop bullying, everyone needs to lend a hand and get involved! And even though it might be easier to stand by and watch (or try to ignore the bullying), just remember, we all need a little help from time to time! Think about how you might feel if the bullying was happening to YOU. There are all kinds of great things you can do to help. So the next time you see someone being bullied, try one (or more) of these ideas and make a real difference! Report the bullying to an adult. Many kids who are bullied are scared to tell an adult about it (especially a teacher or principal), because they are afraid the person bullying them will find out and the bullying will just get worse. That's where you come in. Even if it's a little scary for you to tell an adult about bullying that you see, it's the right thing to do. It's not tattling—you're helping someone out. Who should you tell? You could tell your teacher, school counselor, school nurse, parents, coach, or any adult you feel comfortable talking with. It might be a little less scary if you ask a friend to go along with you. Be sure to tell the adult exactly what happened—who was bullied, who did the bullying, and where and when it happened. If you're not sure if another kid is being bullied but you think they probably are—it's good to report that, too. Most adults really care about bullying and will be VERY glad that you told them about it. If you told an adult and you don't think they did anything about the bullying (or if it isn't getting any better), find another adult to tell. For ideas on how to report bullying, see what K.B. and Melanie do when they witness Cassandra spreading rumors about Mimi in the school hallway. Support someone who is being bullied. Sometimes the best thing you can do for a person who is being bullied is just to be there for him or her and be a friend. Whether this means agreeing to walk home with him or her after school, sitting with him or her on the bus or at lunch, trying to include him or her in your school or social activities, or just spending some time with him or her and trying to understand what he or she is going through, it will make a huge difference! Although these may seem like small things to you, they will show a kid who is being bullied that you care about him or her and the problems he or she is facing. And that can be a BIG help! Josh stands up for Hal, his teammate, after being bullied by Brick on the way to the locker room. Listen in on his cool approach to lend a hand by talking with Coach Cruncher. Stand up to the person doing the bullying. If you feel safe doing this, tell a person who is bullying that what he or she is doing is wrong and that he or she should stop. Keep it simple. You could just say, "Ben, cut it out. Nobody thinks that's funny." If you can, get some friends to join you. When kids who bully see that other kids don't think it's cool, they are more likely to stop. Just be sure you don't bully them back! It's not easy to stand up to kids who may be bigger and stronger than you or really popular, so if you're not comfortable doing this, that's OK. (But be sure to tell an adult!) After he fails to stop kids in the neighborhood from bullying his little sister, Milton finds that it is best to involve your parents. Take some tips from his example. |