Kids bullying other kids: victims and witnesses
As reported in an article by ScienceDaily December 15, 2009, “Witnesses to bullying may face more mental health risks than bullies and victims,” students who witness bullying of their peers may suffer more psychologically than the victim or the bullies.
The study design
2002 students ages 12 to 16 were surveyed at public schools in England. The survey asked them whether they’d committed, witnessed, or been the victim of several types of bullying behavior (e.g., kicking, name-calling, threatening, etc.) and whether they had experienced psychological stress symptoms such as anxiety, depression, or hostility.
Why bystanders suffer more than victims of bullying
As reported in the article, previous research shows that children who witness bullying feel guilty, presumably for not doing anything to help the victim.
In addition, they may have felt more stressed by vacillating between doing what they thought they should do (i.e., help the victim) on the one hand, and being afraid of being victimized themselves, on the other. Being in this type of "approach/avoidance" conflict has been shown in numerous studies to create high levels of stress.
The combination of guilt and fear among witnesses that they will experience the same thing may be another reason why they are more affected by bullying than the actual victims.
How to help: the "talking cure"
Uncertainty, especially combined with feelings of fear or guilt, contributes to stress. Stress leads to depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders.
Sitting down and discussing feelings of fear and guilt with your child may help to minimize the destructive force and ultimate impact of those emotions on mental health. Practical "survival" tips about how to avoid, distract, or other means of handling bullies would help, too, giving kids options if they are cornered by or are a witness to bullies in action.
Source: Psychological Association (2009, December 15). Witnesses to bullying may face more mental health risks than bullies and victims. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 15, 2009
Comments
It's really about what makes a kid call something bullying. A kid who is more impressionable or more prone to mental issues will see more activities as forms of bullying than a healthy socially functional child. People need to stop trying to change what people do, which is really hard. They need to change how people think.
Since bullying has come to such an extreme over the last 15 years, the word "bullycide"(bully related suicide) has been born. Kids who witness other kids being bullied and say nothing are ultimately in many ways, helping the bullies succeed. Schools must begin to encourage kids to come forward when witnessing bullies in action and define the consequences of bullying openly with constant reminders of just what could happen.
As parents we need to encourage our kids to rise up and stand up for themselves and each other when it comes to bullying. Reporting a bully situation should not be viewed as a form of 'tattle-taling' but instead, should be viewed as potentially saving someone's life that's in danger.
Who will make a sound for these kids who feel they cannot be heard if those who witness it will remain silent?
www.makebeatsnotbeatdowns.org
My mother and father can be a real bully when they want to be, I have witnessed a lot of bullying and I'm still going through it, I also get it from my younger siblings who are biger and stronger then me. I call Charlie Sheen dad alot. to me he is a dad. He sounds alot like me, I have thretened my mum's life a noumber of times as well as other people because I have a short fuse and people prvoke me and I feel very vonribal. I'm 31.
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