Bully Prevention
Key Bullying Concepts
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Most bullying occurs at school. Olweus (2006) reports three times as much bullying occurs at school in the elementary grades, and two times as much in Jr. High and High School.
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Most bullying goes unreported. Craig & Pepler (1996) found that playground supervisors were aware of only 17% of bullying events and responded to only 23% of the events they observed. Adults intervened only 4% of the time, while peers intervened 11% of the time.
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Victims are frequently victimized twice, first by the bully’s actions, and then by the feeling of abandonment which comes when their friends do not stand up for them.
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Peer involvement must be encouraged, but direct challenges to the bully can be risky. Just as an adult may hesitate to confront an armed robber, a student may be harmed by directly confronting a bully. However, just as the adult may call the police to report the robber, a student should tell authority figures (teachers) about bullies.
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Bullying, especially among girls, frequently takes the form of slander, spreading untrue rumors, or exclusion. This may be just as damaging psychologically, as physical forms of bullying, and suitable consequences must follow to reduce this behavior.
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Bullies will generally deny or minimize the impact of their behavior on others with comments such as “I didn’t mean it”, Davis (2007). We must cut through the denial for the bullying to stop.
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Fair consequences for bullying must be uniformly applied. Frequently, “good kids”, athletes or other preferred students are given more lenient punishment. This creates resentment among other students and should be avoided.
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Over 2/3 of school shootings were perpetrated by boys who were repeatedly and severely bullied prior to their attack.
Bully Prevention Options by Frameworks 4 Learning >>