Outcomes and long-term effects

Outcomes and Long-term Effects

Effects

It has been shown that fear-related problems often interfere with a child's normal functioning. Disasters and terror can adversely affect even children who have been functioning on a high level in the areas of control, self-worth, and security (Figley & McChubbin, 1983; Terr, 1981; and Trautman, 1987 as cited in Robinson & Rotter, 1991).

Childhood fears can serve a positive function to protect and motivate children or they can inhibit or debilitate. Morris & Kratochwill (as cited in Robinson & Rotter, 1991) estimate that four percent to 8 percent of all children in the United States will be treated for fear-related disorders. In the United States the numbers of untreated children are often as much as two times those of the treated population (Robinson & Rotter).

Aggression

A victim-bully cycle has been defined as the natural result of exposure to aggression (NEA, 2002).

The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) (2001) reports that when a child's sense of safety has been violated, the child's sense of personal power has been taken away.

Aggression is a natural response by the child to regain control and to alleviate fear, anger or pain. In addition, there are many adults who encourage their children to "fight back" in response to aggression


Risky Behaviors

Adolescents who are effected by the bullying experience are more likely to become involved in risky behaviors including violence, drug and alcohol use, early sexual activity, poor academic achievement, dropping out of school, gang activity and other delinquent behavior. As adults, these same adolescents are more likely to have criminal records, be abusive to their children and spouses, commit acts of violence at work and other places, abuse drugs, and be unable to hold down jobs or sustain marriages (Fried & Fried, 1996; Olweus, 2000; Papazian, 2000).

Suicide and Violence

Suicide is the ultimate result of hopelessness, despair, and feelings of isolation from repeated exposure to violence (Ascher, 1994; Peters, 1985). In addition, any event or situation that causes depression can contribute to an existing sense of frustration, helplessness, and hopelessness.

Teens often feel overwhelmed and try to escape these feelings through the use of drugs, withdrawal and ultimately suicide (Peters, 1985).

The lack of empathy or understanding on the part of the adults in the lives of children contributes to feelings of isolation and helplessness (Gerler, 1991). The more isolated an adolescent becomes the more likely that child is to struggle with depression, hopelessness, and despair.

Peer aggression, by its very nature generates isolation. In fact, social isolation is one of the more subtle yet effective methods of peer aggression (Simmons, 2002). Peers don't want to lose status by becoming identified with the victim of peer aggression nor do they want to become a victim of abuse either, so they will avoid the child who has been selected to be a victim. In addition, the victim may resort to social isolation as the only viable option of protection (Banks, 1997; Crick, 2002; Peters, 1985; and Simmons, 2002).

School Performance

It is easy to see why children how are vicitms of bullying have falling/failing grades, poor attendance and other kinds of issues with school success.

Parents report bullying

Teachers, administrators and other adults are often very defensive when an upset parent approaches them about the problem.

Unable to view the situation from an objective perspective, school authorities may require testimonies by witnesses and the names of the children involved.

These same authorities may also have a policy of revealing the name of the child reporting incidents to the accused party. In this situation, retaliation against the reporter is almost guaranteed.

Another important point is that school authorities may believe that bullies come from abusive homes. Traditionally they are reluctant to speak to the parents of known bullies for fear that the child will in turn be abused at home (Papazian, 2000).

Talkington, and Hill (1993) observed that parents have been generally unsuccessful in attempts to advocate for their children in the bully-victim issue due in large part to the disabling negative psychological effects that accompany this situation.

In addition to grief over what their child has lost, and guilt about not being able to fix it or making the situation worse, parents may suffer from psychological, social and political consequences such as feelings of powerlessness and isolation (Solomon, Pistrang, & Barker, 2001).

Another factor contributing to failure is lack of information. Parents don't know where to turn for help when the school fails them.

Why isn't bullying reported and What happens when it is

Why It Isn’t Reported

In the case of peer aggression, the one causing the harm is a young person. Peer aggression is more difficult to dissect and decipher than adult-to-child abuse. It becomes almost impossible to hold any one person directly responsible unless witnesses come forward. Willing witnesses are rare. Studies show that one of the reasons youth don't report aggression is because they don't know who to go to or how to do it.

Often, young people don't believe that anything can be done and --the greater possibility, is that-- they are afraid of reprisal (see, Bonds, 2000; High, 2002; Minnesota Attorney General's Office, 2000; NEA, 2002; and Stop Bullying: Guidelines For Schools, 2002).

What Happens When It is?

Many young people stop seeking adult support when they have failed to successfully fight back (Simmons, 2001). When parents or students stop reporting the problem, authorities gratefully believe that the problem must have resolved itself! Rarely will they pursue or follow up on the situation.

When parents report that their child is being bullied, they often are placed in a position of defending the seriousness and validity of the situation. They are asked for details about dates, times, names, places, witnesses, what really happened, outcomes, etc. They may need to defend the behavior of their child especially if the school has a policy of zero tolerance.

Even with documented details, parents may find that the situation comes down to the bully's word against yours.

Schools often offer no plan, for future protection or intervention for the child, and no consequences for the bully. This includes the obvious and simple action of paying closer attention to what is happening with the involved parties during school hours.

It may be insinuated that victims have somehow "asked" for it or somehow deserve it because they are different (fat, ugly, loud, socially inept, etc).

Parents may deal with feelings of shame that there is something so horrible about their child that the child has become a vicitm; guilt that they can not fix the problem or give the right advise to "undo" the problem; struggle with depression and hopelessness because it seems that there is no way out of the situation; and frustration because those who are supposed to know how to fix it, can't, won't, or don't believe it.

parents may be the last to know

Harassment has become an accepted part of the youth culture, accepted by youth as one of the major pressures they face in trying to fit into their culture.

Many parents are unaware of this problem because they never talk about it with their children. Children do not bring it up and parents don't think to ask about it because it is a "kind of underground activity that many children will not report" (Goldbloom, 1999, p. 2).

In addition to the previously discussed cultural codes, there are a number of other reasons for this. Conflicting advice from parents discourage children from confiding in them.

Often, one parent will tell a child to ignore bullying and the other tells the child to fight back, or to throw the first punch (Espelage, 1999).

Children are often afraid of retaliation from peers if they seek help from adults (Espelage, Banks, 2000).

Parents often do not recognize the warning signs and therefore are unaware of the severity of the problem.

Bully-Victim Cycle

The line between bullies and victims is often blurred. Bully-victim cycle theory describes a cyclical journey of actions pushing children from one set of behaviors to the other.

Children who experience bullying often bully in return for indirect compensation. When this interpersonal behavior is looked at from a position of power, it can be seen that victims feel powerless. They in turn, bully in order to regain their lost power.

Experts recommend that victims and bullies should not be looked at as two separate groups. This is especially important for the success of school counseling programs (Ma, 2001).

The bully-victim cycle has only harmful effects for bullies, victims and bystanders alike. The experience of observing harassment is as harmful as being the victim. In essence, observers become victims (Olweus, 2000).

Under these conditions, children are unable to learn or succeed in their efforts. This experience impacts children in a powerful way with scars that often last a lifetime (Ross, 2002).

The Bully: The Perpetrator

Olweus (2000) describes the perpetrator of peer harassment as aggressive towards peers, but also adults.

The bully is self-confident contrary to the old belief that a bully feels inferior or suffers from poor self-esteem. Simmons (2002) describes bullies as wielding power at the expense of others.

Coloroso, (2003) states that "bullying is arrogance in action" (p.21). It is a matter of contempt.

Bonds (2000) states that it is not being different that makes a student a target, but rather that child's reaction to being bullied.

For bullies, the whole matter is power.

In the November 7, 2008 bulletin of the University of Chicago it was reported that
Bullies may enjoy seeing others in pain: Brain scans show disruption in natural empathetic response.

But waht about the victim? What can we do for the victim? What should we be doing for the victim?

Bystanders

Most bullying takes place in or around school, and is often reinforced by other students as observers.

Goldbloom (1999) reports the results of a Toronto study. In more than 20 % of bullying incidents, peers enabled and supported the bullying behavior by physically or verbally joining in the aggression. They reinforced the behavior in 54 % of the cases, by watching but not joining in the aggression. Peers supported the victim in a paltry 25 % of the cases. Toronto's Board of Education estimates that in grades 4 to 8, one in five children are victimized periodically and one in 12 are bullied weekly or daily (Goldbloom).

We know that the effect of bullying on those who see it take place and some of those who hear about it suffer some of the same effects of the one who is actually the target. This is called the bystander effect.