Bullying
Bullying happens when there is an imbalance of power. When someone purposely and repeatedly says, or does hurtful and abusive things to someone else. For example, spreading rumors and gossip can be a form of verbal bullying towards someone. It can occur one-on-one or in a group of people. This can have negative effects on the individual being bullied, including feelings of fear, low self-esteem, isolation, and sadness.
There are many different forms of bullying:
Physical
(using your body or objects to cause harm). Includes hitting, punching, kicking, spitting or breaking someone else’s belongings.
Verbal
(using words to hurt someone). Includes name calling, put downs, threats and teasing.
Social
(using your friends and relationships to hurt someone). Includes spreading rumours, gossiping, excluding others from a group or making others look foolish or unintelligent. This form is most common among girls.
Cyber
Involves the use of communication technologies (social media, texting, internet) to intimidate or harass others.
Canada has the 9th highest rate of bullying in 13 year olds
At least 1 in 3 teen students in Canada have reported bullying.
47% of Canadian parents report having a child that has been a victim of bullying
Bullying increases the risk of suicidal ideas in youth
Girls are more likely to experience online bullying than boys
The Effects
When people are bullied, the effects can last a lifetime. Individuals may resort to maladaptive coping mechanisms to deal with their feelings towards being bullied, such as increased substance abuse. It can cause a lot of issues for children into adult life. The effects can happen to both the individual or group that is bullying, as well as the individual or group being bullied. Innocent bystanders witnessing the abuse and harassment are also at risk.
Being Bullied:
At any age this can cause many negative effects both mentally and physically such as:
Depression
Anxiety
Illness (kids may get stomachaches, headaches or begin faking sick)
Desire to skip school/academic decline
Increased use of substance abuse or maladptive coping mechanisms
Physical abuse (punching, hitting, kicking etc.)
Higher risk of suicidal ideation/self-harm
Fear of not being good enough
Difficult social life/being excluded (due to thing such as spreading gossip, rumours, or exclusion by other individuals)
Low self-esteem
Higher chance of harassment and bullying of others later on in life
Bullying:
In addition, it can also effect the individuals performing the bullying in a negative way as well. The kids/teens who are the bullies may have issues at home or school that they are not dealing with properly. Therefore, being abusive can be a way for them to feel in control. Some negative effects are:
Increased risk of substance abuse
Academic decline (suspension, behaviour issues etc.)
Issues maintaining relationships
Abuse in later life
Increased risk of criminal behaviour
Low self-esteem
Witnessing:
For kids/teens that are seeing it occur, it can be hard to know if they should tell someone or not. They are typically in fear of feeling like a “tattletale”, or becoming the victim of bullying or harassment, or being isolated and excluded themselves. Getting involved in a situation, especially when it involves abuse, can be difficult and scary for witnesses. This tends to be seen a lot in groups. This can cause:
Anxiety
Desire to skip school (avoidance)
Fear of being bullied
Fear of being isolated and excluded
Fear of experiencing abuse
If you’re concerned that bullying is affecting your child, please don’t hesitate to reach out to find out how child therapy can help.