Topic > Bullying: a psycho-legal study

IndexThe rationale for the studyObjectives of the studyWhat is bullying?Types of bullyingPhysical bullyingVerbal bullyingSocial bullyingCyberbullyingSexual bullyingCauses and factors behind bullyingGlobal prevalence rate of bullyingBully-victim relationshipsVictimTypes of victimsCauses or factors behind bullying victimizationThe we Remedies for bullyingConclusionThe rationale of the studyIn the article "Overcoming Bullying Behavior" (Clore&Hibel, 1997) bullying was described as "one or more individuals who inflict physical, verbal or emotional abuse on another, including threats of bodily harm, possession of weapons, extortion, violation of civil rights, assault and battery, gang activity, attempted murder and murder. Nowadays, students avoid going to school and develop somatic symptoms due to fear of bullying behavior Bullying is one such problem that appears widespread but inconspicuous enough to escape even the keenest eyes, therefore the researcher addressed the issue of bullying for the present study. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In the global context, according to Sheras (2002), bullying incidents are reported every two seconds of every school day, but the same are dismissed as being “nonsense between friends”. Students try to ask for help every day but they don't get any, which leads them to associate emotions such as fear and disgust with the school environment; while in the Indian context the picture is bleaker. Ethically speaking, the problem of bullying seems non-existent. Reports or research on bullying in India are a rarity and people's awareness of the bully-victim relationship is ubiquitous. The gravity of the situation is such that people become perpetrators of bullying but fail to recognize it due to their ignorance. So it is imperative to spread the word and educate the society about this deadly phenomenon and this document aims to work towards the same. Objectives of the study To understand the problem of bullying and victimization; its meaning, its types and its causes. Find out if there are laws regarding bullying behavior. Reduce ignorance and create awareness in society about bullying. Explore preventive measures related to bullying. Adolescence can be an age of discovery and disorientation. . According to the World Health Organization (1996) “Adolescence typically describes the years between 13 and 19 and can be considered the transition phase from childhood to adulthood”. However, the physical and psychological changes that occur in adolescence may begin earlier, during the preadolescent or “tween” years (ages 9 to 12). This transition period can bring up issues of independence and personal identity. During this stage, adolescents face a number of problems such as physical problems related to growth and development, childhood illnesses. There are various psychological problems such as mental health disorders, risky or illegal behaviors, including injuries, legal consequences, pregnancy, infectious diseases, and addiction. Psychosocial, cognitive repugnance, and emotional adjustment are a hallmark of this developmental stage because adults also struggle with issues of identity, autonomy, sexuality, and relationships, and other related thoughts keep them preoccupied. Eating disorders, obesity, smoking, drug abuse, irrational and violent behavior, etc. lead to acute health problems, chronic disorders or morbidity later in life. Behavioral disorders are more prevalent during adolescence, such as oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, attention deficit disorder, andhyperactivity and bullying, as a risk factor, may play a significant role in the development of some of these disorders compared to childhood and this may lead to the development of unhealthy behaviors during adolescence. What is bullying? The term “bullying” can be defined as a unique phenomenon and a complex form of interpersonal aggression that manifests itself in different patterns of relationships. DeHaan (1997) defined bullying as anything from teasing, to stealing lunch money, to physical abuse by a group of students of a classmate. He said that bullying is very similar to other forms of aggression, but there may be some distinguishing characteristics: (a) the intention of the bullying behavior is intentional, rather than accidental, (b) the goal is to actually gain control over another child through physical or verbal aggression, (c) bullies usually attack for no real reason other than they see their victim as an easy target, (d) bullies are usually more popular among their peers than to children who are simply aggressive. Bullying is a learned behavior. Ryoo, Wang, and Swearer (2014) found that students took on different roles in bullying throughout their school years. Indeed, youth may observe bullying (e.g., bystanders), experience bullying (e.g., victims), and perpetrate bullying (e.g., bullies) in different situations and/or over time. In all contexts, for example, a student may be victimized by classmates at school but bully his siblings at home. Importantly, these distinct patterns of engagement are associated with different mental health outcomes. Types of Bullying There are various types of bullying such as: Physical Bullying Physical bullying includes hitting, kicking, tripping, pinching, pushing or damaging property. Physical bullying causes both short- and long-term harm. Verbal Bullying Verbal bullying includes insults, insults, teasing, intimidation, homophobic or racist comments, or verbal abuse. While verbal bullying may start out harmlessly, it can escalate to levels that begin to affect the individual target. Social Bullying Social bullying is designed to damage someone's social reputation and/or cause humiliation, lying, and spreading negative, threatening, or derogatory rumors, facial or physical gestures. staring, making mean jokes to embarrass and humiliate, imitating in a rude manner, encouraging others to socially exclude someone, harming someone's social reputation or social acceptance.CyberbullyingIn cyberbullying, a person can cause harm to others through offensive texts or offensive, emails or posts, images or videos, deliberately excluding others online, unpleasant gossip or rumours, imitating others online or using their login using digital technologies such as computers and smartphones, social media, instant messaging, text messages, sites Web and other online platforms. There are different types of cyberbullying: (a) overt bullying, (b) covert bullying, (c) public bullying, (d) private bullying, etc. Sexual Bullying Sexual bullying is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. Sexual bullying can be said to be any behavior that degrades someone, singles out someone through the use of sexual language, gestures, or violence, and victimizes someone because of their appearance. For example: offensive and sexualized insults and insults, unwanted glances and comments about someone's appearance or appearance, whether face to face or behind their back, inappropriate and uninvited touching without consent, sending obscene images to others without consent is a form of sexual violence. bullying, sexual innuendopersistent and unwelcome inappropriate behavior, sexism in all its forms and gender stereotypes about the roles of men and women, graffiti with sexual content or display/circulation of inappropriate material of a sexual nature, such as pornography, badges or clothing depicting inappropriate images, sexual innuendo or language , etc. Causes and Factors Behind Bullying Bullying behavior is not just the result of individual characteristics, but is influenced by multiple relationships with peers, families, teachers, neighbors, and interactions with social influences. Young children habitually grab other children's toys, bite and push when angry, and refuse to take turns. Much bullying behavior has its roots in normal childhood development. Teens who gang up on others are exploring similar social issues on a more sophisticated level, and those who engage in sexual bullying often respond to a surge of hormones. Fried and Fried (1996) believe that environmental factors can also lead to the development of bullying behaviors. According to Ross (1996) social or economic status does not play a role in the qualification of a bully. He clearly feels that something deeper than economic disadvantage or lack of popularity is at work when a child feels compelled to abuse others. For example, dominant and anxious bullies often come from families where power issues dominate and where sibling interaction is more powerful than child-parent relationships. Furthermore, parents who rarely speak as equals to their children and expect their requests to be met without asking questions often encourage bullying behavior in children. A child who makes a habit of dominating a sibling and whose parents do not intervene may also grow up assuming that physical, verbal, social, or sexual abuse is effective and normal. Numerous studies have shown that the most common response to victimization is anger. Without adults' help in channeling their anger in positive ways, such as convincing attackers to stop, expressing their feelings through positive words or actions, victims of bullying release their feelings of victimization by targeting other children. Global prevalence rate of bullying Statistics have shown the daily incidents of bullying in schools. This can occur for several reasons, such as a child trying to gain a specific social status or fear of being bullied himself. Studies have found that most bullying occurs within schools, but 50% of elementary school students and 35% of high school students turn to a parent for help, very few see a teacher. It is estimated that one-third of victims have contact with a school counselor, social worker, psychologist, or psychiatrist (Harvard Mental Health Letter, 2001). Fried & Fried (1996) also believe that child bullies are at greater risk of future problems. It concluded that by age thirty, 25 percent of adults identified as bullies as children had criminal records. The statistics communicate the need for parents and teachers to have a clear understanding of bullying, the characteristics of the victim and intervention techniques, which could de-escalate the situation. Bully-Victim Relationships Bullying victims represent a small percentage of bullies who have themselves been severely bullied. Victims of bullying are often physically weaker than those who bully them, but they are almost always physically stronger than their own victims. They get excited easily and sometimes provoke others who are clearly moreweaker than them. Victims of bullying are generally unpopular among their peers and are more likely than other types of bullies to be anxious and depressed. Peskin et al. (2006) identify victims of bullying as those who are bullied by others and who bully others. Very often children can be victims at home and bullies at school. Bully-victim relationships fit well with this depiction of conflict and aggression. Because bullies and victims conflict over differences arising from perceived or real power or hierarchy, they are most likely to use competitive, not collaborative, methods of conflict resolution. Bully-victim relationships will involve short-term negative conflicts in which participants use strategies such as aggression, surrender, or withdrawal to resolve the conflict. Bullies often choose aggressive methods to resolve conflicts, while their victims often use avoidance strategies. A child may have been a victim throughout childhood and when he emerges into adolescence or adulthood he decides it is time to take control, control over others. Rigby (1993) also indicated that the predisposition to bully others and to be a victim may be related. Bully-victim-witness relationships must be seen in a two-way context. Therefore, bullies influence victims' behaviors and thoughts; in contrast, victims influence their bullies' behaviors and thoughts in a bidirectional manner. Indeed, the bully-victim relationship is often composed of multiplayer interactions and is further complicated by influences such as other peers (witnesses), school personnel, and the children's families. Victim It can be said that a victim is often a person who suffers from destructive behaviors, both emotionally and physically. They are mostly random, undeserving people who simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, research has revealed that very often victims find themselves in the same situation over and over again. Bullies don't randomly attack their peers; instead, they target a specific subgroup of students who are often victimized over the course of several years. Types of Victims Olweus (1996) describes three types of victims: the passive victim, the defiant victim, and the domineering victims. Passive victims don't provoke bullies. They face social isolation, often appear anxious, depressed and fearful, and have a very poor self-concept. They have few friends; feeling lonely and sad and more nervous about new situations. This set of symptoms makes them attractive targets for bullies who are unusually competent at detecting vulnerability. According to Swearer and colleagues (2001), "Victims' behaviors and emotional states can make them vulnerable to bullying. Bullying behavior toward them can perpetuate their problems of low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and loneliness, which can make them increasingly more vulnerable to bullying." Defiant victims represent a small group of children who often behave in ways that elicit negative responses from those around them, such as anger, irritation, and exasperation. They possess a number of characteristics that can disrupt a classroom and lead to social rejection by peers, including irritability, restlessness, off-task behavior, and hostility. Bully victims represent a small percentage of bullies who have been severely bullied. Victims of bullying are often physically weaker than those who bully them, but they are almost always physically stronger than their own victims. Victims of bullying are generally unpopular among their peers and are more likely to..