Bullying

What Constitutes Bullying?

There are three elements that mark all bullying. First is an imbalance of power. This imbalance can be owing to the bully's physical strength or size, or it may be that the bully is perceived to be mentally or socially superior to the victim. In the case of group bullying, the number of people involved renders the victim powerless. Second, there is intent to harm. In other words, the bully is fully aware that his or her action will inflict physical and emotional pain, and he or she derives satisfaction from seeing the anguish imposed. Third, there exists a threat of further aggression, as all parties involved understand that the bullying can and most likely will occur again. In addition to these three elements, if bullying continues unimpeded, a sense of terror is inflicted. Here, the victim not only feels powerless to fight back but also believes that peers or adults are either unwilling or unable to stop the bullying.

Bullying can take the form of verbal, physical, or relational abuse. Verbal bullying is the most common form, mainly because it is less likely to be noticed by adults or mistaken as simple teasing. Unlike teasing, verbal bullying involves intent to harm through humiliating, cruel, bigoted, or demeaning comments. Verbal bulling is not limited to individuals. Groups can engage in bullying through the use of malicious gossip. Both girls and boys engage in verbal bullying.

Physical bullying is the form most commonly associated with the term bullying. However, while it is the most visible form, physical bullying accounts for only about one third of reported incidents. This form of bullying not only includes hitting, shoving, spitting, kicking, and other forms of physical contact; it also includes destroying of property or clothing. While girls do engage in physical bullying, the majority of incidents involve boys.

Relational bullying is the intentional ignoring, excluding, isolating, or shunning of a child from [Page 131]group activities. This is the most insidious form of bullying, as it is not as easily detected as physical or verbal forms. Additionally, victims of relational bullying tend to either hide the pain or disguise it through bravado. It appears that mostly females engage in this form of bullying.

In addition, bullying can take place online; this is known as cyberbullying and combines elements of all three of the other kinds of bullying. All forms of bullying can also be either racist or sexual in nature. Minority children and those who are recent immigrants are most commonly victims of racial bullying. Females, because their physical maturity is apparent earlier than males', and, due to their sexuality, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual children are most commonly targets of sexual bullying.

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