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Bullying Defined:
Bullying is characterized by repeated, unprovoked harassment of another individual in which that individual has difficulty defending him/herself.
Examples of Bullying include:
- Punching, shoving and other acts that cause physical harm
- Spreading rumors (including cyber-bullying)
- Excluding people from a "group"
- Teasing in a mean way
- Getting certain people to "gang up" on others
Bullying involves more than a "bully" and a "victim":
- Bullying is broken down into 5 categories along a continuum of involvement: bullies, victims, bully-victims, bystanders, and not involved with bullying
Bullying is a pervasive problem facing schools today.
- 8.4% to 20% of children report being bullied multiple times per week. (Nansel et al., 2001; Limber & Small, 2000)
- As many as 44.6% of children report being bullied at least once per year (Haynie et al., 2001).
- 9% to 13% of children report bullying others several times per week (Nansel et al., 2001; Limber & Small, 2000)
- 24% to 25% of children admit to bullying others at least once per year (Nansel et al., 2001; Haynie et al., 2001)
Bullying is an ecological phenomenon, which adversely affects many aspects of ones life.
As a result, those involved in bullying may experience:
- Poor academic performance and school failure
- Poor mental and psychological health (e.g. depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, & behavioral problems)
- Delinquency
- Poor peer relationships
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