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Bullying & Cyberbullying Office of School Health School Mental Health Consultant Program 1
Bullying & Cyberbullying Office of School Health
School Mental Health Consultant Program
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Agenda
• What is Bullying? What is Bullying Not?
• When and Where Does Bullying Occur?
• Types of Bullying and Bullying Statistics
• Cyberbullying Tactics and Cyberbullying Statistics
• Roles in a Bullying Situation
• The Paper Heart Activity
• Warning Signs for Someone Who is Being Bullied
• Warning Signs for Someone Who is Bullying Others
• What Schools Can Do About Bullying & Cyberbullying
• What Parents Can Do About Bullying
• Resources
• References
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What is Bullying?
• Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged
children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The
behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time.
• In order to be considered bullying, the behavior must be aggressive
and include:
An Imbalance of Power: Kids who bully use their power—such as
physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity to
control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time and in
different situations, even if they involve the same people.
Repetition: Bullying behaviors happen more than once or have the
potential to happen more than once.
3 (https://www.stopbullying.gov/what-is-bullying/index.html)
What is Bullying NOT?
• Not liking someone
• Being excluded
• Accidentally bumping into someone
• Arguments
• Expression of unpleasant thoughts or feelings regarding others
• Isolated acts of harassment, aggressive behavior, intimidation or meanness
4 https://www.ronitbaras.com/emotional-intelligence/personal-development/what-is-not-bullying/
Conflict Versus Bullying
5
Conflict Versus Bullying
6 http://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/questions-answered/conflict-vs-bullying.asp
When and where does Bullying occur?
• Bullying can occur during or after school hours.
• Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like
cell phones, computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through
text, apps, in social media forums, or gaming where people can view,
participate in, or share content. The most common places where
cyberbullying occurs are:
Social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter
Text message sent through devices
Instant message or direct message (via devices, email provider services,
apps, and social media messaging features)
7 https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it/index.html
Types of Bullying
Verbal bullying is saying or writing mean
things. Verbal bullying includes:
• Teasing
• Name-calling
• Inappropriate sexual comments
• Taunting
• Threatening to cause harm
Social bullying, sometimes referred to as relational
bullying, involves hurting someone’s reputation or
relationships- this can be done in person or online
using social media sites. Social bullying includes:
• Leaving someone out on purpose
• Telling other children not to be friends with
someone
• Spreading rumors about someone
• Embarrassing someone in public or online
Physical bullying involves hurting a
person’s body or possessions. Physical bullying
includes:
• Hitting/kicking/pinching
• Spitting
• Tripping/pushing
• Taking or breaking someone’s things
• Making mean or rude hand gestures
Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing
negative, harmful, false, or mean content about
someone else. It can include sharing personal or
private information about someone else causing
embarrassment or humiliation. Some cyberbullying
crosses the line into unlawful or criminal behavior.
8 https://www.stopbullying.gov/what-is-bullying/index.html#types
Bullying Statistics
U.S. Department of Education. (2015). Student Reports of Bullying and Cyber-Bullying: Results from the 2013 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime
Victimization Survey. Washington DC: Author. Available: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015056.pdf [April 2015].
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Cyberbullying Tactics
• It is important to understand how children are cyberbullied so it can be easily
recognized and action can be taken. Some of the most common cyberbullying tactics
include:
Posting comments or rumors about someone online that are mean, hurtful, or embarrassing.
Threatening to hurt someone or telling them to kill themselves.
Posting a mean or hurtful picture or video.
Pretending to be someone else online in order to solicit or post personal or false information
about someone else.
Posting mean or hateful names, comments, or content about any race, religion, ethnicity or
other personal characteristics online.
Creating a mean or hurtful webpage about someone.
Doxing, is a form of online harassment used to threaten and destroy the privacy of individuals
by making their personal information public, including addresses, social security, credit card
and phone numbers, links to social media accounts, and other private data.
10 https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/cyberbullying-tactics/index.html
Cyberbullying Statistics
U.S. Department of Education. (2015). Student Reports of Bullying and Cyber-Bullying: Results from the 2013 School Crime Supplement to the
National Crime Victimization Survey. Washington DC: Author. Available: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015056.pdf [April 2015].
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Roles in Bullying
Role Part they play
Victim/ Target The target of the bullying.
Bully The ring leader who directs
the bullying.
Reinforcers Smile or laugh during the
bullying (Reinforce the
actions of the bully).
Defenders Intervene to stop it, or
comfort the victim.
Bystanders/
Outsiders
Watch silently or walk by.
They don’t know what to do
and/or just want to stay out
of it.
12 https://www.stopbullying.gov/what-is-bullying/roles-kids-play/index.html
The Paper Heart Activity
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Warning Signs for Someone Who is Being Bullied
*Be aware that not all children who are bullied exhibit warning signs.
Some signs that may point to a bullying problem are:
• Unexplainable injuries
• Lost or destroyed clothing, books, electronics, or jewelry
• Frequent headaches or stomach aches, feeling sick or faking an illness
• Changes in eating habits, like suddenly skipping meals or binge eating. Kids may
come home from school hungry because they did not eat lunch.
• Difficulty sleeping or frequent nightmares
• Declining grades, loss of interest in schoolwork, or not wanting to go to school
• Sudden loss of friends or avoidance of social situations
• Feelings of helplessness or decreased self esteem
15 https://www.stopbullying.gov/at-risk/warning-signs/index.html
Warning Signs for Someone Who is Bullying Others
Kids may be bullying others if they:
• Get into physical or verbal fights
• Have friends who bully others
• Are increasingly aggressive
• Get sent to the principal’s office or to detention frequently
• Have unexplained extra money or new belongings
• Blame others for their problems
• Don’t accept responsibility for their actions
• Are competitive and worry about their reputation or popularity
16 https://www.stopbullying.gov/at-risk/warning-signs/index.html
What Families Can Do About Bullying
• Notice – Recognize if there has been a change in mood or behavior with a student and explore what the
cause might be. Try to determine if these changes happen around a child’s use of their digital devices.
• Talk – Ask questions to learn what is happening, how it started, and who is involved and to provide
support.
• Document – Keep a record of what is happening and where. Most laws and policies note that bullying is
a repeated behavior, so records help to document it.
• Report – Most social media platforms and the DOE have clear policies and reporting processes. If a
classmate is cyberbullying, report it to the school administrators. You can also contact app or social media
platforms to report offensive content and have it removed. If a child has received physical threats, or if a
potential crime or illegal behavior is occurring, report it to the police.
• Support – Parents can work on improving family environment by embedding the message of acceptance,
kindness, and supporting each other by:
Participating in school campaigns, such as Mental Health Awareness month- May, Respect For All
Week- February, World Mental Health Day- October 10
Modeling good behaviors and interactions for children https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/prevention/index.html 17
What Families Can Do If…
If Your Child is the Target
If Your Child is the Bully
Report the incident to your school's Respect for All (RFA) liaison(s)
and/or school administration.
Ask for the incident number from school administration for follow
up. This is also known as Online Occurrence Reporting System
(OORS) number.
The school will investigate and must tell the parent or guardian of
the target what they find. If needed, the child may be referred for
support services.
If the investigation finds that a student—or students—have been
bullying or harassing your child, the school will follow the process
described in the Discipline Code.
You can also report bullying concerns by:
Submitting an online form
Calling 718-935-2288
Emailing the Office of Safety and Youth Development (OSYD)
Contacting the United Federation of Teachers Hotline at 212-709-
3222, Monday through Friday, from 2:30-9:30PM.
You can learn more about the procedures for filing complaints of
bullying or harassment and the DOE policy in Chancellor’s
Regulation A-832. (A-832 Student-To-Student Discrimination,
Harassment, Intimidation, and/or Bullying)
Involve your child in making amends or repairing the situation.
The goal is to help them see how their actions affect others. For
example, your child can:
Write a letter apologizing to the student who was bullied.
Do a good deed for the person who was bullied or for others in your
community.
Clean up, repair, or pay for any property they damaged.
Speak with their school counselor or administrator.
Work with your child’s school if you think additional referrals or
resources are needed.
Sometimes children bully to fit in. Your child can benefit from
participating in positive activities. Involvement in sports and clubs
can enable him/her to take leadership roles and make friends
without feeling the need to bully.
Other times kids act out because something else—issues at home,
abuse, stress—is going on in their lives. They also may have been
bullied. These kids may be in need of additional support, such
as mental health services(Open external link).
https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/policies-for-all/respect-for-all 18
Thank You
Queens North
School Mental Health Consultant Program
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Resources • NYC DOE- https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/policies-for-all/respect-for-all
• PACER Center: provides innovative resources for students, parents, educators, and others, and
recognizes bullying as a serious community issue that impacts education, physical and emotional health,
and the safety and well-being of students. http://www.pacer.org/bullying/
• NYC Teen: Learn about dealing with peer pressure, bullying, dating violence.
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/teen-home.page
• StopBullying.gov: provides information from various government agencies on bullying and cyberbullying
• PFLAG NYC: Their mission is to create a better future for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
(LGBT) youth and adults through a partnership of parents, allies, and LGBT people.
http://www.pflagnyc.org/support/resources
• Challenging Biased Language: Strategies and resources for everyone to help challenge bigoted and
offensive remarks to ensure dignity and respect for all people. https://www.adl.org/
• Teaching Tolerance: Offers webinars with guidance and great ideas, from their highly experienced
teaching and learning specialists and from other educators in the Teaching Tolerance community.
https://www.tolerance.org/
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References
• StopBullying.gov: provides information from various government agencies on bullying and cyberbullying
• Ronit Baras Family Matters Blog: https://www.ronitbaras.com/emotional-intelligence/personal-development/what-is-not-bullying/
• PACER Center: provides innovative resources for students, parents, educators, and others, and recognizes bullying as a serious community issue that impacts education, physical and emotional health, and the safety and well-being of students. http://www.pacer.org/bullying/
• U.S. Department of Education. (2015). Student Reports of Bullying and Cyber-Bullying: Results from the 2013 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey. Washington DC: Author. Available: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015056.pdf [April 2015].
• School Mental Health Website https://nycsmh.org/
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