Posted 11 months ago Comments

Critical Analysis

Bulling is about power.  It is the way the strong can prove themselves to others by conquering those they deem weak.  Bullying is violence that can be physical, verbal, emotional or social.  In fact some victims of bullying are at risk for having long term emotional effects.  Bullying has been credited with causing poorer health such as depression and other mental health disorders in adulthood (Heino-Kaltiala, Rimpela, Marttunen, Rimpela, & Rantanen, 1999).  Current statistics suggest suicide ideation is greater for victims of bullying than bullies or bystanders (Rivers & Noret, 2010).  The idea of bullying goes beyond the point of people feelings being hurt.  For some victims it has come to the point where they feel their only outlet is to take their life or continue the cycle of violence by inflicting pain on others (Rivers & Noret, 2010). 

            People seem to want a direct answer as to why bullying occurs or why its victims experience the vast emotions and behaviors that occur.  With topics such as bullying there is no single cause of events but a combination of many contributors (Browne & Keeley, 2010) that lead to the bully’s actions received by their victims.  Possible contributors to bullying are environmental influences, a need for dominance, intentional hurt and social manipulation.  Some effects of bullying on its victims are loneliness, depression, truancy and suicide. 

            Environmental influences such as bad neighborhoods could cause a child to be more vulnerable to being picked on.  Negative effects for both the victim and the bully can begin with the home environment.  If the bully comes from a home environment where there is physical abuse, verbal abuse or aggressive behavior he or she may reciprocate that behavior to others they feel they can dominate (Aluede, Adeleke, Omoike, & Afen-Akpaida, 2008).  Victims who live in similar home environments could be an easier prey for the bully because they may be less likely to fight back or tell anyone what is occurring.  The bully’s need for dominance creates an imbalance of power (Ericson, 2001) between the bully and everyone else.  As a part of dominance the bully may intentionally hurt the victim physically by inflicting force or socially by spreading rumors in order to prove a point to the others of what they can do and to the victim of what was allowed to be done. 

            An active social life is important to many youth during adolescence because it is a time when bonds and relationships are developed with peers or others of similar age.  Social manipulation includes spreading rumors, telling lies, betraying trust, ignoring and excluding the victim is usually experienced more by females than males (Aluede, Adeleke, Omoike, & Afen-Akpaida, 2008).  The spreading of rumors by the bully can cause the victim to be a social outcast, feel alone and embarrassed.  When a victim is physically abused by a bully the scares scab over and heal.  However, psychological and verbal humiliation may have different effects because you cannot tell exactly what the person is feeling or how the bully’s actions have made them feel.  Depression can be a short term effect of bullying but left untreated and unnoticed can develop into something long term.  Loneliness, trouble making friends and poor relationships with classmates is also experienced by victims of bullying (Ericson, 2001).  Some victims of bullying participate in antisocial behavior such as truancy because of fear or being tired of getting picked on (Gastic, 2008).  Suicide has also become a more common outcome/solution for victims of bullying.

The most important cause of bullying is environmental influences.  Environmental influences are important because people fail to realize that although you may not be directly involved in a situation that you can be affected by it.  When some people witness abuse or aggression they grow up to think that that type of behavior is tolerable.  Therefore, they seek others to wreak havoc on.  Change should be made at home with parents being more aware of what is occurring in their child’s life as well as change in his/her behavior.  Schools could also be more helpful by creating harsher punishment for bullies who continuously torment others and by addressing issues that may seem like a bullying situation.  All causes can be changed through a team effort of parents, schools and the help of the community. 

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