Bullying, while physical in nature, can have lasting social and psychological consequences that can profoundly effect the emotional and cognitive development of young people. Aggressive behaviors, both in traditional settings and in the virtual realm, have been shown to have deep and lasting challenges to their capacity for personal relationships, emotional stability, and overall success. This is true for both the victims of bullying and the bullies themselves. In assessing the research that has been done in the field of bullying it will be possible to establish a general criteria to determine the overall consensus in regards to the current views that are held by experts on the subject. In doing so, it will be evident that a variety of sources dictate the need for better understanding the responses that victims have to aggressive behavior and the resulting social and cognitive processes that occur due to these behaviors.
The research report “What works in enhancing social and emotional skills development during childhood and adolescence?” by Clarke et al., discusses the development in social and emotional skills in young people. Through an electronic search of a variety of academic databases the essay was able to establish a basis upon which these effects could be understood through quantification of the information that was assessed. The study found evidence that one factor that could profoundly impact social and emotional development was bullying and other aggressive behaviors. Furthermore, the results of the study indicate that “bullying prevention peer mentoring interventions are ineffective in improving children and young people’s social and emotional skills and in some cases can have a negative impact on rates of bullying” (Clarke et al., 2015, p. 7). The authors contend that it is therefore necessary to establish school-based programs that “lead to positive life outcomes for young people across the education, health, social and employment domains and reduce the risk for negative youth outcomes such as antisocial behaviour, crime, substance misuse and mental health problems” (Clarke et al., 2015, p. 11). There are therefore a variety of conditions associated with bullying and development in young people.
The paper “Surveys to Understand School Violence and Bullying” by Dorothy L. Espelage attempts to collect data from a variety of sources in order to better determine both the underlying factors resulting in school violence as well as the most effective solutions for overcoming these systemic problems. “Whereas some research indicates that extreme forms of school violence are decreasing in prevalence school violence in general and its aftermath continue to be significant problems for students, teachers, staff, and schools” (Espelage, 2014, p. 7). The paper discusses the importance of assessing repetition, or the likelihood that aggressive bullying behaviors will occur again in a similar way. This is important because evidence suggests that “youth who are victims of bullying often change their behaviors in order to minimize the probability of it happening again” (Espelage, 2014, p. 8). Aggressive or violent behaviors that are perceived to be recurring can have a strong impact on the behavior of the victims themselves.
Darling-Churchill, et al. present a research brief entitled “Understanding and Addressing the Early Childhood Origins of “Mean” Behavior and Bullying: Resources for Practitioners” discusses the effects of bullying and aggression on early childhood development. The report discusses the importance of mitigating these behaviors early on before they begin to have profound influences on the child's development. The research provides evidence that “a young child’s aggressive behaviors become more organized into bullying-like behavior during the preschool years” (Darling-Churchill, et al., 2015, p. 1). Early on, however, these behaviors lack consistency and so do not become as solidified in the child's personality. Furthermore, the authors suggest that “At least some of the roots of bullying behaviors, and conversely the roots of positive pro-social skills, can likely be found in adverse and positive experiences from early childhood” (Darling-Churchill, et al., 2015, p. 2). For this reason, it is necessary to identify factors leading to these behaviors early on so that they can be mitigated.
Robert Thornberg in his essay “Schoolchildren's social representations on bullying causes” discusses the pervasive problem of bullying throughout a variety of schools in the United States and Europe. He argues that victims of bullying “are at higher risk of developing loneliness and emotional problems” while the bullies themselves “will be at a higher risk of developing criminal behavior as compared to other you” (Thornberg, 2010, p. 2). Furthermore, he argues that victims of bullying are the most at risk in regards to youth and psychological or emotional issues. Often, friends or other bystanders do not intervene and this can have severe effects on their sense of security and personal health. Through the use of qualitative interviews among a variety of schoolchildren and their personal accounts of bullying he is able to establish establish a basic understanding of how these experiences impacted their development. One major factor that came to light was that “children often interpret the victim as deviant or different and attribute the cause of bullying to this deviance” (Thornberg, 2010, p. 11). Bullying can, in this way, be seen to result in negative attitudes towards the victims of bullying due to underlying social norms and values directed at victimization.
Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger, Malti, & Hymel in “Moral Reasoning And Emotion Attributions Of Adolescent Bullies, Victims, And Bully-Victims” present their study on the various factors that are involved in the moral development of bullies and their victims. While the bully's behaviors were generally more disengaged than that of the victims, the deviance of both groups seems to increase with age. The study found that certain aggressive actions could be shown to be associated with specific forms of moral reasoning due to the need to mitigate their sense of guilt. The research suggested that “children who were more frequently involved in bullying produced more morally disengaged and fewer morally responsible justification” (Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger, Malti, & Hymel, 2012, p. 6). Victims, of aggressive behavior, on the other hand, were shown to have developed moral reasoning that went in the opposite direction. This suggests that “individuals who are victims of aggression or bullying may display higher moral responsibility when justifying their behaviors and experience moral emotions” (Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger, Malti, & Hymel, 2012, p. 7). However, these individuals in some cases were also seen to have higher levels of self-directed blame for these actions, which can actually result in them sympathizing with their aggressors and having diminished moral standards.
The study “Socio-Economic, Socio-Political and Socio-Emotional Variables Explaining School Bullying: A Country-Wide Multilevel Analysis” by Chaux, Molano, and Podlesky discusses the socioeconomic factors that can result in a larger chance for behaviors that relate to bullying. The author's research utilizes a national competency test in order to establish the propensity for bullying within specific communities. The authors suggest that learning more about these competencies “may help us prevent the negative effects of a violent and unequal environment” (Chaux, Molano, and Podlesky, 2009, p. 520). 10-15% of children that go to school throughout the world are victims of bullying. “Those who are victims of bullying are more likely, among other consequences, to suffer from anxiety and depression, to reduce school engagement and academic motivation and to even risk dropping out of school” (Chaux, Molano, and Podlesky, 2009, p. 520). In some cases, these victims can face extreme violence. The authors contend that in better understanding bullying itself can help to provide insight into the impact that the behavior has on the social and emotional development of those that have been effected by it. The study ultimately found that “variance is really at the school level, or at a lower level such as the classroom or the individual student and not at the municipality level” (Chaux, Molano, and Podlesky, 2009, p. 526). The researchers found that power imbalances in the adults that they see is essentially the main causal factor relating to bullying.
The essay “Bullying and Cyberbullying: History, Statistics, Law, Prevention and Analysis” by Richard Donegan discusses the history of both bullying and cyberbullying within the United States and provides a variety of statistics that help to indicate the underlying effects that bullying can have on those both in real life and online. Donegan roots the historic origins of bullying in the underlying impulses that human beings have from the need for survival throughout their evolution. It is therefore the result of the need to survive and the instinctual drive to compete for domination. The need to outperform others is therefore hardwired into human biology. This inherent desire to succeed can often result in the development of behaviors associated with bullying due to an individual's need to take advantage of their physical strength in order to get ahead in areas such as school. When coupled with the anonymity that new technologies have given people often fall to taking part in these types of behaviors. “The distancing effect that technological devices have on today’s youth often leads them to say and do crueler things compared to what is typical in a traditional face-to-face bullying situations” (Donegan, 2012, p. 34). Online bullying and harassment can be not only posting mean or hurtful comments, but also spreading rumors, or even making personal threats. Donegan demonstrates that “the harm inflicted by bullying, whether physical or psychological, has many implications and can result in a snowball effect of lasting painful emotions and negative impacts” (Donegan, 2012, p. 36). While it has been found that victims will often deny any long-term emotional or psychological damage associated bullying his investigation suggests that emotional attitudes such as frustration, anger, and sadness can all arise from these types of behaviors. While older adolescents were more likely to feel either frustration or anger younger children were often found to result in feeling sadness when being bullied. Furthermore, it is suggested that “both bully victims as well as offenders are emotionally harmed by the act of cyberbullying” (Donegan, 2012, p. 37). This further corroborates the idea that bullying effects both aggressor and victim on emotional and psychological levels.
The essay “Coping with the emotional impact of bullying and cyberbullying: How research can inform practice” by Helen Cowie indicates that the biggest impact that bullying can have on young people is a general feeling of discomfort in regards to their peers and peer activity. She argues that, similarly, cyberbullying has the effect of ostracizing victims from the communities that they want to be a part of. Despite the fact that teachers have learned to be more vigilant about focusing on and alleviating behaviors such as bullying, there has not been enough work done in order to help those that have become victims of these behaviors. Furthermore, evidence suggests that the “young person’s consequent social withdrawal is likely to lead to low self-esteem and depression” (Cowie, 2011, p. 50). As more young people begin to take part in social-media networks this problem has only grown. Due to the reach of these technologies, bullying, which used to occur in public places, can now occur in their homes, making them not feel safe anywhere.
The essay “Empathy And Moral Disengagement In Adolescent Cyberbullying” by Lambros and Pyzalski presents research on the underlying pscyological and social correlations that can be associated with bullying. It is argued that through tapping into moral and empathetic beliefs in aggressors their actions can be reduced. Furthermore, the intervention of educational activities can help to provide assistance to both bullies and their victims. The study examines these ideas in pursuit of demonstrating a relationship between the effects of cyberbullying and face-to-face bullying. The authors suggest that “cyberbullying victims show many common morbidity features with victims of traditional bullying, including emotional problems, academic failure, depression, social isolation, and suicidal thoughts and attempts” (Lambros & Pyzalski, 2012, p. 60). However, due to an inability for researchers to establish causal links and a lack of evidence regarding the differentiation between these two forms of bullying makes it difficult to assess the most effective strategies for each. The authors suggest that “some people tend to adopt different coping strategies or even draw on different emotional and self-regulatory resources when faced with adverse situations” (Lambros & Pyzalksi, 2012, p. 60). This demonstrates the diversity of responses that can be seen to be associated with bullying and other forms of aggression in young people.
The article “Social-Psychological Profiles of Early Adolescents Involved in Bullying Activities” by Georgiou and Stavrinides examines the differences between various groups and communities in relation to their bullying activities at school in order to better understand both bullies and their victims and the resulting behaviors that they adopt. The study found that victimization can often be associated with low self-esteem, anxiousness and depression. Furthermore, when effected by aggressive behaviors, these individuals can develop loneliness and poor personal relationships. This can also be the result of a social stigma against those who portray themselves as victims. The authors argue that “victims are not popular with peers, which in turn can increase their likelihood to be rejected or victimized” (Georgiou & Stavrinides, 2012, p. 60). Furthermore, evidence suggests that “emotional problems were not related to bullying but to victimization” (Georgiou & Stavrinides, 2012, p. 66). This demonstrates that emotional damage from previous bullying can lead to further bullying, indicating a strong need to overcome these practices early on.
The article “Clinical Report-The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Family” by O'Keeffe and Clark-Pearson discusses the overall impact that social media has had on the growth of adolescents. These increasingly routine activities are an important source of communication and connection. “Because of their limited capacity for self-regulation and susceptibility to peer pressure, children and adolescents are at some risk as they navigate and experiment with social media” (O'Keeffe & Clark-Pearson, 2016, p. 800). Furthermore, certain actions that can often occur in the offline environment, such as bullying, harassment, and group-formation are also characteristics of the online environment as well. The author suggests that these actions“can cause profound psychosocial outcomes including depression, anxiety, severe isolation, and, tragically, suicide” (O'Keeffe & Clark-Pearson, 2016, p. 801). He argues that in order to reduce these occurrences it is necessary for experts to better understand the context surrounding these online engagements.
Guerra, Williams, and Sadek discuss in “Understanding Bullying and Victimization During Childhood and Adolescence: A Mixed Methods Study” the underlying factors associated with both bullying and victimization and the emotional and psychological consequences of these actions. Through mixed-method, qualitative and quantitative research, they look at specific situations of youth in school and their level of victimization across a variety of variables such as gender, age, and socioeconomic status. The study demonstrates that these behaviors are profoundly connected to “emergent sexuality and social identity during adolescence” (Guerra, Williams, and Sadek, 2011, p. 295). The authors attempt to frame their focus on preventative measures based on these tendencies. The study suggests that bullying ultimately results in “declines in self-esteem and increases in negative perceptions of school climate across ages and gender” (Guerra, Williams, and Sadek, 2011, p. 306). Bulling can therefore be seen to effect cognitive attitudes towards school, ultimately leading to the views they have of success and failure.
The essay by Swearer and Hymel “Understanding the Psychology of Bullying Moving Toward a Social Ecological Diathesis–Stress Mode” discusses the complex phenomenon associated with bullying and the various contributing factors to both bullying and victimization. The authors indicate that bullying should be treated as “as a stressful life event for both children who bully and those who are victimized, serving as a catalyst for psychosocial difficulties” (Swearer & Hymel, 2015, p. 344). Being bullied has been linked to not only poorer emotional and psychological health, but poorer physical health as well. Influences from peers, family, communities, and cultures can all have a profound effect on the level of bullying that occurs and the underlying attitudes that both perpetrators and victims have towards the behavior. These psychological and emotional problems occur through “the interaction of an individual’s biological and cognitive vulnerabilities and stressful life experiences” (Swearer & Hymel, 2015, p. 349). This demonstrates that bullying can have a profound effect on a person's self-identification as well as the way that they perceive the world that they are a part of and how they belong or fit into it.
Brackett and Rivers discuss the relationship between educators and students in responding to emotional difficulties at school in the essay “Transforming Students’ Lives with Social and Emotional Learning To appear in the Handbook of Emotions in Education.” The authors demonstrate that improved relationships with educators could have a positive impact on students overall experiences in the educational setting. They argue that this is important as growing emotional and social support are necessary to curb the ill-effects of bullying and other forms of physical, emotional, and psychological attacks. They contend that “schools can be highly effective in promoting positive youth development” (Brackett & Rivers, 2013, p. 6). Through the development of professional methods for overcoming these challenges educators can help to contribute to the limitation of the ill-effects of bullying. This is important because those with less emotional capacity are “ more likely to experience depression and anxiety, engage in violent behaviors such as bullying” (Brackett & Rivers, 2013, p. 12).
In the essay “School Bullying and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents” Cheng-Fang Yen discusses the mental health effects of bullying. He demonstrates studies suggesting that perpetrators of school-shootings are often the victims of bullying and other aggressive behaviors. For this reason, it is important to understand the effects of victimization on mental health in order to limit these circumstances from occuring. He argues that bullying is “one of the most distressing experiences for a child or adolescent, especially when it occurs over a prolonged period of time” (Yen, 2010, p. 4). The underlying emotive and psychological responses can be seen to be have a direct impact on their psychological development. Furthermore, he demonstrates that these actions can lead to “future psychopathologic behavior” (Yen, 2010, p. 8). This demonstrates the long-term consequences that bullying can have an the development of young people.
While it seems to be generally agreed that bullying itself is the result of some anxious or compulsive behavior, this can result in further limiting the social communication or self-confidence of the individuals being targeted by aggression. The impact of such behaviors include not only prolonged harm to their psychological state but also in the onset of other behaviors that might be considered to be deviant. Research suggests that there are a variety of conditions on which bullying takes place. These actions can have profound effects on the victim's ability to deal with conflict or to trust in the social support structures that they are a part of. These authors demonstrate the need to focus not only on older children, but also on earlier children in their development as well. In doing so, it is possible to limit the impact that bullying can have on development by reducing it altogether.
References
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Chaux, Enrique, Molano, Andres, Podlesky, Paola. (2009). Socio-Economic, Socio-Political and Socio-Emotional Variables Explaining School Bullying: A Country-Wide Multilevel Analysis. Aggressive Behavior, Volume 35, pages 520–529.
Clarke, Aleisha M., Morreale, Silvia, Field, Catherine Anne, Hussein, Yomna, & Barry, Margaret M. (2015). What works in enhancing social and emotional skills development during childhood and adolescence? Early Intervention Foundation. 236.
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