2.7 Challenges in Education and Development Summary
Problem 1 – The Burden of Being Bullied
Bullying in Schools: The Power of Bullies and the Plight of the Victims – Literature 1
Bullying
Bullying: A physically stronger or socially more prominent person uses his/her
power to threaten, demean or belittle another.
It captures a dynamic interaction between the perpetrator and the victim.
The power imbalance between the two parties distinguishes bullying from conflict.
A single traumatic incident can raise the expectation and fear of continued abuse.
20-25% of youths are directly involved in bullying as perpetrators, victims or both.
Stability of bullying and victimization
Many childhood bullies “age out” of their tendency to physically bully others by
adolescence.
Most victimization stability are relatively short term, usually spaning one or two
years.
Some of the symptoms and increased sensitivity to maltreatment persist after
bullying has stopped.
Direct and indirect forms of bullying
Direct confrontation: physical aggression, threatening, name-calling.
Indirect confrontation: spreading rumors, backstabbing and exclusion from the
group.
o Designed to damage the targets’ social reputation or deflate their social status while
concealing the identity of the perpetrator.
Physical bullying is known to decrease with age.
Physical aggression is associated with males, whereas relational forms of aggression
are considered to be domain of females.
Boys are more likely than girls to engage in physical forms of bullying such as
hitting, kicking and shoving.
Boys are just as likely as girls to enact behaviors that damage the reputation of peers
or engage in exclusionary tactics.
The indirect forms of bullying require considerable social insight compared with the
direct and overt tactics that include physical aggression.
Indirect forms of aggression do not show a reliable gender difference.
Bullying and social dominance
Bullies are not necessarily lacking social skills or the ability to regulate emotions.
Bullies are cold and calculating, often lacking empathy and restarting to coercive
strategies that dominate and control the behavior of peers.
Bullies how high social status.
Bullying perpetration can be considered a strategic behavior that enables youths to
gain and maintain a dominant position within their groups.
Bullying behaviors are guided by social dominance motives that peak at times of
social reorganization (e.g., school change).
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,Inflated Self-views and social-cognitive biases of bullies
Bullies overestimate their competency in terms of their peer status, academic and
athletic domains.
Rate themselves lower on depression, social anxiety and loneliness.
Hostile Attribution bias: they perceive an ambiguous situation as reflecting hostile
peer intent.
They maintain their positive self-views by blaming and aggressing against others
instead of accepting personal responsibility for negative events.
Social feedback bullies received from peers is more positive than negative.
Bystanders are still likely to side with the bullying part to protect their social status.
Bullies think themselves on the basis of the social feedback they receive.
Victims
Increased depressed mood and anxiety, psychosomatic problems (e.g., headaches and
stomach aches) and academic difficulties.
Children who witness bullying behavior are likely to suffer from feelings of anxiety
and depression, feel less comfortable at school and show social adjustment problems.
Victim subtypes
Submissive victims: those who are anxious, insecure and sensitive. They internalize
the problems and have lack of confidence in social interactions.
Provocative victims: who resort to aggression. Their failed attempts to retaliate
against more powerful bullies did not stop the bullying. Have emotional regulation
problems and ADHD.
Individual and social risk factors
Obesity and off-time pubertal maturation place youths at elevated risk of peer
ridicule and intimidation.
Children with disabilities and LGBT youths are much more likely to be bullied
compared with their “typical” peers.
Any not normative behavior or physical characteristics that set a child apart from the
group place them at risk of being shunned by their group.
Lack of friends may also function as independent risk factors for peer victimization.
Emotional support of a friend plays a crucial role in how victims are affected by
being bullied.
Cyclical processes and consequences of peer victimization
The relationships between peer victimization and internalizing problems are
reciprocal.
Bully-victims were at elevated risk of adult depression, specific phobias and panic
disorders.
Highest risk of suicide related behaviors.
Victims of bullying are emotionally distressed and both currently and overtime.
Capturing character logical self-blame increases victim’s negative reputation and
level of emotional distress.
,School difficulties and health problems
Victims of bullying are likely to be absent from school and to receive low grades
from teachers.
They may also suffer from headaches and other physical ailments that's prevent them
from coming to school.
HPA axis: peer victimization predicted poor health outcomes and that during a
stress-test, victims had altered cortisol levels compared with their non-victimized
peers.
o Higher cortisol levels immediately after the stressor and lower cortisol 30 min after
distress over associated with more health problems.
Cyberspace and schools
Cyberbullying: Electronically mediated bullying involves texting via cell phone;
emailing or instant messaging; or posting messages on social networking sites and
chat rooms.
o Can either be direct or indirect.
o Speed and spread: degrading messages can quickly reach not only the target but
also our last number of other individuals.
o Anonymity: the identity of the perpetrator can be easily concealed.
School context
1. Racial/ethnic diversity
o Greater ethnic diversity at both the classroom and school level was related to a lower
sense of vulnerability.
o Power relations may be more balanced in ethnically diverse schools.
o Numerical minority group members appear to be at greater risk of victimization
because they have fewer same-ethnicity peers to help ward off potential bullies.
2. Organization of instruction
o Students who are exposed to a less demanding curriculum and to a more deviant
peers are at greater risk of antisocial behavior.
o Teaming increase the experience of victimization for students who were not well
liked by their peers.
3. Deviation from classroom norms
o Prosocial behavior: elevated levels of victimization and emotional problems were
reported by those residing in classroom where most students get along well.
o Self-blame: victimization was more predictive of loneliness and social anxiety for
students who were members of the majority group in their classroom.
Interventions to prevent and reduce bullying in school
Sustainability may be easier to achieve in school wide programs. Systematic changes
in individual students and adults at the classroom are needed to build a foundation
for long-term prevention of bullying.
Schoolwide interventions
More effective.
, 1. Olweus bullying prevention program (OBPP)
o Requires increased awareness of the nature of the problem, heightened monitoring
and systematic consistent responses to incidents of bullying.
o Teachers and school staff received training that includes strategic interventions for
preventing bullying.
o Decreases self-reported bullying and victimization, decreases teachers’ and students’
reported bullying’.
2. KiVa (Against bullying)
o Aims to develop among bystanders more empathy for victims and strategies to help
victims when they're being harassed.
Targeted interventions
Focuses on the 10-15% of youths who are involved in bullying incidents as bullies or
victims.
Designed to address the dysfunctional thoughts and behaviors of the children who
aggress against others. Mainly focuses on the bullies.
Crick & Dodge five-step social-cognitive model: The information processing
difficulties of bullies begin when they inaccurately interpret social cues associated
with ambiguous peer provocation and continuously formulate goals, access from
memory a repertoire of possible behavioral response.
A Systematic Review of School-Based Interventions to Prevent Bullying – Literature 2
Children bullied repeatedly through middle adolescence had lower self-esteem and
more depressive symptoms as adults.
Bullying creates problems with social adjustment and bonding. Affects the victims’
completion of homework or desire to do well at school.
Study & Results
Focuses on school-based interventions and examine the effectiveness of the
interventions.
4 types of interventions:
1. Curriculum interventions: implementation of new curriculum. (E.g., videotapes,
lectures and written curriculum) No significant differences in either victimization
or bullying in general. Not super effective.
2. Multidisciplinary or whole-school interventions: combination of schoolwide rules
and sanctions, teacher training, classroom curriculum, conflict resolution training and
individual counseling. decreased bullying, victimization, antisocial behavior and
improved school climate after intervention.
3. Targeted social and behavioral skills groups: most positive outcomes occurred for
the youngest students. Decreased aggression, bullying and fewer antisocial
affiliations. Older children had worse outcomes from social skills training.
4. Mentoring: the mentored students were significantly less likely than their non-
mentored age-matched pairs to report bullying. Significant decrease in self-reported
bullying within the primary school, but worsening bullying in the secondary school.
Problem 1 – The Burden of Being Bullied
Bullying in Schools: The Power of Bullies and the Plight of the Victims – Literature 1
Bullying
Bullying: A physically stronger or socially more prominent person uses his/her
power to threaten, demean or belittle another.
It captures a dynamic interaction between the perpetrator and the victim.
The power imbalance between the two parties distinguishes bullying from conflict.
A single traumatic incident can raise the expectation and fear of continued abuse.
20-25% of youths are directly involved in bullying as perpetrators, victims or both.
Stability of bullying and victimization
Many childhood bullies “age out” of their tendency to physically bully others by
adolescence.
Most victimization stability are relatively short term, usually spaning one or two
years.
Some of the symptoms and increased sensitivity to maltreatment persist after
bullying has stopped.
Direct and indirect forms of bullying
Direct confrontation: physical aggression, threatening, name-calling.
Indirect confrontation: spreading rumors, backstabbing and exclusion from the
group.
o Designed to damage the targets’ social reputation or deflate their social status while
concealing the identity of the perpetrator.
Physical bullying is known to decrease with age.
Physical aggression is associated with males, whereas relational forms of aggression
are considered to be domain of females.
Boys are more likely than girls to engage in physical forms of bullying such as
hitting, kicking and shoving.
Boys are just as likely as girls to enact behaviors that damage the reputation of peers
or engage in exclusionary tactics.
The indirect forms of bullying require considerable social insight compared with the
direct and overt tactics that include physical aggression.
Indirect forms of aggression do not show a reliable gender difference.
Bullying and social dominance
Bullies are not necessarily lacking social skills or the ability to regulate emotions.
Bullies are cold and calculating, often lacking empathy and restarting to coercive
strategies that dominate and control the behavior of peers.
Bullies how high social status.
Bullying perpetration can be considered a strategic behavior that enables youths to
gain and maintain a dominant position within their groups.
Bullying behaviors are guided by social dominance motives that peak at times of
social reorganization (e.g., school change).
Downloaded by: defnertuna | Want to earn Distribution of this document is
illeg
,Inflated Self-views and social-cognitive biases of bullies
Bullies overestimate their competency in terms of their peer status, academic and
athletic domains.
Rate themselves lower on depression, social anxiety and loneliness.
Hostile Attribution bias: they perceive an ambiguous situation as reflecting hostile
peer intent.
They maintain their positive self-views by blaming and aggressing against others
instead of accepting personal responsibility for negative events.
Social feedback bullies received from peers is more positive than negative.
Bystanders are still likely to side with the bullying part to protect their social status.
Bullies think themselves on the basis of the social feedback they receive.
Victims
Increased depressed mood and anxiety, psychosomatic problems (e.g., headaches and
stomach aches) and academic difficulties.
Children who witness bullying behavior are likely to suffer from feelings of anxiety
and depression, feel less comfortable at school and show social adjustment problems.
Victim subtypes
Submissive victims: those who are anxious, insecure and sensitive. They internalize
the problems and have lack of confidence in social interactions.
Provocative victims: who resort to aggression. Their failed attempts to retaliate
against more powerful bullies did not stop the bullying. Have emotional regulation
problems and ADHD.
Individual and social risk factors
Obesity and off-time pubertal maturation place youths at elevated risk of peer
ridicule and intimidation.
Children with disabilities and LGBT youths are much more likely to be bullied
compared with their “typical” peers.
Any not normative behavior or physical characteristics that set a child apart from the
group place them at risk of being shunned by their group.
Lack of friends may also function as independent risk factors for peer victimization.
Emotional support of a friend plays a crucial role in how victims are affected by
being bullied.
Cyclical processes and consequences of peer victimization
The relationships between peer victimization and internalizing problems are
reciprocal.
Bully-victims were at elevated risk of adult depression, specific phobias and panic
disorders.
Highest risk of suicide related behaviors.
Victims of bullying are emotionally distressed and both currently and overtime.
Capturing character logical self-blame increases victim’s negative reputation and
level of emotional distress.
,School difficulties and health problems
Victims of bullying are likely to be absent from school and to receive low grades
from teachers.
They may also suffer from headaches and other physical ailments that's prevent them
from coming to school.
HPA axis: peer victimization predicted poor health outcomes and that during a
stress-test, victims had altered cortisol levels compared with their non-victimized
peers.
o Higher cortisol levels immediately after the stressor and lower cortisol 30 min after
distress over associated with more health problems.
Cyberspace and schools
Cyberbullying: Electronically mediated bullying involves texting via cell phone;
emailing or instant messaging; or posting messages on social networking sites and
chat rooms.
o Can either be direct or indirect.
o Speed and spread: degrading messages can quickly reach not only the target but
also our last number of other individuals.
o Anonymity: the identity of the perpetrator can be easily concealed.
School context
1. Racial/ethnic diversity
o Greater ethnic diversity at both the classroom and school level was related to a lower
sense of vulnerability.
o Power relations may be more balanced in ethnically diverse schools.
o Numerical minority group members appear to be at greater risk of victimization
because they have fewer same-ethnicity peers to help ward off potential bullies.
2. Organization of instruction
o Students who are exposed to a less demanding curriculum and to a more deviant
peers are at greater risk of antisocial behavior.
o Teaming increase the experience of victimization for students who were not well
liked by their peers.
3. Deviation from classroom norms
o Prosocial behavior: elevated levels of victimization and emotional problems were
reported by those residing in classroom where most students get along well.
o Self-blame: victimization was more predictive of loneliness and social anxiety for
students who were members of the majority group in their classroom.
Interventions to prevent and reduce bullying in school
Sustainability may be easier to achieve in school wide programs. Systematic changes
in individual students and adults at the classroom are needed to build a foundation
for long-term prevention of bullying.
Schoolwide interventions
More effective.
, 1. Olweus bullying prevention program (OBPP)
o Requires increased awareness of the nature of the problem, heightened monitoring
and systematic consistent responses to incidents of bullying.
o Teachers and school staff received training that includes strategic interventions for
preventing bullying.
o Decreases self-reported bullying and victimization, decreases teachers’ and students’
reported bullying’.
2. KiVa (Against bullying)
o Aims to develop among bystanders more empathy for victims and strategies to help
victims when they're being harassed.
Targeted interventions
Focuses on the 10-15% of youths who are involved in bullying incidents as bullies or
victims.
Designed to address the dysfunctional thoughts and behaviors of the children who
aggress against others. Mainly focuses on the bullies.
Crick & Dodge five-step social-cognitive model: The information processing
difficulties of bullies begin when they inaccurately interpret social cues associated
with ambiguous peer provocation and continuously formulate goals, access from
memory a repertoire of possible behavioral response.
A Systematic Review of School-Based Interventions to Prevent Bullying – Literature 2
Children bullied repeatedly through middle adolescence had lower self-esteem and
more depressive symptoms as adults.
Bullying creates problems with social adjustment and bonding. Affects the victims’
completion of homework or desire to do well at school.
Study & Results
Focuses on school-based interventions and examine the effectiveness of the
interventions.
4 types of interventions:
1. Curriculum interventions: implementation of new curriculum. (E.g., videotapes,
lectures and written curriculum) No significant differences in either victimization
or bullying in general. Not super effective.
2. Multidisciplinary or whole-school interventions: combination of schoolwide rules
and sanctions, teacher training, classroom curriculum, conflict resolution training and
individual counseling. decreased bullying, victimization, antisocial behavior and
improved school climate after intervention.
3. Targeted social and behavioral skills groups: most positive outcomes occurred for
the youngest students. Decreased aggression, bullying and fewer antisocial
affiliations. Older children had worse outcomes from social skills training.
4. Mentoring: the mentored students were significantly less likely than their non-
mentored age-matched pairs to report bullying. Significant decrease in self-reported
bullying within the primary school, but worsening bullying in the secondary school.
