COMMENTARY |
Bullying: Why All the Fuss?
Tufts New England Medical Center
Boston, MA 02111
"Why is there such a fuss being made about bullying? Bullying is commonplace, normal, and part of growing up." This was a comment made with frustration and more than a bit of annoyance to me by an experienced and, as best I can judge, highly qualified 4th-grade teacher several years ago after the publication of an article by Nansel et al.1 That article received considerable media attention and press coverage, raising the issue of bullying to a more prominent level in violence prevention efforts.2 Interestingly, this teacher was unaware that I had, in fact, written a commentary for that article emphasizing the need to address bullying as part of a comprehensive approach to youth violence prevention.3 However, his sentiment has been repeated to me by many others, especially teachers, since then and reflects a concerning problem with respect to people’s understanding of this issue and its importance. Yet, although the Nansel et al article was among the first studies to report on the prevalence of bullying and its associated psychosocial concerns in this country, there was already a considerable body of work on this subject from other countries that reflected the extent and seriousness of the problem as well as well-evaluated strategies for addressing it.4–8 There clearly has been considerably more attention to bullying with respect to its consequences and implications in countries with lower rates of violence and violent injuries than this country.
The study reported in this issue of Pediatrics by Juvonen et al9 looks specifically at 6th graders primarily from Latino and African American communities by using self-, peer, and teacher reports in a more comprehensive data collection effort than many previous studies. It is an important contribution to our understanding of bullying and those involved in part because we still have relatively little data on the prevalence and associated findings of these children. Their findings are consistent with those of Nansel,1 with almost one fourth of those surveyed reporting some involvement with bullying and 6% reporting experiencing both bullying and being bullied. Additionally, the associated psychosocial problems reported are quite similar to those described in other studies with bullies displaying higher rates of conduct disorders (although they also experience high levels of social standing), those bullied displaying concerning rates of emotional distress and social isolation, and the bully/bullied being most concerning with respect to conduct, school, and peer relationship problems.
Furthermore, this and other studies that look at the short-term factors related to bullying must be put into the context of studies that reflect significant longer-term consequences. Olweus10 reported a fourfold increase in criminal behavior by their midtwenties among individuals with a history of bullying, with a majority having at least one criminal conviction and more than one third having multiple convictions. The author also reported higher rates of depression and poor self-esteem in adults with histories of being bullied.11 Although there are few other studies that evaluate the long-term consequences related to bullying, a significant number of the high-profile school shootings over the past decade have involved individuals with histories of bullying or being bullied. These studies and the anecdotal reports relating to the circumstances of a number of school shootings must elevate our attention to the issue of bullying, strategies for prevention, and efforts to use the identification of those involved as a way of identifying and serving a high-risk group of children and youth.
We must be thoughtful and rigorous about our efforts to address this problem. Merely labeling bullies as trouble-makers and punishing them is far from a therapeutic approach, and the no-tolerance policies linked to suspension or expulsion that have been adopted by many schools create even more problems and represent serious, missed opportunities to help children in trouble. Not adequately addressing the social and emotional distress of those bullied because of lack of understanding of the problem or lack of mental health resources is yet another unfortunate missed opportunity to help. Those that experience both are particularly concerning and require special attention. What we cannot do is respond in a way that blames children for behaviors that develop as a result of social and environmental influences such as home environments, community circumstances, media images, and value systems that promote violence and aggression.
Maybe most important is the need to address the larger school environment that supports or condones bullying as reflected by the reported high social status that bullies enjoy among their school mates. We need to identify ways to shift the social norms and values in schools and communities to ones that promote healthy peer interactions and reject bullying, intimidation, and other forms of physical and verbal coercion as acceptable. Again, we have Olweus8 as a resource, because he has developed a very comprehensive approach to bullying prevention that deals with the individuals involved as well as all of the stake-holders in the school setting (students, teachers, parents, and administrators) to change the climate and value system of the school. His model has been well-evaluated with very impressive results in other countries and needs to be modified to settings in this country with appropriate evaluations to measure the outcomes. We must also incorporate a better understanding of this issue in teacher training but cannot load this solely on teachers who are already overburdened with other responsibilities. If our schools are to meet the needs of children better, physicians, mental health professionals, youth programs, and other parts of our human service system need to become more involved.
Last but of great importance is that we cannot lose sight of the fact that youth violence is a complex issue with many risk and resiliency factors. Addressing violence must include a broad vision that takes an issue such as bullying and integrates it into the bigger picture and the larger solutions. True and effective violence prevention requires a comprehensive response that brings all segments of the community into play. Health care, public health, mental health, youth development, education, family support, faith and religious, and criminal justice institutions and professionals have roles to play as do community groups, survivors, and others who live with the consequences of violence on a daily basis.
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FOOTNOTES |
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Received for publication Aug 22, 2003; Accepted Aug 22, 2003.
Address correspondence to Howard Spivak, MD, Tufts New England Medical Center, 750 Washington St, Box 351, Boston, MA 02111. E-mail: hspivak{at}tufts-nemc.org
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REFERENCES |
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 TOP REFERENCES |
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- Nansel TR, Overpeck M, Pilla RS, Ruan WJ, Simons-Morton B, Scheidt P. Bullying behaviors among US youth: prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment.
JAMA.2001; 285
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[Abstract/Free Full Text] - American Medical Association. AMA promotes anti-bullying steps. Available at: http://www.ama-assn.org/apps/pf_online/pf_online?f_n=browsedoc=policyfiles/HOD/D-60.993.htm
- Spivak H, Prothrow-Stith D. The need to address bullying-an important component of violence prevention.
JAMA.2001; 285
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[Free Full Text] - Forero R, McLellan L, Rissel C, Bauman A. Bullying behaviour and psychosocial health among school students in New South Wales, Australia: cross sectional survey.
BMJ1999; 319
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[Abstract/Free Full Text] - Olweus D. Aggression in the Schools: Bullies and Whipping Boys. Washington, DC: Hemisphere; 1978
- Bond L, Carlin JB, Thomas L, Rubin K, Patton G. Does bullying cause emotional problems? A prospective study of young teenagers.
BMJ.2001; 323
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[Abstract/Free Full Text] - Olweus D. Bully/victim problems among school children: some basic facts and effects of a school-based intervention program. In: Pepler D, Rubin K, eds. The Development and Treatment of Childhood Aggression. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum; 1991:411–418
- Olweus D. Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do. Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell; 1993
- Juvonen J, Graham S, Schuster M. Bullying among young adolescents: the strong, the weak, and the troubled. Pediatrics.2003; 112 : •••–•••
- Olweus D. Bullying among school children: intervention and prevention. In: Peters RD, McMahon RJ, Quinsey VL, eds. Aggression and Violence Throughout the Lifespan. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications; 1992:100–125
- Olweus D. Bullying at school: long term outcomes for victims. In: Huesmann RL, ed. Aggressive Behavior: Current Perspectives. New York, NY: Plenum Press; 1994:97–130
PEDIATRICS (ISSN 1098-4275). ©2003 by the American Academy of Pediatrics
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