WRITE ESSAY ABOUT BULLYING

Bullying:

Characteristics, Consequences and Interventions George R. Mount, PhD It is important that negotiators know about bullying behavior. It will help them to understand the psychological state of both the bully and the victim. This will help focus negotiating strategies be- cause there is a better understanding of the past history and moti- vations of the hostage taker.

An awareness of the consequences of bullying has become more visi- ble to the public and more of a problem for law enforcement in recent times. Probably everyone has had some experience with bullying, either as a victim, witness or possibly a participant. Bullying is best defined as repeated and systematic harassment of another person. It can take many forms but is clearly intentional and cruel. Bullying behavior can, in some instances, consist of a single interaction; however, that is not typi- cal. Bullying may include physical attacks but may also consist of ver- bal threats and/or taunts. Blackmail and extortion, i.e., taking one’s lunch money or other valuables is also a form of bullying as is being ex- cluded from peer groups.

Horse-play and other encounters are not considered to be bullying if those involved have a personal relationship, as the intent of the behavior Dr. Mount is a Police Psychologist in private practice in Dallas, Texas and the Edi- tor of the Up Close and Personal feature seen in each issue of this Journal.

doi:10.1300/J173v05n02_11125 UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL is different. The victim of the bullying behavior tends to be weaker, younger and does not have an adequate ability to respond effectively to aggression. In short, there is a significant power difference between the victim and the bully. The victim often feels embarrassed, ashamed and insecure. Bullies tend to lack empathy and come from homes that use aggression as a mode of communication and offer little in the way of parental supervision.

KINDS OF BULLIES Physical Bullies As the name implies, they tend to physically hit and kick their vic- tims. They also take or damage the victim’s property. This is the least sophisticated type of bullying and they are known and feared through- out the school. With age, their attacks usually become more aggressive.

Verbal Bullies Verbal bullies rely on words to hurt or humiliate. Constant teasing and name-calling is their game. They may also make sexist and racist comments. This is the easiest one to inflict on victims as it can be done quickly. The long-term effects can be more devastating, in some ways, than physical bullying.

Relational Bullies Relational or relationship bullies try to convince their peers to ex- clude or reject their victim. They want to cut off the victim’s social con- nections. Spreading nasty rumors, like verbal bullying, is often part of the pattern of trying to get the victim cut off from their social connec- tions. These types of bullies are more commonly girls.

Reactive Victims Reactive victims may vacillate between being a victim and/or a bully.

They may target other children just as they themselves have been tar- geted. These children tend to be impulsive and react physically to any perceived slight, often claiming self-defense as their justification.

126 JOURNAL OF POLICE CRISIS NEGOTIATIONS Bullying behavior can often be identified as early as the pre-school level. They tend to be more aggressive and interpret common childhood interactions in personalized, negative ways. If the other child is per - ceived as “out to get him/her” then it makes perfect sense to retaliate first using their physical and/or social skills to zero in on the child’s weakness and use the technique that is apt to cause the most hurt. These tend to become a lifelong pattern and bullying behavior in childhood is a significant predictor of aggressive behavior in adulthood. These chil - dren lack a sense of remorse and refuse to accept responsibility for their behavior. Consequently interventions need to begin at the preschool level. They need to be instructed in less aggressive approaches of deal - ing with conflict and learn how to approach frustrating and conflicted situations in more prosocial ways.

Attempts to develop assessment instruments include the Hare Psychop- athy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) which was validated using the PCL-R, developed for individuals 18 or older. The PCL:YV can be used with individuals from age 12 until 18. Psychopathy has proved to be a ro- bust prediction of aberrant behavior and its application to juveniles is apt to be just as useful for this age group as it has proved to be with adults. The StructuredAssessmentofViolenceRiskinYouth(SAVRY)isbasedona structured professional judgment model and was designed to be used from age 12 until age 18. The Estimate of Risk of Adolescent Sexual Offense Recidivism (ERASOR) is also designed to be used between the ages of 12 and 18; however, it is focused on estimating the recidivism risk of someone who has previously committed a sexual assault. The Risk-Sophistica- tion-Treatment Inventory (RSTI) was developed by Salekin (2004) for use with individuals between the ages of 9 and 18. It is a rating scale based on a semi-structured interview. There are 3 scales: Risk for Dangerousness, So- phistication-Maturity and Treatment Amenability. Raw scores (based on a 3 point scale) are converted into T-Scores which afford standard scores and percentiles that facilitate comparisons and interpretations.

Without intervention the outlook for bullies is not good. They may ini- tially have some social acceptance and popularity as they are perceived as being powerful and able to do what they want to do. However, by late ad- olescence (14 or 15) that initial acceptance by others soon diminishes sig- nificantly. Their peer groups include other bullies and gang affiliations.

They often drop out of school and become involved in the juvenile cor- rections system. By the early 20’s about 60% have at least one criminal conviction. They are more likely to develop Antisocial Personality Disor- ders, substance abuse disorders and are also more likely to use mental Up Close and Personal 127 health services as well as being involved with law enforcement and the criminal courts system.

While victims resent having been bullies, they have more options available to them and tend not to interact with bullies after age 16. They are more vested in school and social groups and are developing life plans. Some of the victims carry emotional scars throughout their life - time and a few do not survive the humiliation of having been bullied.

Most victims, however, do not harm themselves or others and continue on their developmental path.

INTERVENTIONS Since the children know who are the bullies, the most effective tool would be the mobilization of the vast majority of children who are neither bullies or victims. The fear of being bullied is a major cause of stress for children at school, which provides an incentive for them to become in- volved. One way to do this is to establish a social climate at school that does not reward bullying or physical aggression. There should be posted rules regarding bullying and teasing. A violence and bullying prevention program should be established and curriculum developed which provides information on problem solving, conflict resolution, communication skills and developing and maintaining friendships. There should be a means for victims and others to contact school counselors or other faculty in a confidential manner. Finally, proactive responses by faculty and con- sistent supervision are all important intervention components. It is be- lieved that bullying can be significantly impacted if everyone associated with the school(teachers, students, student groups, administrators and parents) work together to stop bullying. This will have a significant re- duction in long-term community costs and a reduction in the use of law enforcement, correctional and mental health resources.

REFERENCES Borum, R., Bartel, P., Forth, A. (2002). Manual for the Structured Assessment of Vio- lence Risk in Youth (SAVRY), University of Southern Florida, 13301 Bruce B.

Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL 33612-3807. E-mail: [email protected].

Bully B’ware Productions, 1421 King Albert Avenue, Coquitlam, British Columbia Canada V3J 1Y3, (604) 936-8000, 1-888-55BULLY. E-mail: [email protected]. 128 JOURNAL OF POLICE CRISIS NEGOTIATIONS Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), 2nd Ed. (2003). Multi-Health Systems, Inc., Box 950, N. Tonawanda, NY 14120-0950.

Salekin, R.T. (2004). Risk-Sophistication-Treatment Inventory (RSTI) Psychological Assessment Resources, 16204 N. Florida Ave., Luntz, FL 33549 (800)331-08378.

www.parinc.com.

Worling, J.R. & Curwen, T. The “ERASOR” (2001). SAFE-T Program, Thistletown Regional Centre, 51 Panorama Crt., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M9V 4LB.Up Close and Personal 129