POLICE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA 139 Bullying Facts: • 6% of 4,743 children in grades 1 to 8 admitted bullying others “more than once or twice” in the past six weeks -(Pepler et al., 1997) • 15% of children reported that they had been victimized at the same rate -(Pepler et al., 1997) • 2% reported being both bullies and victims (bully/ victims) -(Pepler et al., 1997) • Bullying occurs in school playgrounds every 7 minutes and once every 25 minutes in class –(Pepler et al., 1997) • Boys report more bullying than girls, but the discrepancy between boys’ and girls’ rates of bullying is not as great in playground observations –(Pepler et al., 1997) • Boys report more physical forms of bullying: girls tend to bully in indirect ways, such as gossiping and excluding.- (Pepler et al., 1997) • 11-to-12-year-old students reported bullying others more than younger (9-10-year-old) and older (13 to 14 year-old) students -(Pepler et al., 1997) • Bullies tend to be hyperactive, disruptive, impulsive and overactive -(Lowenstein, 1978), (Olweus, 1987) • Bullies are generally aggressive toward their peers, teachers, parents, siblings, and others. -(Olweus, 1991) • Bullies tend to be assertive and easily provoked. They are attracted to situations with aggressive content and have positive attitudes about aggression. -(Stephenson and Smith, 1989) • Boys who bully are physically stronger and have a need to dominate others. -(Olweus, 1987) • Girls who bully tend to be physically weaker than other girls in their class. -(Roland, 1989) • Bullies have little empathy for their victims and show little remorse about bullying. -(Olweus, 1987) • Boys and girls are equally likely to report being victimized -(Pepler at al, 1977) • Victimization decreases across grade levels: 26% of grades 1-3 children report victimization compared to 15% of grades 4-6 and 12% of grades 7-8 children. - (Pepler et al., 1997) • Children in lower grades are more likely to be victims of same-age bullies. Younger students experience more direct bullying, whereas older students experience more indirect bullying. -(Olweus, 1993) • Research has not supported the popular stereotype that victims have unusual physical traits. -(Olweus, 1991) • Victims often report low selfesteem, likely because of repeated exposure to victimization. -(Besag, 1989) • Both boys and girls who are victimized, report symptoms of depression, such as sadness, and loss of interest in activities -(Slee, 1995) (Craig, 1997) • Bully/victims are the most insecure, the least likeable, and the most unsuccessful in school - (Stephenson and Smith, 1989) • Bully/victims are often strong and easily provoked. - (Besag, 1989) • Children who are bully-victims appear to be at the greatest risk for adjustment difficulties -(Craig and Pepler, 1995) • 85% of bullying episodes occur in the context of a peer group -(Atlas and Pepler, 1997, Craig and Pepler, 1997) • 83% of students indicate that watching bullying makes them feel uncomfortable. -(Pepler et al., 1997) • Bullying stops in less than 10 seconds, 57% of the time when peers intervene on behalf of the victim. - (Pepler et al., 1997) • Boys are more likely than girls to be drawn into bullying episodes and actively participate. -(Craig and Pepler., 1997), (Salmivalli et al., 1996) • In playground observations, peers intervened in significantly more episodes than adults did (11% of episodes versus 4%). -(Craig and Pepler., 1997) • Bullies often come from homes that are neglectful and hostile and use harsh punishment. Bullying may be learned by observing high levels of conflict between parents. Care needs to be given so that they do not model bullying for their children. -(Olweus. 1993) • Victims often keep their problems a secret: they feel they should handle bullying themselves; they worry about the bully’s revenge or other children’s disapproval: and/or they think that adults can do little to help them. -(Garfalo et al., 1987) , (Olweus, 1991) • Bullying is reduced in a school if the principal is committed to reducing bullying. Strategies -(Charach et al., 1995) • Bullying occurs when there is little supervision or when large groups of children engage in rough and tumble play or competitive sports . -(Murphy et al. 1983) • Bullying is often hidden from teachers. Teachers’ lack of awareness is evident in playground observations in which teachers intervened to stop only one in twenty-five (4%) of the bullying episodes (Craig and Pepler, 1997) continued...
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