I chose to describe bullying because of the importance of the topic and due to my personal interest in it. According to Goldman (2012), 100% of students between the ages of 12 and 18 suffer from bullying at least twice per year, which demonstrates that the phenomenon is indeed pervasive (p. 1). Also, bullying is obviously harmful, and therefore the phenomenon requires the attention of educators. Besides that, it should be noted that developing of a proper attitude toward bullying (that is, avoiding bullying at all costs) and knowledge of techniques toward protecting oneself are best developed at a younger age. This will ensure a lifetime of minimal bullying experiences and its effects. Therefore, implementation of the program with preschoolers is a logical approach.
Bullying: Research
According to Nansel et al. (2001), a student is being bullied when another student, or a group of students, say or do nasty and unpleasant things to him or her. It is also bullying when a student is teased repeatedly in a way he or she doesnt like. But it is not bullying when two students of about the same strength quarrel or fight (2094-2100).
Bullying has adverse effects on a childs well-being, hinders his or her academic progress, and can pose lasting, harmful effects in the form of psychological trauma (Craig, 1998; Goldman, 2012, pp. 1-3; Sharp & Smith, 1994). In other words, any educator, Christian or not, needs to do his or her part to combat this phenomenon.
As Ackerman (2008) suggests, it is important to identify the reasons behind bullying in order to better assess a bullys intent. Reasons include 1) problems at home that create bullies and create victims; 2) a lack of social and emotional knowledge, understandable in cases where no one is developing such traits in a child; and, 3) an irresponsible use of technology, which is again explained by the lack of education about responsibility related to technology use (Goldman, 2012; Salmivalli, Lagerspetz, Bjorkqvist, Osterman, & Kaukiainen,1998; Sharp & Smith, 1994).
These reasons, merged with the PRAISE guidelines, define elements of the anti-bullying program suggested here.
Evaluation
The first element of evaluation is concerned with an ongoing assessment of the bullying situation. This is mentioned by Ackerman (2008) as the A in PRAISE, for Assessment. Surveys may be employed during the first stage of the program to identify and define problems, where discussions with children, in groups, can also provide useful information about the situation and about students understanding of what bullying is.
Supervisors need to carry out an ongoing evaluation, and it may be possible to involve older students in this important process.
Finally, children who want to report a problem must receive the educators attention. In fact, it is vital to develop and install a reporting system that fits the particular environment and fits the needs of a specific student population.
Education
The evaluation provides information on existing problems as well as available resources. Having defined both, we can consider the next element: education, which can be carefully customized to respond to revealed problems. Education will eliminate most of the reasons for bullying and provide students with the E from PRAISE: empowerment to behave appropriately. However, education is significant for everyone involved, including staff members.
Educational tools will differ from group to group. For staff, meetings and training are suitable, but for children, an engaging and entertaining curriculum on preventing and reacting to bullying should be developed. Also, children who are engaging in bullying need targeted attention.
The scripture quote presented here, Hebrews 12:11, is meant for the lost sheep. Here, I assert that the typical punishment may prove less useful than educational discussions with children who try to bully others. In any case, though, an appropriate means for delivering discipline needs to be used.
Finally, I again bring up technology. Technology is an important tool in education today. Technology assists in the teaching process and helps in the ongoing search for information. On the other hand, though, technology can also facilitate bullying. We will focus on cyberbullying later, but for the education element, it is important to contain this aspect of bullying and include strategies for preventing and responding to it.
Education Elders
The education element is also concerned with teaching parents, guardians, and other older people who are considered by the children as family. Family, as was pointed out, can be the environment in which children learn to be aggressive, or the context in which they are victimized (Coloroso, 2010; Greenwald, Bank, Reid, & Knutson, 1997; Narayan et al., 2014), which is why working with certain family members may prove to be a challenge. It is, however, necessary to make them aware of the bullying problem, through meetings and other means of information dissemination. This action is worthwhile not only because the family could be at the root of the problem, but also because involved parents can provide additional resources and ideas for solutions. In fact, it could prove helpful to create a committee on a safe environment that would include select family members.
Environment
The environment boasts valuable tools that can help facilitate the processes of change and learning. In particular, it is important to be proactive (the P in PRAISE) and to create a safe environment with 1) the aid of rules, 2) rewards for proper behavior, and 3) discussions and/or reprimands for children engaging in inappropriate behavior. Rules must be carefully crafted to be engaging and interesting, so that children are willing to follow them. For example, creating a students Bill of Rights provides additional opportunities to educate and may also highlight the fact that children do indeed possess the right to a safe environment and respectful attitude.
Ultimately, the classroom climate needs to be inclusive, caring and respectful.
Environment Technology
Respect (the R in PRAISE) and sincere (S in PRAISE) atmospheres created by the educator are of supreme importance in nourishing the childrens attitude toward one another. By building an inclusive, respectful and caring classroom climate, an educator can expect a similar response from students (Ackerman, 2008).
An important part of the modern environment is technology. Unfortunately, it can bring both adverse and positive effects. Cyber-bullying is a form of bullying that is performed in cyberspace (Coloroso, 2010), and according to Goldman (2012), up to 25% of children report that they have experienced it. Bullying that happens outside of school walls is not subject to school rules and legally should not be addressed by teachers. However, as mentioned previously, punishment is not the only solution; in effect, education, encouragement and PRAISE are likely to be more effective. Also, the involvement of family and comprehensive education become more significant for this category of bullying, which can easily spiral out of a teachers reach.
Evolution
The fourth element is evolution. It is concerned with the ongoing implementation, monitoring and improvement of the program as the situation changes and new needs become apparent. Naturally, this aspect is related closely to evaluation, and it will affect all of the other related elements. The data from evaluation should be used to define the plan for implementation; it is important to take into account available resources, as well as special needs of the diverse groups that make up a classroom (Sharp & Smith, 1994). Monitoring requires tools and can be integrated with evaluation instruments and supervising. It is especially important at the beginning of the project (as a part of change management), but it is also needed for the ongoing smooth evolution of processes.
Finally, as mentioned, it is critical to listen to children and to all others involved. Discussions and others suggestions can be as useful for improvement as are supervision and monitoring.
Coloroso, B. (2010). The bully, the bullied, and the bystander. New York: HarperResource.
Craig, W. (1998). The relationship among bullying, victimization, depression, anxiety, and aggression in elementary school children. Personality And Individual Differences, 24(1), 123-130. doi:10.1016/s0191-8869(97)00145-1
Goldman, C. (2012). Bullied. New York, NY: Harper One.
Greenwald, R., Bank, L., Reid, J., & Knutson, J. (1997). A discipline-mediated model of excessively punitive parenting. Aggressive Behavior, 23(4), 259-280.
Nansel, T., Overpeck, M., Pilla, R., Ruan, W., Simons-Morton, B., & Scheidt, P. (2001). Bullying Behaviors Among US Youth. JAMA, 285(16), 2094. doi:10.1001/jama.285.16.2094
Narayan, A., Chen, M., Martinez, P., Gold, P., & Klimes-Dougan, B. (2014). Interparental violence and maternal mood disorders as predictors of adolescent physical aggression within the family. Aggressive Behavior, 41(3), 253-266.
Salmivalli, C., Lagerspetz, K., Bjorkqvist, K., Osterman, K., & Kaukiainen, A. (1998). Bullying as a group process: Participant roles and their relations to social status within the group. Aggressive Behavior, 22(1), 1-15.
Sharp, S., & Smith, P. (1994). School bullying: Insights and perspectives. New York, NY: Routeledge.
Bullying is a concept which describes a broad set of aggressive behaviors ranging from ridicule to violence (Brown, 2008, p. 101).
More than two-thirds of children and adolescents experience bullying, and more than one-fourth of them report extreme forms of coercion (Brown, 2008, p. 101).
In the recent years, there has been a lot of controversy regarding bullying. More than two-thirds of children and adolescents experience bullying and more than one-fourth of them report extreme forms of coercion (Brown, 2008, p. 101). Such statistics necessitates the understanding of the concept of bullying in order to develop prevention strategies.
Bullying is a concept which describes a broad set of aggressive behaviors ranging from ridicule to violence (Brown, 2008, p. 101). The concept of bullying implies power imbalance between a bully and a victim, since the victim is unable to defend themselves (Brown, 2008, p. 101). Some scholars regard bullying as junior version of hate-crimes (Gerstenfeld, 2013, p. 124).
Manifestations of bullying
Bullying:
Verbal abuse;
Physical abuse;
Blaming;
Gossiping;
Invalid Criticism;
Social isolation.
Bullying may take different forms. These include:
Verbal abuse, such as ridiculing a victim, name-calling or threatening them;
Physical abuse, such as touching, slapping, kicking the victim, or taking belongings;
Blaming without any factual grounds;
Gossiping;
Invalid or unwarranted criticism;
Social isolation, including silent treatment , sitting at a separate table in a cafeteria, etc.
Bullying most typically occurs at the playground, since it is least supervised. However, bullying may also occur in classrooms, corridors and other locations (Sharp, Smith, & Smith, 2002, p. 7).
How is Bullying Accomplished
Places where Bullying Occurs:
Classroom;
Corridor;
Hallway;
Playground;
Toilet.
Typically bullying occurs in those places where there is no adult supervision. Bullying most typically occurs at the playground or in the toilet, since it is least supervised. However, bullying may also occur in classrooms, corridors and other locations (Sharp, Smith, & Smith, 2002, p. 7).
Bullying occurs in those times when there are no adults around. When adults are present, bullies are morel likely to act normal in order to avoid punishment.
Characteristics of a Bully
A bully is likely to:
Be a witness of violence or aggression at home;
Be physically strong or big;
Lack empathy;
Not comply with rules;
Not control their aggression;
Push other children (Sharp, Smith, & Smith, 2002).
Several characteristics of a students behavior are likely to suggest that they are bullying other students. A bully is likely to:
Be a witness of violence or aggression at home;
Be physically strong or big;
Lack empathy;
Not comply with rules;
Not control their aggression;
Push other children (Sharp, Smith, & Smith, 2002).
School can use these characteristics to identify a bully or a grounp engaged in bullying. Due to the abovementioned characteristics, bullies are likely to present a problem to society in future. They are more likely to be involved in fights later in life, have problems with law, drop out of the university or have a problem finding a job due to their inability to control aggression.
Consequences of Bullying
Bullying makes victims feel afraid and marginalized (Gerstenfeld, 2013, p. 123);
Bullying may affect mental health of the victim, contribute to self-harm or suicide (Gerstenfeld, 2013, p. 123);
Victims of bullying have lower self-esteem and have trust issues (Sharp, Smith, & Smith, 2002, p. 7);
Due to stress, victims of bullying may not perform well academically (Sharp, Smith, & Smith, 2002, p. 7).
Research suggests that bullying has several immediate and long-term consequences:
Bullying makes victims feel afraid and marginalized (Gerstenfeld, 2013, p. 123);
Bullying may affect mental health of the victim, contribute to self-harm or suicide (Gerstenfeld, 2013, p. 123);
Victims of bullying have lower self-esteem and have trust issues (Sharp, Smith, & Smith, 2002, p. 7);
Due to stress, victims of bullying may not perform well academically (Sharp, Smith, & Smith, 2002, p. 7).
The Prevention of Bullying Activities
No bullying:
Deterrence;
Surveillance;
Raising Awareness;
School-based Consultation;
Promoting Equality and Diversity.
Schools have the authority and responsibility to stop bullying. Following strategies are proposed to minimize the chances of bullying:
Deterrence: disciplinary policies and regulations. Zero-tolerance disciplinary policies and regulations are needed to minimize the rates of various offenses and promote responsible behavior.
Surveillance: security cameras, security guards. Surveillance can be used to effectively address the issue of school safety.
Raising Awareness: raising awareness about the consequences of bullying.
School-based consultation: individual and classwide counseling. Both individual and classwide counseling programs which address aggressive behavior can be used to reduce such behavior. Individual counseling could be used to let students speak out.
Promoting Equality and Diversity: Creating a safe and engaging learning environment by embracing diversity and establishing culturally competent teaching practices.
References
Brown, J. (2008). What Is Bullying? Journal of Adolescent Health, 43, 101-102.
Gerstenfeld, P. (2013). Hate Crimes: Causes, Controls, and Controversies. London, United Kingdom: SAGE Publications.
Sharp, S., Smith, P., & Smith, P. (2002). School Bullying: Insights and Perspectives. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge.
Bullying is one of the most common manifestations of peer violence in children and adolescents. Although both bullies and victims are all individual people, there are some typical features that representatives of each group share. According to StopBullying.gov (2021), children who bully are often of higher social status and might be considered leaders among their peers.
Discussion
They have a more positive attitude towards violent behavior, it is difficult for them to follow the rules, and they tend to argue with adults. The bullied children are usually more socially inept and, as a consequence, have few friends. They are usually vulnerable, unassertive, and have problems with self-esteem. In addition to that, students with physical differences, special needs, or disabilities, as well as those whose first language is not English, are often victims of bullying.
There is not a single specific risk factor that makes a child more likely to bully or be bullied. However, as has been mentioned above, some groups of youth, such as disabled, physically different, or, for instance, LGBT+ people might be at enhanced risk of becoming a victim. As per Menesini and Salmivalli (2017), warning signs that one might be a bully include them being easily angered, rarely expressing empathy, wanting to win at any cost, and often refusing to cooperate. Meanwhile, signs that a person is bullied could be having unexplained cuts/scratches/bruises, seeming afraid to go to school, and being sad/moody/depressed when coming home from school.
Cyberbullying is the type of bullying with the use of electronic forms of communication, which, unfortunately, has become common in this day and age. I would not say that it is a problem in my school, though there was a particular instance of it: a gay boy was forcefully outed by his classmate on TikTok. The most popular social media platforms utilized by the students of my school nowadays are TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat.
Conclusion
Prevention of bullying, cyberbullying included, has to occur in accordance with the IBSE Standards of social and emotional learning. As per Naperville 203 (n.d.), these include the use of self-management skills, interpersonal skills, and decision-making skills to guide ones actions. Selekman et al. (2019) also add that human resource policies and practices require regular review (p. 936). Therefore, possible anti-bullying strategies have to contain ones personal assurance that bullying is not okay, the ability to communicate it to children, and necessary interventions to ensure bullying does not occur.
Bullying is a significant issue in the modern world because it affects numerous children and adolescents. Repetitiveness and an imbalance of power are the top distinguishing features of this phenomenon. There is no doubt that bullying can lead to adverse consequences, but the current focus is on how this issue emerges and what role parents play in this process. Thus, the paper will explain why authoritarian and permissive parenting styles promote bullying among children and adolescents, while an authoritative one reduces this behavior prevalence.
Definition of Terms
To begin with, one should define the basic terms that will be used in this paper. Bullying is aggressive behavior that involves the use of power, coercion, threat, and others. That is why it is possible to talk about a victim (a person who has bullied) and a perpetrator (a person who bullies others) (Thomas et al. 437). This information demonstrates that the phenomenon under consideration includes two parties, and one of them initiates aggressive actions.
Since the given topic usually refers to children and adolescents, it is evident that their parents hold a portion of responsibility because the adults affect the growth and development of young individuals. Numerous parents follow various approaches in rearing their children, and the choice of a specific parenting style can be of significance. This term refers to a set of strategies and decisions that parents take to interact with their sons and daughters. Georgiou et al. state that these styles focus on the degree of demandingness and responsiveness (29). The scholars comment on the authoritative style (high demandingness and high responsiveness), the permissive style (high responsiveness, low demandingness), and the authoritarian style (high demandingness, low responsiveness) (Georgiou et al. 29). The three result in childrens different involvement in bullying behaviors, and the following section will explain why it happens.
Correlation between Bullying and Parenting Style
Numerous scholarly articles focus on the issue under analysis and offer valuable information. For example, a systematic review by Masud et al. attempts to identify whether there is a connection between a parenting style and aggression among children and adolescents. The authors stipulate that authoritative parenting positively influences individuals psychological development, while permissive and authoritarian styles promote aggression (Masud et al. 1015). Since it has already been mentioned that bullying is a manifestation of aggressive behavior, one can state that the two latter styles make children perpetrators. Thomas et al. also support this idea by saying that an authoritarian parenting style is a significant factor predicting that a child will involve in bullying behaviors (440). These data denote that permissive and authoritative parenting styles should include some elements that make children express aggression and disrespect toward their peers, and the following paragraphs will comment on them.
When it comes to identifying a link between parenting styles and bullying, it is reasonable to concentrate on the degrees of responsiveness and demandingness that have been discussed above. On the one hand, high responsiveness and low demandingness of the permissive style result in the fact that children feel a total absence of authority. Consequently, such young individuals can start bullying their peers since the parents did not teach them how to control their aggression. Such boys and girls are usually perpetrators because they are accustomed to behaving as they want without considering other peoples feelings and emotions.
On the other hand, the authoritarian style is based on high demandingness and low responsiveness, and this strategy can also result in adverse consequences. This style is often accompanied by corporal punishment, negative communication, and other harmful behaviors (de Oliveira et al. 41). Such strategies significantly affect children, making them experience constant fear. As a result, such children often become bullying victims because their parents have already harmed their psychology. Simultaneously, Dickson et al. admit that the authoritarian style is in close connection with derisive parenting that involves humiliating children, and this strategy fosters anger (1567). This information denotes that the permissive and authoritarian parenting styles can make children bullying victims and perpetrators.
There is a clear explanation of the ideas above, and the given paragraph is going to present it. It refers to the fact that the two parenting styles above are manifestations of a vertical dimension of cultural values. De Oliveira et al. explain that this dimension promotes hierarchy and inequality (29). Consequently, the given parenting styles contribute to the fact that children feel their superiority or inferiority, which affects their behavior and involvement in bullying. That is why it is rational to promote a horizontal dimension. According to de Oliveira et al., this phenomenon welcomes interdependence and equality (30). Consequently, this dimension focuses on the values that minimize the risk that children and adolescents will involve in bullying behaviors. The following section will comment on whether there is a parenting style that can limit the prevalence of the issue under consideration.
As has been stated above, the authoritative parenting style relies on high demandingness and high responsiveness. It means that parents actively and productively participate in rearing their children, and scientific evidence demonstrates that this strategy is effective. Firstly, Masud et al. admit that the given parenting style contributes to childrens normal psychological development and behavior (1015). It is so because parents do not use mental and physical pressure while interacting with their children. Secondly, this parenting style is a supportive strategy, and it is even effective in reducing bullying in cyberspace (Legate et al. 399). This fact demonstrates that the authoritative style teaches children to control their emotions and respects others.
Conclusion
Bullying is an important phenomenon in the modern world since it refers to the psychological and physical well-being of children and adolescents. It involves victims and perpetrators, and a relationship between them is possible due to an imbalance of power. Evidence from scholarly articles has demonstrated that parenting styles play a significant role in determining whether children will involve in the behavior under analysis. The paper has revealed that the permissive and authoritarian styles promote bullying, while the authoritative one helps young individuals restrain from the action. It happens because the first two styles promote the vertical dimension that welcomes hierarchy, while the latter type focuses on the horizontal one that relies on equality.
This information is significant since it shows how people can reduce the spread of bullying among children and adolescents. Parents should understand that their approach to rearing their children influences the whole society. That is why it is reasonable to draw attention to the problem at the current moment to prevent it from becoming of a catastrophic volume in the future. Thus, the presence of scholarly articles demonstrates that some actions are taken, but further efforts are also necessary.
Works Cited
De Oliveira, Wanderlei A., et al. Family Variables and Bullying among Brazilian Adolescents: A Mixed Study. Psicologia Conductual, vol. 27, no. 1, 2019, pp. 41-53.
Dickson, Daniel J., et al. Derisive Parenting Fosters Dysregulated Anger in Adolescent Children and Subsequent Difficulties with Peers. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 48, no. 8, 2019, pp. 1567-1579.
Georgiou, Stelios N., et al. Cultural Values as Mediators between Parenting Styles and Bullying Behavior at School. Social Psychology or Education: An International Journal, vol. 21, no. 1, 2018, pp. 27-50.
Legate, Nicole, et al. Parenting Strategies and Adolescents Cyberbullying Behaviors: Evidence from a Preregistered Study of Parent-Child Dyads. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 48, no. 2, 2019, pp. 399-409.
Masud, Hamid, et al. Parenting Styles and Aggression among Young Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Literature. Community Mental Health Journal, vol. 55, no. 6, 2019, pp. 1015-1030.
Thomas, Hannah J., et al. Why Do Children and Adolescents Bully Their Peers? A Critical Review of Key Theoretical Frameworks. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, vol. 53, no. 5, 2018, pp. 437-451.
The phenomenon of bullying is one of the most common forms of aggression among children in schools. This problem is of a global nature, and this fact explains the particular attention of scholars to it. In their article, Menesini and Salmivalli (2017) examine the current state of knowledge on the topic and thoroughly discuss all of the aspects of bullying. They include the criteria, which define this behavior, its prevalence, age and gender differences, various types of it as well as a specific precondition for emerging issues regarding the aggressiveness of this population group (Menesini & Salmivalli, 2017). In this way, the study covers all the essential aspects of the matter and its effects on children.
The authors emphasize the inconsistency of previous research on the subject. In the article, they claim that it is related to the prevalence rates due to different measurement methods, but they indicate that the most vulnerable people are youth (Menesini & Salmivalli, 2017). Bullying can be either physical or emotional, and the initiators are more frequently boys (Menesini & Salmivalli, 2017). According to the study, this kind of violence can be considered as such only in the case of repetition, intention, and an imbalance of power, and it is usually caused by prejudice (Menesini & Salmivalli, 2017). On an individual level, this issue emerges due to the lack of social skills and other problems of a bully. As for schools, it is connected to demographic factors and can be resolved only by special programs.
As can be seen from the scope of data covered by the article under consideration, it includes all of the aspects of bullying among children. It allows concluding on its usefulness for developing a presentation on the topic. The principal benefit of this source is the provision of both theoretical and practical information contributing to the inclusion of all the factors, their overall influence, and possible interventions in further research.
With the world turning into a global village, interactions between people in different geographical locations have been made easier by technological advancements. There has been increased internet usage and many people irrespective of their ages have been using it as a medium of communication and source of any information one may need.
However, with the ease of accessing it, many people especially minors have turned into using internet for other purposes which sometimes are threats to their own existence. One of the negative uses of internet which is a matter of concern to many parents is Cyber bullying (Byron, 2009).
The use of information and communication technologies to support a deliberate and most of the time repeated hostile behavior by an individual or groups of people with the sole intention of harming others, one is said to be engaging in cyber bullying.
Others define it as any form of cyber communication posted or sent by a minor or a teen online whether using an instant messenger, website, a profile diary or even by use of a phone or any device which is interactive with the main intention of frightening, embarrassing harassing or target another minor.
Cyber bullying therefore has to involve a minor against another minor but when adults become involved it is referred to as cyber harassment or cyber stalking (Hindunja & Patchin, 2009). Most of the times, cyber bullying is not a one time communication unless it involves death threats or bodily harm. Sometimes cyber bullying may rise to the level of cyber harassment or if the child is young enough it can also translate to juvenile delinquency if the child is too young. Cyber bullying takes place in many forms and they include:
Methods of Cyber bullying
Those who engage in cyber bullying use different tactics with which they inflict harm. The following are among the methods bullies use:
Flaming involves the use of angry confrontation messages by the bully to the victim. Most of the people who use flaming as a bullying method are total strangers who threaten their targets by using vulgar and explicit language. Harassment is the other method bullies use and it is usually inflicted by use of emails, text messages, and instant messages or in chat messages. It involves sending harassing and offensive messages repetitively.
Denigration is the other method and it involves using of derogatory statements and then disseminating them electronically. The aim of these derogatory statements is usually to tarnish the target reputation among his or her peers. Masquerading is another method though its not usual as it requires advanced skills since the bully pretends to be the target and thus sends offensive messages that appear to have originated from the target.
Finally, outing and trickery involves the bully tricking the target into releasing personal information or making statements which the bully later releases to the public through the internet in order to harass the target. This method is usually prevalent among former friends who release secrets and embarrassing photos they used to share and releases them with an aim embarrassing the victims (Galloway, 2007).
Environments of Cyber Bullying
Depending on the technology one is endowed with, there exist several platforms or environments through which cyber bullying occurs and they include:
Instant Messaging (IM)
This platform is similar to the emails except that it is synchronous. Meaning that the two parties are online at the same time and the messages are usually sent back and forth. Most minors prefer using IM programs since they do not charge a cent for their services. As long as you create an account then search for your friend whom you will be chatting with.
The only problem with the IM systems is that although the conversation is between two parties who know each other, the messages can be copied and sent to others who were not the intended recipients and use the information in unethical manner. Disclosing of IM passwords to others can lead to other people masquerading like you and then send abusive messages to other parties. The anonymity of these environments may lead to a party disclosing more information than he or she would not do in person (Bauman, 2007).
The other platform which bullies use is the chat rooms. These are also written conversations but the only exception is that in a chat room, the message is usually not personal as everyone in the chat room at that time can read the message. Just as in IM, chat rooms can also be made private by secluding others for example a person can invite you to a private chat and exclude others. When you agree to enter into their private rooms, there you can share all the information since you believe you have some privacy only for him or her to release the information to the public (Bauman, 2007)
Signs That a Minor Is Suffering From Cyber Bullying
Among the signs that your child or a minor is suffering from cyber bullying include signs of withdrawal. Your child becomes more withdrawn and begins to isolate him or herself from peers. The child may also seem antisocial and at times he can become nervous, upset or even unwilling to go to school due to the fact that if the bully is among his or her classmates, bullying might continue there and the effects will not be that lovely.
As a parent, if you notice that the child does not spend the same amount of time in the computer as he used to spend earlier you can enquire from him or her. Finally, if the child appears angry, upset or withdrawn after spending time on the computer you can as well investigate the reasons. These are among the signs the parent needs to check on the child to be sure that he is not suffering from cyber bullying (Hindunja & Patchin, 2009)
How to Avoid Cyber Bullying
As a parent or the guardian, always advise your children never to share out their private information such as passwords, addresses or names of relatives with people in the internet as the bullies can capitalize on the information provided and use it to harass a fellow minor. It is always advisable never to share you email addresses to the strangers you meet in the internet and always ensure your kids inform you if they need to share their photos with strangers in the internet.
Make sure that your child understands that online conversations are usually not private and thus inform your kid that those people whom he or she communicates with in other side of the internet can copy print or share what they chat about thus they should always make sure the discussion is always general.
Conclusion
Cyber bullying has been a widespread and a growing concern that affects students and other minors. With the nature of technology advancements, bullies feel immune or protected from the social norms and many opt to behave in uncharacteristically cruel ways. Chat rooms and Instant Messaging are some of the environments bully use when harassing other minors.
As we have noted, cyber bullying leads to harassment and embarrassments and to ensure that the minors are not prone to harassment by cyber bullies, they should always ensure that their conversations remain general and they should never share personal information with strangers.
Reference List
Bauman, S. (2007). Cyber bullying: a Virtual Menace. Web.
Byron, T. (2009). Virtual Violence: Protecting Children from Cyber bullying. Web.
Galloway, S. J. (2007). Cyber Bullying Methods: The Various Tactics Used To Bully Online. Web.
Hindunja, S., and Patchin, J, W. (2009). Cyber Bullying Warning Signs. Web.
Response plans prevent and minimize the possibility of active shooters accessing healthcare facilities and mitigate any loss of life. The plan involves three steps to prevent and reduce risks for loss of life in an active shooter incidence. Run is about evacuating the area immediately, whereas hide involves seeking a secure place that the shooter cannot access (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2017). Fight focuses on trying to attack and incapacitate the shooter. The danger of an active shooter should be avoided by creating situational awareness of the environment before the incidence occurs, planning ahead what to do and knowing escape routes (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2017). Active shooters should be denied access to the building by closing doors. It would be best if you also defended yourself by taking action when your life is in danger. The plan involves four steps vital to preventing or minimizing loss of life during active shooter incidence, including accepting emergency, assessing what they can do next, act by locking doors, and then alert the police.
ALICE is five steps response plan that healthcare providers can use to increase the chances of saving lives and surviving. ALICE is an acronym for alert, lockdown, inform, counter, and evacuate (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2017). A nurse can use anything to alert others about the danger, lock doors, and use all means possible to pass information to security agencies and law enforcement officers. The window of life is a response strategy that assigns nurses four responsibilities. These tasks include an obligation to their safety, duty to those immediately attacked, responsibility to all those within the healthcare facility, and responsibility to notify security and law enforcement officers. Nurses should know what they are looking for, understand all possible risks in their facility, seek support when necessary, and participate in training exercises.
Responsibility for Patients in an Active Shooter Scenario
Nurses are responsible for ensuring safety for all patients in all situations. Alerting the patients about the presence of an actor can shooter can help them take personal safety precautions such as lying on the floor. Nurses should lock all doors and use tables and other objects to reinforce them to prevent any possibility of the active shooter getting to the patients room.
Notably, nurses should lock the doors immediately after noticing sensing danger of an active shooter. Nurses should tell patients to get on the floor to prevent them from being hit by a bullet. Notably, some patients conditions may not allow them to make any movement or act faster. In such situations, nurses should help them get on the floor by carefully lifting or supporting them to prevent possible complications.
Waiting bays, wards, and consultation rooms are not usually safe places for the patients during active shooting. However, there are other places within a healthcare facility where all people can hide until support from law enforcement officers comes. It is the responsibility of nurses to guide all patients to such places and carry those who cannot walk to guarantee their safety.
In a situation where there is no safe place to accommodate all patients, nurses should use established emergency routes to safely evacuate the patients from the building where the active shooter is. Nurses should also fight the active shooter when the patients lives and theirs are in imminent danger. For instance, a nurse can use any object around them to hit the perpetrator, incapacitating them and limiting the possibilities of patients being harmed.
Bullying as a Problem in Nursing
Bullying in nursing is associated with various depressive symptoms, such as impairment in executing daily activities among healthcare providers. Nurses may also lose interest in participating in activities they previously enjoyed. Lever et al. (2019) indicate that more than 90% of victims of bullying suffer fem major depressive episodes. The encounter with the bullies contributes to anxiety among the nurses, characterized by intense and persistent fear and worries about everyday situations. Lever et al. (2019) add that bullying is significantly associated with reduced psychological well-being among nurses and other healthcare providers. The depression, anxiety, and stress caused by bullying can lead to physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion. Leach et al. (2020) associate bullying with increased risks of suicidal ideation by approximately 8%.
Bullying causes insomnia, sleep changes, sleep deficiency, and headaches among the victims. According to Nauman et al. (2019), exposure to workplace bullying depletes sleep due to such factors as post-traumatic stress syndrome. Inadequate or no sleep and stress associated with bullying can lead to a severe episodic headache. Bullying can further lead to gastrointestinal problems because the victims are likely to lose their interest in food because of depression. Lever et al. (2019) note that a significant number of healthcare workers who have ever been exposed to bullying report having gastrointestinal problems. Seek leaves even when nurses are not ill, and a high absenteeism rate is another adverse effect associated with bullying in nursing.
A healthcare facility with one or more bullies creates poor and harsh working conditions for other nurses. Such a working environment jeopardizes health care providers physical and mental well-being. Job satisfaction in the healthcare sector is vital in providing quality and safe care to patients. However, bullied nurses feel unsatisfied with their job, which can negatively impact their work and clients. Victims of nursing bullying are more likely to leave their job than other health care providers. According to Al Muharraq et al. (2022), 31.7% of victims of bullying exhibit high turnover intentions. Productivity and quality of services the nurses provide reduce due to factors like depression, anxiety, and burnout that hurt the effective execution of daily work activities. Consequently, the quality of health outcomes for the patients decreases significantly.
Suggestions for a New Nurse Being Bullied
The nurse should first research policies the healthcare organization sets to determine the appropriate protocol for reporting bullying incidences. The approach is vital to minimizing the possibility of breaching established guidelines and increasing the chances of getting needed help.
The nurse may be afraid to speak out due to concern about what other workers say, jeopardizing his mental and physical well-being. However, nurses should prioritize taking care of themselves by pulling available resources such as mental health professionals to support them.
The bullying perpetrator may not know that their behavior is affecting you. The definition of bullying is subjective, and individuals may have a varying threshold they consider intimidation. Equally, the person bullying you may be going through a hard time, which can help them relate to how you are feeling. Thus, speaking to the perpetrator effectively can deal with the issue.
Although bullying may lead to distraction, stress, and unproductivity, most victims avoid reporting it due to fear, the possible embarrassment, and lack of trust in an established support system. It is imperative to speak to someone about the behavior if you do not want to report it to alleviate the possibility of suffering from its adverse effects. Although bullying is a behavior, sometimes it may amount to a criminal offence. For instance, sexual or physical attacks, sharing of private information online, and use of prejudiced language are unlawful that should probably be reported to the police officers. Most victims of bullying submit to the urge to isolate themselves, depriving them of any form of support to handle the behavior and its effect (Lever et al., 2019). This approach does more harm than good by worsening the situation by silencing the victims and lowering their self-esteem.
Remembrance of what happened is essential to handling bullying in the workplace. Therefore, it is vital to document everything related to the incidence in detail. For example, you can write down the time, date, location and names of co-workers who witnessed you being bullied. Sometimes victims of bullying tend to think that they contribute to such incidences.
However, the nurse should understand that the perpetrator is the one with the problem, not him or her. It is also critical to note that ones attitude towards bullying is the main reason why most people experience the factor(Lever et al., 2019). Therefore changing attitudes towards bullying can be instrumental in dealing with the behavior. It is further important to let the person bullying you know that their behavior is intolerable, and you would take action if it occurs again. Setting boundaries allows the perpetrators to understand the behaviors they are willing to accept.
Responsibility Towards a Nurse Being Bullied
Speaking to the perpetrator is essential because it can distract them from continuing to bully the victim. Additionally, it can give the victim a chance to get out of the scene or the courage to speak for themselves. Nurses witnessing the bullying should document the incidence to facilitate effective reporting or remembrance of what happened if the need arises. Notably, the victims may be so scared or traumatized that they cannot manage to document anything about what transpired. Therefore, recording the occurrence as a witness is helpful to the victims. The victim may be scared to report the incident due to fear of being attacked again, the possible embarrassment, and lack of trust in an established support system. Equally, they may not be aware of where to start. Thus, it is the responsibility of the nurses witnessing the incivility to report it to supervisors or managers for appropriate action to be taken.
Conclusion
Bullying instill fear and traumatizes the victims, increasing their risks for mental health problems. As a nurse witnessing the incident, you should encourage the victim to speak about what transpired to minimize the possibility of depression, anxiety disorder, and other conditions. The nurse may not know available resources to help them cope with the situation. Therefore, informing the victim services of such counseling is the responsibility of the witnesses. The victim may fear standing firm against the perpetrators behavior. As a nurse witnessing the bullying, you encourage the victim to let the perpetrator know such behavior will not be tolerated to alleviate the possibility of reoccurrence.
Bullyingcan be broadly taken to mean the repeated use of force by some students to acquire domination over others(Smith & Brain, 2000). Bullying takes many forms ranging from physical bullying to sexual assault. However, bullying entails four major types, viz. emotional, verbal, physical, and cyber bullying(Baldry, 2003). Such acts amount to bullying when the doer does them intentionally in order to hurt the other party or acquire some advantage at the expense of the victim. Bullying is a common phenomenon in schools and it is reported that it results in violence in learning institutions in the end (Adams, 2014).
Bullying comes due to imbalance of social or physical power among students(Perius et al., 2014). The vice is further compounded by diversity in race, ethnicity, and religion. In the recent past, bullying has increased overwhelmingly in schools. Unfortunately, this retrogressive behavior reportedly affects many students, which leads to poor academic performance (Cooper, Clements, & Holt, 2012).
According to the available statistics, about 40%-80% of American children experience bullying at some stage in their school life (Berezina & Bovina, 2013). Statistics also indicate that students from low social-economic backgrounds are the most affected. According to a study carried out by the American Psychological Association, about 40% of students admitted that they had been bullied at one point in their lives (Perius, Brooks-Russell, Jing & Iannotti, 2014). The study also indicated that 70% of secondary school students in the United States experience repeated bullying in learning institutions.
Apparently, bullying is the major cause of violence among students in schools. Bullying can occur in any social setting involving human interaction such as in schools, home, workplace, sports, and towns. However, this essay will only analyze bullying in schools, since learning institutions are the most affected areas. The paper will analyze the major forms of bullying in schools and give a walk over approach to the available statistics on the vice.
At times, students organize themselves into groups based on their social class, race, or religion and the superior groupings will tend to intimidate other students. In many parts of the world, bullying is prohibited with some nations such as the US imposing certain laws barring students from harassing their fellow students(Cooper, Clements, & Holt, 2012). While other forms of crimes such as murder and assault receive high media attention, bullying in schools is rarely covered over the media, and this aspect enables the perpetrators to escape the law.
Bullying has been in existence for many centuries, but it was not recognized until recently when it was redefined to underscore an offence by itself. Bullying has raised concerns from school authorities, parents, and guardians who have now come in the open to oppose the vice(Berezina & Bovina, 2013). Bullying can be bodily or oral and it can end up inviolence and in most cases, the injured party may resort to violence in reaction to the tremendous nature of nuisance (Spriggs, Iannotti, Nansel & Haynie, 2007). Targets of bullying acts in most cases suffer psychological, social, and bodily damage.
Literature review
In their article, Violence at school: socio-psychological explanations and recommendations , Berezina and Bovina (2013)adopt a socio-psychological approach when defining bullying and violence in schools. The article describes the various forms of bullying common in schools coupled with discussing efforts by various organizations to counter the rising vice. The article places much weight on group bullying as opposed to one-on-one bullying. It defines bullying to involve all the involved parties, viz. the person doing the bullying, the bystanders, and the sympathizers.
The article, Violence in the School Setting: A School Nurse Perspective , by King (2014) acknowledges the role of school nurses in reducing violent acts in school.School nurses play an important role in preventing and combating undesirable behaviors amongst students. School nurses are close to students since they are rarely involved in disciplinary issues and decision-making.
Therefore, students feel free to interact with nurses and through this relation, the nurse is in a position to understand the problem of violence in schools better as compared to anyone else in a given institution. King (20124) outlines the importance of school nurses in averting violence among students. The author paints a picture on the actual role of school nurses in preventing violent activities in schools. The article outlines the various forms of bullying that affect students at different levels.
Perius et al. (2014) analyze the incidences of violent acts in schools between the year 1998 and 2010 by comparing the reported bullying cases in that period annually. Perius et al. (2014) base their argument on a research conducted on teens in various levels, and thus the results of the findings realistic and unbiased. The authors acknowledge the view that socio-economical classes, gender, and ethnicity are the predisposing factors of bullying. In addition, the authors view the bullying process as a cycle where the harassed individuals tend to revenge by harassing some other group of students.
Cyber bullying
Cyber-bullying refers to any kind of bullying perpetuated using information technology (Nansel, Overpeck, Haynie, Ruan & Scheidt, 2003). Cyber bullying is gaining momentum due to the view that most students have joined the social media where they can interact freely with anyone. A study carried out between 2009 and 2013 revealed that 95% of students have witnessed a threat through the social media. In many cases, perpetrators of this form of bullying go unnoticed due to the complexity and technicality involved as well as ignorance by both the authorities and guardians.
Cyber-bullying is the most anonymous form of bullying since the perpetrator can conceal him/her identity, thus becoming difficult to trace the person(King, 2014). Cyber bullying can take the form of text messages, emails, social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and instant messages among others (Baldry, 2003). This form of bullying is difficult to detect eventhough various organizations have come up to oppose this form of bullying.
Attempts by schools authorities to fight cyber bullying has not been successful since such activities mostly happen during non-school hours and the authorities are criticized for exceeding their mandate by investigating actions by students when outside school(Spriggs et al., 2007).
This aspect gives the perpetrators of this form of bullying an incentive to continue with the vice, since they usually go unpunished. Due to the increased incidences of cyber bullying, institutions in the US have launched bullying awareness campaigns aimed at educating teens on the proper use of social media(Baldry, 2003). There have also been calls to social media operators to take responsibility and outline terms of use to avert such bullying.
Disability bullying
Physically challenged persons stand a higher chance of being bullied by other physically fit students. Students with learning disabilities face criticism and they may suffer emotionally due to stigma. They are often ignored due to their inability to express themselves(Perius et al., 2014). This aspect may expose them to stigma and stress and are thus they can be said to be emotionally harassed.
Sexual bullying
Sexual bullying is any form of bullying involving sexual organs(Nansel et al., 2003). In this case, sex is deployed as a tool either by males against females or by females against males. It can take the form of forced sex, unwanted touching of sexual organs, and the use of sexually insulting language among others(Cooper, Clements & Holt, 2012). However, sexual bullying is directed at girls and in most cases,male students tend to intimidate their female counterparts.
According to the findings of a research carried out by the BBC Panorama on a sample of 270 youths aged between 11-19 years, 28 of the respondents admitted that they has at least one sexual bullying encounterin their lives (Whitted & Dupper, 2005). Thirtystudentsfrom the sample had witnessed sexual bullying being done on another person. Among the sample, 40 students had experienced unwanted touching of their sexual organs. In urban schools, it has been noted that children are forced to provide sexual favor in exchange for protection from illegal gangs(Smith & Brain, 2000).
Self defense
A good number of people opt to defend themselves whenever they face any traumatizing situation that is caused by a person he or she sees on a daily basis. Naturally, the victim feels discontented by the evil deed that was done to him or her by that particular person. As a result, he or she opts to turn violent to the person who caused the offense. Violence results from the need by victims of bullying to revenge for injury caused on them. Revenge usually results in the use of guns and other dangerous weapons, and in the process, death may occur (Smith & Brain, 2000). Students tend to resort to acts of violence in attempts to defend themselves. However, school shootings are not common, but they account for at least 1% of violent crimes in schools (King, 2014). For instance, a shocking case involving gun shooting occurred in Sandy Hook Elementary School in the year 2012 where 26 students and employees were shot dead.
Carrying of weapons
A few cases of students carrying weapons to school have been reported (Berezina & Bovina, 2013). According to a report tabled by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2008, about6% of students carried with them some weapons to school (CDC, 2013). The commonly carried weapons include knives. The report says that the intention is to defend individuals or revenge for acts done on them by other students. Male students were reported as the most susceptible to possessing these weapons in school as compared with their female counterparts.
The findings of the study further revealed that 7.8% of students in high school had an experience of injury inflicted on them with a weapon or had been threatened by a weapon within a period of 12 months when the study was going on (CDC, 2013). 12.4% of students engaged in fights within the school compound and no action was taken against them (CDC, 2013). 5.5% of the students sampled skipped classes in fear of being bullied and they opted to remain at home (CDC, 2013). This realization is a clear indicator that bullying continues even after the passing of laws barring it.
Bullying does not only target students,but alsoit can also be directed to teachers and other staff members. The US statistics show that 7% of bullying cases were directed to teachers in 2003 whereby students would threaten or inflict injury to a teacher (Kimmel & Mahler, 2003). The report also showed that students physically tortured 5% of teachers in urban schools (Cooper, Clements, & Holt, 2012). Other bullying cases involving other staff were also reported with bus drivers being more vulnerable as compared to other staff members.
The U.S laws against bullying
In a bid to contain bullying in schools, the United States has imposed laws defining what comprises bullying and the punishments for such actions(King, 2014). In some states, laws authorize the schools authorities to punish students found harassing other students. By the end of 2013, all states in the US had adopted laws illegalizing bullying in schools(Perius et al., 2014).
Schools are also required to keep records of all cases involving bullying. There is also a necessity for every academic institution in the US to make use of an anti-bullying expert. Despite the laws being in place, the process of implementing them is delayed by lack of funds(Berezina & Bovina, 2013). Funds allocated to education in the US are not enough to implement the anti-bullying strategies, since the process requires large amounts of money to implement. Victims and their families in the US have the right to seek justice in law courts by instituting a case against either the school or the management for failure to protect their children(Nansel et al., 2003). In severe cases such as those involving shooting, the complainant may sue the school and the shooters family jointly(King, 2014).
Violence
Research has linked Bullying to violence in schools and it has indicated that a majority of students who undergo harassment in schools or in any stage during their development result in undesirable behavior in adulthood(Baldry, 2003). On, research indicates that major killers in the world had a bully experience either in their childhood or in adulthood(Perius et al., 2014). Bullying does not only have negative effects on the affected, but it can also affect the victims life positively (Nansel et al., 2003).
Some scholars have argued that bullying can have positive results on the victim by instill confidence. According to Helene Guldberg, an expert in childhood development, bullying gives students knowledge on how to contain disputes and trains them to be responsible (Perius et al., 2014). She argues that teachers should not intervene in resolving disputes arising out of bullying; instead, students should be left to resolve their disputes. The US reported 31 deaths in school resulting from violence between the year July 2010 and June 2011 (Perius et al., 2014). Among the 31 deaths, 6 occurred because of students committing suicide while the rest were because of assault (Perius et al., 2014).
Cycle of Violence
The view that most people, who were bullied at some stage in school, will tend to revenge by harassing other students compounds bullying (King, 2014). In an educational setting, the majority of students who are victims of bullying are often new students (Nansel et al., 2003). The old students bully new students and the new students will later on bully other incoming students when the old students leave the institution. Therefore, the bullying cycle continues and breaking it becomes a complex undertaking.
Causes of bullying and violence in schools
Research on causes of bullying in schools have indicated that long exposure to gun fights, domestic violence, physical assault, and other forms of punishments at home predisposes a child to violent behaviors (Smith & Brain, 2000). In addition, some programs aired over the local television channels are known to increase the students aggressiveness.
Desire to fit in a certain group
Students result in bullying due to influence from other students who practice it. The desire to fit into a certain class or group may drive a student into engaging in violent behaviors in order to please the group members. Socially inactive students find difficulty in making friends, and thus they are highly susceptible to bullying by other students (Berezina & Bovina, 2013).
Neighborhood environment
Neighborhoods and communities present the framework for school brutality (Kimmel & Mahler, 2003). In communities where crime is high, bullying will tend to be high. In addition, the location of the school determines thestudents aggressiveness. A school located in high-crime or drug-ridden neighborhoods will record high cases of bullying as such environments contribute to the vice. Teacher bullying is high in schools located in high crime neighborhoods. Well-controlled longitudinal research on the effect of environmenton a childs behavior indicates that exposure to violence in childhood instills aggressive behaviors in a child, who is likely to engage in violence acts in adulthood (Cooper, Clements, & Holt,2012).
In another controlled longitudinal research, it was observed that experienceof gun brutality in early adolescence provides incentives to the teens to commit acts of solemn violence later on in life (Perius et al., 2014). Neighborhood vigilant groups are also said to instill aggression behaviors to students as well. Gangs are said to recruit students to such groups,thus propagating undesirable behaviors.
Role of School nurses in the fight against bullying
School nurses are involvedactively in reducing violence in schools. Nurses are credited for their role of creating awareness on the effects of violence on students and promoting evidence-based education (Blosnich & Bossarte, 2011). Nurses are placed strategically to prevent violence as they interact with individual students who visit school clinics for treatment. Through this interaction, nurses are in a position to get the root cause of astudents behavior and offer counseling services accordingly.
This interaction helps nurses to know more about other students, and thus the nurse can intervene and prevent an act of violence before it happens (Baldry, 2003). The relationship between nurses and students is healthy since nurses do not hold any disciplinary positions, and thus students feel secure while narrating their problems to the nurse as opposed to any other person (Berezina & Bovina, 2013). Nurses are also in a good position to detect a child affected by torture or other forms of bully since such a student will frequently visit the clinic for treatment and assistance. In such cases, the nurse may launch investigations to help such a student.
Nurses are members of interdisciplinary committee and they are in a position to detect students with discipline and behavior issues and counsel appropriately. Through the medical expertise possessed by nurses, they are in a position to detect students with undesirable behaviors and take appropriate actions before in time. This way, a nurse prevents students from engaging in violent acts. However, nurses are faced with diverse challenges in their role of combating violence in schools.
Some of the challenges that they face is the lack of sufficient nurses, and thus they do not have enough time to interact with every student. Given the active role played by nurses in combating violent acts in schools, every school should have a nurse. The nurse should be involved in the formulation of crisis management policies (Baldry, 2003).
Conclusion
Bullying in schools has been on the rise in the past few decades. The majority of students who experience bullying at some stage in life resort to undesirable behaviors and they may feel intimidated. There are various forms of bullying experienced in schools. However physical and oral bullying are the most common forms of bullying in the contemporary learning institutions. In many states in the US, certain legislatures are in place to protect the rights of students. The laws allow the school authorities to punish students found bullying others.
Incidences involving use of weapons in bullying are reported in the US albeit in isolated cases. Bullying is the cause of violent behaviors amongst students. Nurses can play a great role in combating this violence since they are in good relation with students, and thus students are ready to disclose information to them without fear of victimization. They also offer professional counseling to students, which is necessary for change of behavior. Students behavior is highly determined by the environment of residence. If the school is located in a crime zone, bullying will be a common phenomenon.
References
Adams, C. (2014). Cyberbullying: What Teachers and Schools Can Do. Web.
Baldry, A. (2003). Bullying in schools and exposure to domestic violence. Child abuse & neglect, 27(7), 713-732.
Berezina, E., & Bovina, B. (2013). Violence at school: socio-psychological explanations and recommendations. Psychological Science and Education, 6, 37-49.
Blosnich, J., & Bossarte, R. (2011). Low-level violence in schools: Is there an association between school safety measures and peer victimization? Journal of School Health, 81(2), 107-13.
CDC: School violence: Data and statistics. (2013).
Cooper, G., Clements, P., & Holt, K. (2012). Examining childhood bullying and adolescent suicide: Implications for school nurses. The Journal of School Nursing, 28(4), 275-283.
Kimmel, M.,& Mahler, M. (2003). Adolescent masculinity, homophobia, and violence random school shootings, 1982-2001. American behavioral scientist, 46(10), 1439-1458.
King, K. (2014). Violence in the School Setting: A School Nurse Perspective. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 18(4), 1-13.
Nansel, T., Overpeck, D., Haynie, L., Ruan, J., & Scheidt, P. (2003). Relationships between bullying and violence among US youth. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 157(4), 348-353.
Perius, G., Brooks-Russell, A., Jing, W., & Iannotti, R. (2014). Trends in Bullying, Physical Fighting, and Weapon Carrying Among 6th- Through 10th-Grade Students from 1998 to 2010: Findings from a National Study. American Journal of Public Health, 104(6), 1100-1106.
Smith, P., & Brain, P. (2000). Bullying in schools: Lessons from two decades of research. Aggressive behavior, 26(1), 1-9.
Spriggs, A., Iannotti, J., Nansel, R., & Haynie, D. (2007). Adolescent bullying involvement and perceived family, peer, and school relations: Commonalities and differences across race/ethnicity. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41(3), 283-293.
Whitted, S., & Dupper, D. (2005).Best practices for preventing or reducing bullying in schools. Children & Schools, 27(3), 167-175.
Bullying is a widespread problem in different social settings. It occurs within workplaces, homes, and schools. Research on bullying focuses on its impact on people who experience it. For instance, Stop Bullying (2014) asserts that bullying influences peoples creativity reduces morale, causes accidents, and affects their moral and ethical judgment. It also hinders people from achieving full potential in their talented areas.
Forero, McLellan, Rissel, and Bauman (2009) reckon that bullying takes the form of sexual harassment and molestation, verbal abuse, physical anguish, and psychological torture. In school settings, it makes children fail to attend schools. The situation lowers their performance. Bullying may manifest itself differently in school settings. The current research examines whether lesbian or gay college students are bullied more than heterosexual college students.
Literature Review
Introduction
When doing research on a particular subject, it is advisable to conduct a thorough literature review to know what other scholars have commented on the same issue. The researcher also stands a better chance of identifying any gaps that his or her research can address. This section reviews the existing literature on what researchers have done on the issue of bullying among gay or lesbian students.
The goal is to find out whether this category of people is harassed more than their heterosexual counterparts. Specifically, the section addresses the prevalence of bullying in schools and the level of bullying in bisexuals, gay males, and lesbians. It deploys the case of Jade Stringer, Walsh Seth, and Chelisa Grimes as real-life examples of what bullying implies to gays and lesbians in America.
Prevalence of Bullying Cases in Schools
School-based maltreatment is the most common type of bullying. For example, Jade Stringer, a student at Haslingden in Rossendale School, hanged herself after being bullied based on her pretty looks. She died shortly after arrival at Fairfield Hospital at the age of 14 years. Nansel et al. (2011) reveal that 15% to 20% of students report experiencing bullying within a term in the US. However, this level of school bullying is lower when compared to other places. Nansel et al. (2011) assert that some nations report up to 70% of cases of student bullying. Across the world, schools experience high cases of frequent bullying.
This category of bullying occurs at least once within a week. Forero et al. (2009) conducted a research on a Malta sample, which indicated 19% prevalence levels. Their research on an Irish sample indicated a 1.9% prevalence of frequent bullying (Forero et al., 2009). Different types of bullying take the form of verbal abuse, rumor-mongering, physical aggression, name-calling, threats, and even rejection.
Many researches on school bullying have been conducted in the Australian and European contexts (Nansel et al., 2011). Such researches have also not distinguished the prevalence levels of different kinds of bullying in schools. This gap creates a room for not only conducting similar research in the US context but also focusing the research on a specific type of bullying.
Cases of sexual orientation-based bullying have been recorded in different schools across the US. For example, at the age of 13, Walsh Seth committed suicide in 2010 after persevering anti-gay bullying in school. LGBT Rights (2011) reported how her fellow students severally called her a queer or even a fag. Little research exists on the levels of this category of bullying or its effects on college students.
Common sexuality categories include homosexuality, heterosexuality, and transgender. Homosexuality entails a sexual attraction between people of the same gender. It takes the form of sexual attraction between two men or between two women (lesbianism). The term gay describes same-gender sexual attractions. Heterosexuality describes the sexual attraction between persons of the opposite gender while transgender describes sexual attractions among all genders, perhaps due to the inability to differentiate peoples gender biologically or simply because of ones sexual orientation preferences.
Level of Bullying for Bisexuals, Gay Males, and Lesbians
Research documents that bisexuals, gay males, and lesbians experience problems of prejudice, victimization, and violence akin to their sexual affiliation. Pilkington and DAugelli (1995) conducted a survey involving 194 gays and bisexuals. Roughly 22% of gay males and 29% of the gay females reported physical bullying from their peers. As suggested by Espelage, Holt, and Henkel (2003), amid an emerging body of literature on bullying in the US schools, the literature on gender nonconformity-based violence, particularly among college students, remains shallow. This situation implies a little focus on discrimination of students due to their sexual orientations, yet gays and bisexuals have encountered physical and psychological bullying in colleges and in other social contexts.
Apart from the little focus on sexuality orientation-based bullying in American schools, Russell, Sinclair, Poteat, and Koening (2012) observe the minimal focus on the causes of bullying in American schools, amid its high prevalence levels. This observation supports the assertion raised before that most of the scholarly work on bullying in schools has been conducted in the Australian and European context.
The literature on school victimization contends that both gay males and females experience high risks of encountering negative schooling experience. Using a sample of 2000 participants, Berlan, Corliss, Field, Goodman, and Austin (2010) reveal high victimization preferences among young college students who identified themselves as LGBT. Russell et al. (2012) assert that LGBTs experience pronounced school bullying more than those who identify themselves as heterosexuals.
Bullying that is based on sexual orientation introduces difficulties and impediments towards the appreciation of ones sexuality. Human Rights Watch (2001) supports this assertion by claiming that by 2001, an excess of 2 million school-going children in the US experienced problems of handling their sexual orientation problems. The organization also reported high prevalence levels of bullying towards LGBT youths.
The organizations 2001 data indicated that about three times of LGBTs were injured or threatened using a weapon compared to their heterosexual counterparts youths. LGBT had higher chances of missing school in fear of their safety, as opposed to their heterosexual counterparts (Human Rights Watch, 2001). This finding suggests that bullying of LGBT youths denies them certain privileges and rights, such as sufficient access to education.
What bullying implies to Gays and Lesbians in America
Irrespective of the form of maltreatment and its target, bullying has significant implications. It denies people their rights to equity and equality in terms of their participation in societal processes (Thorvaldur & Zoega, 2011). When organizations such as schools have bullies, less powerful, and discriminated, people develop perceptions that they are incapable of defending themselves relative to people who attempt to shape and control their life in certain ways.
Therefore, bullied gays and lesbians lose equity and equality rights in participating in social processes. They have limited access to public goods such as education. For example, Chelsea Grimes sent her son to school with a gun to scare bullies. The 17-year-old gay son by the name Young removed a stun gun from a pack and electrically charged the air, thus forcing his anti-gay bullies to run yelling for their safety (Morano, 2012).
Bullying gays and lesbians are unhealthy for their psychological health. Such bullying leads to discrimination that amounts to psychological torture. Discriminatory practices are those that segregate the quality of public goods such as healthcare and education depending on characteristics that range from ethnicity, race, sexuality, disability, gender, and age to nationality, among others. Considering the implications of bullying, Stop Bullying (2014) recommends social institutions to explore policies that enhance equality, diversity, and rights of all people, amid their demographic and psychographic differences.
Berlan et al. (2010) reveal high the prevalence of sexual orientation-based bullying. Lesbian girls who report more bullying than heterosexuals do not report incidents of bullying perpetration. This observation suggests that bullying may not specifically be prevalent in a given school on homosexuals. Bullied female youth gays may adopt reactive behaviors towards the people who bully them so that bisexuals and heterosexuals complain of sexually-oriented bullying perpetration.
Lesbian girls in Guam, a region in Asian-pacific, reported high physical aggression towards their peers (Pinhey & Brown, 2005). In the study, bullying was associated with dealing with an unsafe and threatening school environment (Pinhey & Brown, 2005). The researchers speculated that bisexuals and lesbian youths engaged in fighting while their heterosexual peers served defensive purposes as opposed to the portrayal of aggressive behaviors.
Bullying makes the victims engage in associated risky behaviors. In school settings, bullied students increase their exposure to risky behaviors such as abusing alcohol and smoking. They also vandalize property, engage in fights, and/or have a high probability of dropping out of school (Polanin, Espelage & Pigott, 2012). Bullies are more likely to face convictions. They also have higher chances of abusing their siblings in adulthood. In fear of negative stereotyping, bullied youths may exhibit high absenteeism levels, poor concentration in classes, and negative perceptions about their sexuality and self-esteem (Russell et al., 2012).
Inadequate research on bullying that is acerbated along secularity differences underlines the significance of conducting research in the US context on the disproportionate bullying among students of different sexual orientations. This research aims at expanding the body of literature on bullying in US colleges.
Methodology
Introduction
The methodology of this study borrows from a real-life scenario that happened in one of the colleges in the US, namely Walden University. The college is well known for its quality education that it offers to its diverse students. However, in one of the boys hostels, a scenario happened involving four students who used to stay in the same room that had two separate beds. Two of the boys had developed suspicious behaviors of being attracted to one another after sharing their bed for almost three months. The other two boys did not depict any sexual attraction, despite them sharing the other bed.
Although they were not sure of any sexual interaction that these two boys had been having, they began giving them funny and demeaning names. The boys who had been suspecting their roommates revealed the suspicious behavior to their colleagues. A day dawned when a group of ten students, including females, stormed the room and beat the two suspicious students claiming that they were violating the moral and natural laws that dictate sexual attraction towards the opposite gender.
This scenario marked the dawn of a situation where more gay and lesbian student harassment became common in this college. Building from this situation, this research seeks to gather data from other US colleges to determine whether gays or lesbians are exposed to heightened harassment in relation to their heterosexual counterparts.
Research Design
This research uses a pragmatic research design. Freshwater, Sherwood, and Drury (2006) confirm, Pragmatic researchers grant themselves the freedom to use any of the methods, techniques, and procedures that are typically associated with quantitative or qualitative research (p.295). The selected methods depend on researchers perception and evaluation of methods that best suit the particular type of research.
In the current research on bullying among gay and lesbians in the American colleges, the best set of methods is the one, which can complement any other technique. This assertion undermines the logic for designing the research as a pragmatic study plan. It uses aspects of qualitative and quantitative research (Cohen & Crabtree, 2008).
The effectiveness of qualitative research requires the demonstration of various features of excellence. Qualitative research has some drawbacks, such as lack of validity since it is important to add rigor, subjectivity, and creativity in a scientific process. Rigor is incredibly important in all systematic qualitative researches (Finlay, 2006). In such research, the deployed data only needs to follow certain criteria in establishing differences or relationships.
The current research determines whether lesbians or gay college students get bullied more than heterosexual college students. The implication is that differences in bullying experiences among lesbians, male gays, and homosexuals are important in the research. However, quantification of levels of bullying is important while making comparisons. This goal can only be realized if quantitative data is also collected.
Setting
Since most of the researches that have been done on the subject has been focused much on the European and Australian settings, it is crucial to find out if the same results will be obtained if the research is conducted in a different setting. The current research will be set in the US. The aim is to find out if the findings in the previous settings match what the US colleges will present. Several US colleges will be sampled randomly. However, the focus will be made on schools that accommodate gays, lesbians, and heterosexual students. The reason for concentrating on this category of students is that they have the right information that the researcher wants to investigate.
Instrumentation
The instrument that will be deployed in the data collection is the questionnaire. Students will be required to provide quantitative and qualitative information about their bullying experience. Six questions will be incorporated into the questionnaire, as stated below.
Please provide your sexuality information. Please do not indicate your name or any other personal information, which may disclose your identity tick only one box as appropriate.
Male gay
Female gay (lesbian)
Heterosexual
If male gay, have you ever been bullied?
YES
NO
If your response to (2) is yes, who bullied you
A male gay
A heterosexual bully
A female gay
If female gay, who bullied you
A male gay
A heterosexual bully
A female gay
If a heterosexual, who bullied you
A male gay
A heterosexual bully
A female gay
Please explain your experiences in the hands of the bullies (please limit your explanation to a maximum of 150 words)
Selection of Subjects
The goal of the proposed research is to determine the differences between bullying of lesbians or gays and heterosexuals. Therefore, selecting a sample size that can yield powerful quantitative information for making statistical inferences is necessary. While selecting the subjects of the study, certain parameters of the sample must be known. Saunders, Thornhill, and Lewis (2009) identify them as confidence interval or error margin, size of the studied population, expected confidence level, and the Standard Deviation (SD).
In the current research, the total number of students in college may be important. Although this number may be obtained from the college administration, the research can still be conducted. In most quantitative studies, the population is commonly unknown (Saunders et al., 2009). The only important thing is to determine the most appropriate demographic group of study. The demographic group for this research is 17-28-year-old youths.
After determining the target group of the research, establishing the research confidence interval follows. There are no perfect samples, which underline the importance of setting limits of the permissible error or the confidence level. Scott (2011) reckons, confidence level determines how much higher or lower (than the population) researchers are willing to let their sample mean to fall in (p.89). The current research uses a standard value of +/-5. This range means that the research will use a 95 percent confidence interval.
Standard deviation refers to the degree to which interviewee responses should vary. This research uses an SD value of 0.5, which is the most convenient value that gives the chosen population portion a recommendable size. Different confidence levels correspond to different Z-score values. A 95% confidence level corresponds to a Z-score value of 1.96. This value makes it possible to compute the sample size.
Substituting the chosen values in the equation yields 385 as the sample size or the required number of subjects.
Procedure
Three hundred eighty-five copies of questionnaires will be distributed without selecting the gender of the student receiving them.
The respondent will indicate his or her gender in the questionnaires. It is anticipated that all 385 students will answer the questions in the questionnaire. Thus, no questionnaire will be rejected.
After collecting the filled questionnaires, the next step will involve their analysis.
After the analysis, results will be presented, followed by a discussion of the findings. Recommendations will then be made.
Data Processing and Analysis
Latent Class Analysis (LCA) will be utilized in analyzing the connections between specific victimization and gay, lesbian, or heterosexuality sexuality types. By computing the percentages of responses for each question in the questionnaire, the researcher will analyze individual subgroups of samples that are likely to be labeled bullies. These results will then be used to conduct an analysis of differences in bullying in the college for both heterosexuals (controlled group) and lesbians and gays.
Conclusion
Little research has been done on bullying among college students in the US. Homosexuals have experienced stigmatization since time immemorial. Now, the US recognizes the importance of embracing its diversity amid the witnessed differences in sexual orientation. However, the bullying of students who identify themselves as LGBTs may still exist in colleges. LGBTs can also be bullied as heterosexual students. Since bullying is disadvantageous in all social institutions, it becomes important to determine its prevalence in US colleges. The proposed research seeks to fulfill this objective. Knowing prevalence levels makes it easier to develop the appropriate programs for addressing bullying in specific groups of students.
Reference List
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Can you imagine a student dropping out of college and compromising their future because of frequent online attacks from other students? Many people think that bullying is an issue in high schools only. However, it is as prevalent in colleges as it is in high schools. The misconception that bullying is a minor issue among college students has contributed to the high number of students who suffer because of bullying.
One of the reasons for the rising prevalence of this problem is the growth in technology that has been experienced in the last three decades (Schenk & Fremouw, 2012). Technological advancements such as cell phones and the internet are used to bully people. Bullying occurs in different forms. Students bully students, teachers, bully students, and students bully teachers. Another critical issue among college students is suicide.
In recent years, cases of suicide have been on the rise, primarily due to bullying based on race, gender, and sexual orientation (Pritchard, 2013). This topic is important because of its dire consequences on the lives o students, teachers, as well as its effect on the education system. This literature review seeks to explore previous studies that have been conducted on the aforementioned issue among college students.
Literature review
Cyberbullying is the most common form of bullying experienced among college students. Its prevalence has been primarily due to technological advancements that have been experienced in the past three decades. The emergence of the internet and mobile phones provided faster and more private ways of communication. Technology is responsible for the drastic shift from traditional bullying to technological bullying.
According to a study conducted by Schenk and Fremouw (2012), the effects of cyberbullying include depression, anxiety, paranoia, suicide, and phobic anxiety. The study involved 799 college students and showed that bullying affected victims differently. Suicide is one of the effects of cyberbullying. Schenk and Fremouw cited two cases of college students who committed suicide after being bullied. Bullying can be either direct or indirect.
Direct bullying includes stalking, harassing, and threatening. Cyberbullying is the most common form of indirect bullying. Schenk and Fremouw (2012) cite the results of similar studies conducted to study bullying. There are seven different forms of cyberbullying that include masquerading, defamation, harassment, cyberstalking, outing, flaming, and exclusion. These are conducted in different ways and are aimed at hurting the victim.
Studies have cited the prevalence rate of cyberbullying at between 4% and 55.3%. According to the Youth Internet Safety Survey, the prevalence rate of cyberbullying among teenagers is 9%. Schenk and Fremouw (2012) cite a study conducted by Beran and Li among Canadian students.
The study found out that more than 21% of the participants had been cyber harassed more than twice (Schenk & Fremouw, 2012). Another study conducted among undergraduate students found out that the prevalence rate of cyberbullying was 10%, and that of cyberstalking was 9%. Research conducted in Turkey involving 666 students found out that the rate of cyberbully victimization was 55.3% (Schenk & Fremouw, 2012). The results of these studies reveal that bullying is a problem that needs to be addressed in colleges.
Bullying takes different forms and happens in varied frequencies. Students bully students, teachers, bully students, and students bully teachers (Chapell, Casey, De la Cruz, Ferrell, Forman, Lipkin &Whittaker, 2004). A study conducted by Chapell et al. (2004) involved 1,025 undergraduate students. During the study, students were interviewed about their experiences with bullying in college. One of the students told the researchers that he frequently experienced the bullying of a fellow student by a teacher.
The teacher always hurled age-related criticisms at the student. Other students also narrated personal experiences of being bullied by teachers. The results of the study revealed that more than 60% of the participants had witnessed bullying among students, and 44% had witnessed the bullying of students by teachers (Chapell et al., 2004). Past studies have shown that cases of bullying decrease with age as students graduate from high school and join college. However, the aforementioned study invalidated those findings.
Cases of bullying are many in colleges. This study is supported by a related study that revealed that bullying among adults in workplaces is common. Harassment in colleges is usually an extension of bullying high schools (Rospenda, Richman, Wolff, & Burke, 2013). One of the main factors that contribute towards the development of bullying is influence from families and peers. Family factors that support bullying include authoritarian parenting and violence (Chapell et al., 2004).
On the other hand, authoritarian teachers play a role in encouraging vice in schools. Bullies view authoritarian teachers as proper role models and therefore copy their actions and try them on other students. According to Espelage and Poteat (2012), violence against teachers has been on the rise. For instance, a report titled Indicators of School Crime and Safety revealed that 7% of teachers in the United States reported cases of assault meted on them by students (Espelage & Poteat, 2012).
Students usually bully their teachers through verbal abuse and cyberbullying. Another form of maltreatment that is common in colleges is anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) bullying (Pritchard, 2013). People who are identified as queer are bullied, mainly based on their sexual orientation this type of bullying results in many deaths that are not included in anti-bullying discourses.
One of the consequences of bullying in colleges is suicide. School killings are one of the reasons why the issue has elicited more interest in recent years. Research studies have linked several school killers to bullying. One of the reasons for school killings is the need for revenge by victims of harassment. Youth suicides in colleges are an indicator of a persistent problem that has been addressed inadequately (Espelage & Poteat, 2012). Other effects of bullying include school avoidance, anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression.
Teacher maltreatment has several effects that include lost wages, psychological distress, the abdication of duty, litigation costs, low productivity, and poor academic outcomes. Teachers who work in environments that have bullying either choose to leave the teaching profession or move to other schools. The effects of these actions have consequent negative effects on the performance of students (Rospenda et al., 2013).
Specific behavioral impacts of bullying on students include absenteeism, poor concentration, and poor academic performance (Schenk & Fremouw, 2012). Victims of cyberbullying avoid the internet, feel irritable, and lose interest in activities that they previously enjoyed. A study conducted in Finland found out that victims of bullying experienced frequent headaches, abdominal pain, emotional disturbances, and irregular sleep patterns.
On the other hand, the study found out that teachers cited diminished morale, low job satisfaction, poor work relationships, and a lack of commitment to their work. Bullying has serious short-term and long-term mental health effects that affect the welfare of victims. Alcoholism is also associated with victims of bullying in college (Rospenda et al., 2013). It is important to curb bullying by applying effective strategies that impart positive values and modify behavior.
One of the most effective strategies for dealing with bullying in colleges is counseling. Counseling psychologists play four major roles in the mitigation of bullying. These roles include consultation, promotion of social and emotional learning, prevention of bullying, and alleviation of student victimization. For instance, positive behavior intervention and supports (PBIS) programs classify students into three main groups based on their risk of developing behavior problems (Espelage & Poteat, 2012).
Major mitigation strategies include curricula that teach positive behavior, use of effective teaching methods, and instruction of students regarding appropriate behaviors in school environments (Espelage & Poteat, 2012). It is important to create environments that encourage positive student behavior. In addition, school management boards should establish behavioral expectations for students within the school. The involvement of parents and guardians in establishing behavioral expectations is important.
Collaboration between parents and teachers is critical in ending bullying because bullying is promoted by both school and family factors. Socio-emotional learning is also important in curbing bullying. This type of learning influences the psychological, emotional, and academic development of students in ways that promote positive behavior (Espelage & Poteat, 2012).
Moreover, it promotes self-awareness among students by imparting skills that help them to manage their emotions and develop values such as compassion and empathy. Social and emotional learning is important in decision making and relationship creation processes. Studies have found out that schools that implement curricula that include social and emotional learning experience better student behavior outcomes (Espelage & Poteat, 2012).
It is important for colleges to seek evaluation assistance in order to determine the effectiveness of their intervention strategies. Bullying is influenced by many factors that include race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation. It is imperative for schools to address the problem from different perspectives.
Finally, colleges should address prejudice and diversity issues among students (Espelage & Poteat, 2012). Students from dominant groups discriminate against students from minority groups and as a result, bully them. Creating awareness on the importance of diversity is an effective strategy for curbing bullying.
Conclusion
Bullying is an issue that has not been adequately addressed. Many people assume that bullying only exists in high schools. However, several studies have found out that it also exists in colleges and workplaces. Cyberbullying is the most common form of bullying experienced in colleges because of advancements in technology. Students bully students, teachers, bully students, and students bully teachers. One of the major effects of bullying is suicide. Many students commit suicide as a result of being bullied.
Other effects include depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, paranoia, absenteeism, and poor academic performance. The effects of bullying among teachers include low productivity, lack of job satisfaction, and low morale. In many colleges, people who are considered as queer are common victims of bullying.
They are prejudiced and discriminated against because of their race, gender, and sexual orientation. Strategies to curb bullying include psychological counseling, the establishment of behavior expectations in college settings, and implementation of curricula that encourage positive behavior among students. Further research needs to be conducted to study the prevalence of bullying in college, its effects, and the various strategies that students use to cope.
References
Chapell, M., Casey, D., De la Cruz, C., Ferrell, J., Forman, J., Lipkin, R.,&
Whittaker, S. (2004). Bullying in College by Students and Teachers. ADOLESCENCE, 39(153), 53-64.
Espelage, D. L., & Poteat, V.P. (2012). Counseling Psychologists in Schools. APA Counseling Handbook of Counseling Psychology, 2, 541-566.
Rospenda, K. M., Richman, J. A., Wolff, J. M., & Burke, L. A. (2013). Bullying Victimization among College Students: Negative Consequences for Alcohol Use. Journal of Addictive Diseases, 32(4), 325-342.
Schenk, A. M., & Fremouw, W. J. (2012). Prevalence, Psychological Impact, and Coping of Cyberbully Victims among College Students. Journal of School Violence, 11, 21-37.
Pritchard, E. D. (2013). For Colored Kids Who Committed Suicide, Our Outrage Isnt Enough: Queer Youth of Color, Bullying, and the Discursive Limits of Identity and Safety. Harvard Educational Review, 83(2), 320-345.
