Nijelle Dixon

Brandi Jacobs

Sandra Martinez-Z

uniga

Lauren Riggs

Bullied to Death

On June 2009…On June 2009…

House Bill 548: School Violence Prevention Act

This bill requires schools to adopt strong policies against bullying and harassment.

What Is Bullying?What Is Bullying?

“A student is being bullied or victimized when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other students.”

What Is Bullying?What Is Bullying?

• Bullying can include:• Hitting • Name-Calling• Threatening• Excluding someone from a group• Destroying someone’s properties

• Bullying is a learned behavior, evident as

early as two years of age– thus this is an issue that can be addressed starting as early as Pre/Elementary school

What Is Bullying?What Is Bullying?

• Direct Bullying• Can usually be seen and felt readily

• Indirect Bullying• Is much more difficult to identify• More difficult to remedy

• Boys are more typically engaged in direct bullying and girls in indirect bullying but that is not always the case

Relational Aggression Relational Aggression

• A form of indirect bullying

• Relational aggression (RA) is used to cause damage to relationships or social status within a group rather than using physical violence

• Proactive RA is a means for achieving a goal (excluding a girl to maintain your own social status)• Preplanned and

calculated• No remorse shown• Intellectually driven

• Reactive RA is a defensive response to provocation with intent to retaliate (a child is teased and then becomes a teaser himself)

Relational AggressionRelational Aggression

• RA includes• Intimidating

• Spreading Rumors

• Betrayal

• Humiliation

• Excluding someone from a group

• Switching seats in the classroom or cafeteria

• RA can usually be seen amongst girls but is not limited to this group

CYBER BULLYINGCYBER BULLYING• Cyber bullying (CB) is when a child, preteen or teen is

tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive or digital technologies or mobile phones

• CB has to have a minor or both sides, or at least have been instigated by a minor against another minor.

• Once adults become involved, it is plain and simple cyber-harassment or cyber-stalking. Adult cyber-harassment/stalking is NEVER called cyber bullying (stopcyberbullying.org)

CYBER BULLYINGCYBER BULLYING

• Direct attacks• Messages sent to kids directly

• Cyber Bullying by Proxy• Using others to help cyber bully the victim either with

or without the accomplice’s knowledge

• Because Cyber Bullying by Proxy often gets adults involved in the harassment, it is much more dangerous

CYBER BULLYINGCYBER BULLYING• The methods used are limited only by the

child’s imagination and access to technology

• Kids often change roles, going from victim to bully and back again

• When schools try to get involved by disciplining the student for cyber bullying actions that take place off-campus and outside of school hours, they are often sued for exceeding their authority and violating the student’s free speech right; they also, often lose!

CYBER BULLYINGCYBER BULLYING

• Schools can be very effective brokers in working with parents to stop and remedy cyber bullying situations

• They can also educate the students on cyber-ethics and the law. If schools are creative, they can sometimes avoid the claim that their actions exceeded their legal authority for off-campus cyber bullying actions

What Do the Numbers Say?What Do the Numbers Say?

• In a nationally representative study of students in grades 6-10, 29.9% of students were involved in bullying

Nansel, T. J., Overpeck, M., Pilla, R. S., Simons-Morton, B., & Scheidt, P. (2001). Bullying behaviors amoung US youth: Prevalence and association with psychological adjustment. Journal of American Medical Association, 285(16), 2094-2100.

• In one study, 60% of those characterized as bullies in grades 6-9 had at least one criminal conviction by age 24

Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED384 437.

Bullying at ALL levels

Source: Data from Table 11.2 in Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2009; National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education (http://nces.ed.gov/).

Cyberbullying

• Suggested that 25% of all bullied students are being cyberbullied

• Approximately 60% victims are girls

• Only about 1/3 of students are reporting cyberbullying to adults

Relational Aggression

• Mixed reports of the prevalence of RA among boys and girls

• Girls are more likely to be covertly aggressive than overtly aggressive

Bullying has been linked to…

For Victims:• Absenteeism• Depression• Anxiety• Poor academic

achievement• Low self-esteem• Suicide

For Bullies:• Drinking• Smoking• Poor academic

achievement• Aggression and

violence in schools• Increased crime rates

Bullying StrategiesBullying Strategies

• School Administrators

• Parents

• Teachers

How to Help a BullyHow to Help a Bully

• A Review of Proactive Aggression

• Preplanned and calculated• Used for personal gain• No remorse shown• Intellectually driven

Helping Strategies – Proactive Helping Strategies – Proactive Aggressor Aggressor

• Provide clear behavioral expectations that are free from loopholes or ambiguity.

• Avoid debates and arguments.

• Avoid repetitious or standardized responses.

• Reinforce Positive Achievements, but Cautiously.

• Don’t drop your Guard.

• Focus on Feelings rather than Facts.

• Don’t stop at Consequences, Teach Pro-Social Behaviors.